We don't eat many gravies but when we do a favorite this time of year is pork chops with an apple cider/stout gravy. Stout pairs nicely with apples. So, I think apple cider could be substituted for part of the stout & then use chicken stock for the remainder. I've not tried using stout with a chicken dish though...only pork.

We also are basically non-drinkers so I too would have to make a separate purchase for the stout. It does have a distinct flavor (and aroma!) but we don't find it overwhelming...sorta like a can of beer in a quick bread.

/tricia

Hi there. I cannot speak to this recipe specifically but I will share this. I don't drink but two or three glasses of wine in a whole year but I do use alcohol for cooking. However when I made beer bread, which a lot of people are tempted to use their favorite dark beer in, I always go for the lightest brew available. I've found a strong beer just overwhelms the other flavors. Hope this helps.

Kate

I have NO IDEA why I thought you'd mentioned chicken!

/t

Once it's been slow-cooked, I think you'll find that the flavour won't be too strong. It's worth trying out the recipe "as is" for the first time. I sometimes use Guiness in stew and the veggies sweeten the whole thing.

I've seen liquor stores and grocery stores that sell individual bottles of beer, so maybe you'll be able to find a single bottle of stout to try out the recipe.

My dad used to add beer to chile, I do occasionally, too, but I don't always want to use up a bottle in the chile, as I don't notice that much of a difference in taste.

Sally

Stout is a heavy molassey grainy brew....I love it in a beef stew or chili, but you may not. I would buy a bottle and taste it before you make something you may not like.

Linda, I use molasses in our favourite slow-cooker pork recipe, and in another beef stew slow cooker recipe. So stout sounds like it would be something we would like.

{{!gwi}}

I make a Guinness (Beer) Beef Stew. We love it. Cook it long and slow. I also include Beef consomme - delicious!

I can't stand to drink stout or beer. However, I do quite like it in recipes. We love beef and stout stew. Here you can buy stout in individual bottles or cans (Guinness usually comes in a can with a "widget").

I find stout has more of an unsweetened coffee taste. (At least Guinness does--there are sweeter varieties, but unless the recipe specifies a different type of stout like sweet stout or milk stout, you can assume they meant Guinness or something similar) That's from the addition of roasted unmalted barley to the mix. That adds 'roastiness' without adding any fermentable sugars. Guinness actually has fewer carbs than some mass market beers. It marries very well with beef and lamb, both in the dish and in a glass--if the wine list doesn't seem very good, I'll often have Guinness with the meal.

I love Guinness but can only drink half....seems so filling. I'm surprised to hear it's really low carb....well relativly speaking!
It's very flavor intense.....similar to a heavy red wine....of a good Scotch!!
Linda C

Echoing the above posters - you can't really taste the 'beeriness' of a stout in beef stew. It just melds with the other flavors and creates an overall richness.

Guinness isn't exactly low-carb, it's 'low-ish' carbs at 10 grams of carbs per 12 oz (draught). Compare that with Coors (regular) at 11.3 gm/12 oz, 13.8 for Killians, 13.3 for Michelob, 12 for Yuengling, and a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale at 14.1 and a whopping 22.3 for Sierra Nevada Stout.

Certainly for the amount of flavor it has, it's fairly light.

Here is a link that might be useful: carbs in beer