Many brewers, especially on the West Coast, use aroma hops rather liberally, an acceptable practice for American stouts, according to Wahl and Henius. Dry hopping is never appropriate. The high cohumulone content of many new high-alpha hops, however, suggests that a blend with a lower alpha hop such as the traditional Fuggles or Willamette would be best for a clean bitterness. Recommended varieties for stout include Cluster, Northern Brewer , and Bullion or Brewer's Gold. Stouts have been fermented with good results by virtually every ale yeast available.
Most brewers use their house ale yeast.
It is the house yeast at Full Sail Ale, and the resulting Main Sail Stout speaks for itself. This yeast is moderate in both attenuation and flocculation and is especially well suited to life in unitank fermentors. Although stout may not be the top seller in most brewers' portfolios, for many beer lovers nothing else will do, which means that stout will always have a place. It is certainly the most extreme style in common production in the world's breweries, and it seems to be regaining lost popularity in the United States while, ironically, ever-increasing taxes make it more and more of a luxury in Ireland, the country that elevated it to its highest form and made it its everyday drink. Wahl, R., and M. Henius, American Handy Book of the Brewing, Malting, and Auxiliary Trades, vol.