Early stoute could describe bravery as well as physical strength. The strength family later supplied a noun for strong beer, which became associated with the dark, full-bodied drink called stout.
Sources
- Merriam-Webster: stout
The definitions and first-use records distinguish strength/bravery from the later dark-beer noun; the adjective has an Anglo-French and Germanic history.
- Etymonline: stout
The entry gives early stoute, overlapping bravery/physical strength and the later strong-beer noun from the adjective.