Apr
10
2009
Tasting #8 — Dry Humour Dry Irish Stout 
We’ve been meaning to do the tasting session for our Dry Irish Stout for a while, and time was running out because the beer has been something of a hit — we went through quite a few bottles serving it to family at our engagement party. I don’t imagine we have many more than seven or eight bottles left by now.
So, to the task at hand:
1.034 OG; 1.016 FG; 2.4% ABV; 31 IBU
Appearance: Pitch black. Fluffy, blackish-brown head.
Nose: Sharply roasty and nutty, backed by a fruity sweetness.
Taste: Very roasty. Hints of chocolate. Assertive coffee notes. A lingering black bitterness, balanced by caramel and fruit.
Mouthfeel: Light-to-medium body. Smooth in the mouth, yet dry after swallowing.
Overall: A great surprise. Satisfying and thirst quenching. The big coffee notes and the subtle fruity ester and caramel flavors really blend together well. It reminds me of Kona, actually.
I really felt like I was flying blind when I wrote this recipe, especially grain-wise. Neither of us knew a whole lot about roasted barley and malts, so I’m glad it didn’t turn out that I overdid it with them.
Do any of you out there have attenuation issues with your stouts and porters? ‘Cause this was two in a row that under-attenuated. We were shooting for 75% and ended up a little more than 50%. Maybe this was a good thing, though; according to one of our brew buddies, when she and her husband have made dry stout and gotten it to attenuate all the way, it’s tasted much too dry when carbonated instead of being kegged on nitro, whereas ours tastes great despite not having finished. Just thought I’d ask.
My least attenuated beer ever was a stout. It ended up at 1.8% ABV – like 1.040 to 1.020 or something. But it was so tasty. I think a stout benefits from a high FG.
I’ve experimented with the black grains, and I think you hit it perfect on your first try. Even another half pound can push it over that line between pleasantly assertive and insultingly in-your-face.
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