Join the Dark Side

Not all dark beers are created equal. My first dark beer was a Porter that, due to my own novice, was wholly subpar. My second (not counting the cupric IPA) was a Nut Brown Ale - surely on the lighter end of the dark side. Now is the time to dive into a style that is perhaps the best known dark style in the world. Guinness is a Dry Stout (aka Irish Stout) - dry, in this case, meaning a beverage that has minimal residual sugar. Sweet Stouts, Oatmeal Stouts, and other styles have more residual sugar and therefore are heartier drinks. Dry stouts run about as light as any real beer gets. 12 oz of Guinness, for example, will only set you back 120 calories while a pale ale can run up to twice as caloric.

Stouts developed in the 18th century but soon after fell out of favour as Pale Ales took hold in England and elsewhere. "Stout" originally referred to a stronger drink and, though many varieties of stout are among the strongest in the world, dry stouts also have a strong hold in the commercial beer market. There are numerous explanations of the difference between a stout and a porter but currently, the distinction has become a matter of preference rather than style.

One oft overlooked component of beer is water. Not all water is created equal. Famous beering regions have distinctive mineral attributes in their water that contribute to the specific style of their beer. Dublin water is famously rich in bicarbonate which balances the acidity in heavily roasted malts (more on that later). Thus, Dublin makes some killer dark beers.



My Dry Stout begins with a fairly light-colored mix of grains:

• German Vienna Malt - 2.5 lbs
• American 2-row Pale Malt - 0.25 lb
• American 6-row Pale Malt - 0.5 lb
• Flaked Barley - 0.25 lb

The Vienna Malt is slightly darker and richer (though by no means dark) than normal pale malt. The Flaked Barley contributes no sugar, but increases head retention and adds a bit of depth to the flavor. These grains are mashed normally. Most recipes for dry stout involve the addition of gypsum or other minerals to make the water more like that in Dublin. I opted against because I'm not ready to play with water minerals yet. Soon, though.

The final grain added is Roasted Barley. Roasted barley is not malted like other brewing grains. It contributes no sugar and provides only black color and roasty toasty flavor. If added directly to the mash, it could cause severe problems in the lautering & sparging process (remember, that's extracting the liquid grain-sugar-juice from the mashed grain gruel). Thus, a different method is commonly used to generate the roasted barley's contribution to the beer. We make barley coffee. To begin, add hot water to the roasted barley (I used 5/8 lb grain with 3/4 qt water) in a cooking vessel. Let it sit for a while. Pour the liquid over a coffee filter to remove all particulate. You now have the black, bitter, undrinkable liquid seen below.



Once you have collected your wort, add the roasted barley extract and begin the boil. I used one ounce of German Hallertau hops, divided equally between 60 and 20 minutes of boil. Why you ask? I didn't want the fruity flavors that you get from American hops, but I hoped for a spicier finish than I would get from English hops. Thus born is the German-English Dry Stout.

Here's the beer after primary fermentation:



One thing that distinguishes Irish stouts from other beers is their creamy mousselike head. This is because they are usually poured from a nitro-tap. Because Nitrogen is stored at a higher pressure than Carbon Dioxide (the standard carbonation in beer), it forces finer bubbles, resulting in not only the classic head, but also a smoother mouthfeel and that distinct cascade effect during pouring and settling. Guinness recently began adding Nitrogen-containing widgets to their cans and bottles which release their nitrogen upon opening the package, duplicating the nitro-tap effect.

OG - 1.052

FG - 1.014

ABV - 5.1%

IBU - 33

Appearance: Pitch black and nearly opaque with an inch of semi-fine tan head. Forms a modest lacing along the glass. Bubbles are delicate.

Aroma: The roasted aroma dominates while hints of sweet butterscotch float in the background

Flavor: Naturally, the flavor is predominantly roasted, however this tastes like dry stout with some basic English ale mixed in. It's not quite as dry as I'd like. There's also a touch of mouthwatering acidity, due to my unwillingness to follow a good recipe and add minerals as required. Hmm... a bit jammy on the finish. Interesting. I like it.

Mouthfeel: Lacking the nitro tap, it's not as smooth as it could be, but it is still pretty darn smooth.

Drinkability: Not quite as drinkable as Guinness, but I could easily take a couple of these. It's spring right now; I'd surely prefer this beer while sitting outside in mid-late Autumn. In the still night, you need no jacket. Only your stout and a buddy (perhaps a stout buddy).

Prost!