I will admit to having little patience for flavored beer. I’ve ingested far too many bad flavored beers that I’m sure were well intentioned but ultimately failed to impress. The crimes seem to be particularly egregious against American wheat beer, which, for whatever reason, brewers feel compelled to adorn with any number of fruits, herbs, spices, and other accouterments.
But I am coming around in some cases. And more often than not, those cases involve stout. If it can be done, a brewer has probably done it to stout. And when it’s done well, the results can be shockingly good. Here are some tips for adding flavorings to your homebrewed stouts.
Grains
Oatmeal stout is a classic. Even those who don’t normally gravitate toward stout are drawn in by its silky texture and hint of sweetness. And the name alone makes it seem so _wholesome. _But it doesn’t stop with oats. Rye, like oats, offers up a silky (some even say slick) texture, but while oats are relatively neutral in flavor, rye introduces spicy, even smoky notes.