Despite their dark color and robust flavors, Irish-style stouts are a great style for Springtime. They are relatively light in body, with subtle bitterness, and complex roasted flavors similar to freshly brewed coffee and dark chocolate. They’re sessionable, too, usually weighing in around 4 or 5 percent ABV. No wonder it’s so easy to drink so many of them on St. Patrick’s Day.
I asked five craft brewers what Irish or Irish-style stouts they’ll be drinking this spring. Here’s what they had to say.
The Pugilist
“Irish stouts are a fun style—they have that roasty/coffee/chocolate character you’d expect from a stout but tend to be lighter in body, on the drier side, and fairly low in alcohol compared to what most people expect out of a stout. One of my favorite dry Irish stouts is Societe Brewing’s The Pugilist (San Diego, California). This beer has everything I’m looking for in a dry stout— dark and rich-looking, fairly light in body, not super carbonated, semi-dry, and above all it sits at 4.8 percent ABV, so I’m definitely going back for a few more.” — Kai Villegas, Manager at Brewcade in San Francisco, California
Patio Tools
“While I typically do not like low-gravity stouts, if I had to chase a shot of Jameson, I would choose Cigar City’s Patio Tools (Tampa, Florida), a dry Irish stout .” — Jeremy Tofte, cofounder at Melvin Brewing in Jackson, Wyoming
Beamish
“Beamish (Cork, Ireland). Of the three big names in ‘Irish stout’ that you find on tap in Ireland, a good pint of Beamish beats Guinness or Murphy’s in my book, hands down.” — Peter Reynier, Head Brewer at Wicklow Wolf Brewing Co. in Bray, Ireland
Cadillac Mountain Stout
“Maybe it shows my beer age, but Bar Harbor Brewing Company (Atlantic Brewing Company, Bar Harbor, Maine) Cadillac Mountain Stout is one of my favorites.” — Aaron Heaton, Vice President at Grimm Bros. Brewhouse in Loveland, Colorado
Black Irish
“Double Mountain in Hood River, Oregon, brews Black Irish, a beer that’s simple with just enough body; quite classic for the dry, Irish-style stout category.” —_ Carston Haney, Head Brewer at Ross Island Brewing in Portland, Oregon_