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