Out of the Bottle: St Patrick's Stout

After five quick weeks, my Irish Stout is ready for St Patrick's Day. Time to see how it turned out.

It looks right. The beer pours near black with a slight garnet hue. The head slowly falls to a thin quilt of foam and leaves a nice sheet of lace behind. The body is dry and very light. Perhaps too light, but not watery. Perhaps next time I'll add some flaked barley to help things along.

The aroma and taste are right where they should be. Espresso is the overriding theme here. Strong coffee notes dominate the beer, while a bit of chocolate is in the background. Bitterness is light and has a roasted edge. There's only a slight astringency from all the roasted grains that's much lower than quite a few stouts I've tried. Adding the roasted grains after the Saccharification Rest seems to have done the trick.

Overall, it's not bad for a beer thrown together at the last minute. Next time, I'll add some flaked barley and perhaps even out the roasted barley and chocolate malt. That's about it.

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