So I decided to writeup how my Beamish Irish Stout I brewed turned out.  I did a side by side taste test, one beer from the fridge that had a temperature in the mid 30sF and another from the cellar in the mid 50sF.  I compared how they tasted and then I go on to show how I may typically assess one of my brews, making careful notes of what I may want to change for the next I brew the beer.  First the review.

The beer on the left is the beer from the fridge and the beer on the right is the cellar temperature beer.  The cellar temperature beer held a frothier head than the cold beer, I can’t say why.  The pours were equally agressive and glasses were both clean.  Anyway, the aroma of the cellar temperature beer was much roastier than the cold beer, I think part of that was due to temperature differences as well as the fact the cellar beer had a much larger head.  A larger head delivers a more intense punch of aroma.  The color of the beers were the same, very dark brown, not quite black.

The taste of the these two beers were (not surprisingly) very similar.  Both have a moderately roasted flavor, medium/light body and low carbonation.  The finish is rather dry, but not too dry.  There may be a hint of hop flavor in there as well, tough to say.

So what do I think?  I think it’s a good beer, not a great a beer.  The next time I make this brew there are some changes I want to make.  Here is a key part of making great homebrew.  Take great notes.  Note what you like, what you don’t like, and how you would change things.  You won’t remember 6 or 9 months from now!

I purposely went for low carbonation since too high of carbonation on a dry stout can overly accentuate the dry/acrid nature of the beer to a point where it is overwhelming.  Next time I’d prefer just a bit more carbonation, ideally I’d have a nitrogren beer engine, but I’d settle for just a bit more carbonation.

The body is purposely lighter bodied since this is not supposed to be a big thick beer, but rather a beer you enjoy through the night of playing cards.  To me it still needs something a bit more.  Next time I will mash at a slightly higher temperature.  The slightly higher mash temperature will give the beer a higher finishing gravity, and hence a bit more sweetness and more body.

I wouldn’t mind a bit darker color and bit more roasted flavor.  So I think I will increase the roasted barley a bit and maybe try pulverizing the roasted barley.  I have read that pulverizing roasted barley can darken the color and slightly change the flavor profile.

So there you have it.  The Beamish Irish Stout turned out pretty good.  There is room for improvement, but until next time, I’ve got a little over a case of tasty dry stout left to drink.

Good luck with your brewing