Beer of the Weekend #324: Sprecher Irish Stout
Congratulations to The Not-So-Quiet Sister. She graduated from grad school today and now has a Masters in psychology. We celebrated with dinner at Noodles & Company (her choice) and had cake afterwards. While at her apartment, J-Rod offered me the choice of Boulevard’s Single-Wide IPA or Irish Ale before dessert. I chose the Single-Wide because I knew I would be getting my Irish on later tonight.
The beer of the weekend is Sprecher Irish Stout, brewed by the Sprecher Brewing Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
On BA it is called “Irish Style Stout” and Sprecher’s website refers to it simply as “Stout.”
My flirtations with buying dust and cobweb covered four-packs of Irish Stout are well documented, so before taking the plunge I asked Joe Hotek, John’s beer guru, how long they had had the cases. He assured them they were recently delivered; though not fresh, they were probably nearing the end of their prime. I decided to spring for it.
Serving type: 16-ounce bottle with a twist-off cap. There are cryptic batch codes printed on the shoulder and bottom, but no freshness date.
Appearance: Straight pour into a pint glass. The color is black black black — totally opaque; when held to a lamp, zero light passed through. One finger of tan head dissipated to leave a spotted lacing and ring around the edge. (The pour was pathetic. My bad.)
Smell: Overall it is very sweet, but it has a nice, roasted edge to it. Sweet caramel, cocoa, black licorice, lactose, maybe a few oats, toffee, dark fruits, and roasted coffee.
Taste: The roasted bitterness is omnipresent but not dominant; it hangs out in the background and creates the backbone for flavors of sweet caramel, toffee, milk chocolate, espresso, and black raspberry. It has a lot of body and the mouthfeel is very smooth, though it becomes a touch thin as the beer warms.
Drinkability: Awesome stuff. Who knew ethnic Germans and Poles could brew such awesome Irish-inspired beer?
Fun facts about Sprecher Irish Stout:
-Style: BA classifies it as “Irish Dry Stout.”
-Price: $5.99/four-pack at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.
-Serving temperature: 5.73 percent ABV.
-Alcohol content: The Sprecher website recommends 50ºF.
-Food pairings: BA recommends barbecue, Latin cuisine, chocolate, smoked meat, and grilled meat.
-IBU: 26.
-Here is some nerdiness from the Sprecher website:
-Interestingly, Irish Stout was first brewed last year. It is now one of Sprecher’s year round offerings.
The Quiet Man’s grade: B+.
The beer of the weekend is Sprecher Irish Stout, brewed by the Sprecher Brewing Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
On BA it is called “Irish Style Stout” and Sprecher’s website refers to it simply as “Stout.”
My flirtations with buying dust and cobweb covered four-packs of Irish Stout are well documented, so before taking the plunge I asked Joe Hotek, John’s beer guru, how long they had had the cases. He assured them they were recently delivered; though not fresh, they were probably nearing the end of their prime. I decided to spring for it.
Serving type: 16-ounce bottle with a twist-off cap. There are cryptic batch codes printed on the shoulder and bottom, but no freshness date.
Appearance: Straight pour into a pint glass. The color is black black black — totally opaque; when held to a lamp, zero light passed through. One finger of tan head dissipated to leave a spotted lacing and ring around the edge. (The pour was pathetic. My bad.)
Smell: Overall it is very sweet, but it has a nice, roasted edge to it. Sweet caramel, cocoa, black licorice, lactose, maybe a few oats, toffee, dark fruits, and roasted coffee.
Taste: The roasted bitterness is omnipresent but not dominant; it hangs out in the background and creates the backbone for flavors of sweet caramel, toffee, milk chocolate, espresso, and black raspberry. It has a lot of body and the mouthfeel is very smooth, though it becomes a touch thin as the beer warms.
Drinkability: Awesome stuff. Who knew ethnic Germans and Poles could brew such awesome Irish-inspired beer?
Fun facts about Sprecher Irish Stout:
-Style: BA classifies it as “Irish Dry Stout.”
-Price: $5.99/four-pack at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.
-Serving temperature: 5.73 percent ABV.
-Alcohol content: The Sprecher website recommends 50ºF.
-Food pairings: BA recommends barbecue, Latin cuisine, chocolate, smoked meat, and grilled meat.
-IBU: 26.
-Here is some nerdiness from the Sprecher website:
This tribute to Ireland is smooth and creamy with the distinctive flavors and aromas reminiscent of bittersweet chocolate and dark coffee. This robust ebony colored stout is brewed throughout the year.
-Interestingly, Irish Stout was first brewed last year. It is now one of Sprecher’s year round offerings.
The Quiet Man’s grade: B+.
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