To be honest, Stouts are one of those styles that it took me getting into brewing to really appreciate. I would try one from time to time ... mostly as part of sample platters in brew-pubs, but would hardly ever get myself a pint. I never purchased stouts from liquor stores.
But, SheppyBrew has brewed a few Stouts, and I'm really beginning to seek them out more. And the more I drink, the more I like them.
I think most non-beer-geeks (at least here in America) think Guinness when they think Stout. But, "Stout" is a pretty wide range of beers, many of which are really unlike Guinness. Personally, I've never really been a big fan of Guinness. I still think the lack of carbonation make them taste too flat. I prefer more carbonation than the nitrogen smoothness I guess. I would say that I'm much more a fan of American Stouts than other types.
If you are interested in reading about the different types of Stouts, here are links to the BJCP descriptions:
- 13A. Dry Stout
- 13B. Sweet Stout
- 13C. Oatmeal Stout
- 13D. Foreign Extra Stout
- 13E. American Stout
- 13F. Russian Imperial Stout
And, of course, my favorite Stout is the one I brewed most recently. Stouticus American Stout really turned out well for me. If you follow that link, you can read the story about how Stouticus began. Both the batches I've done were made to share with co-workers. The second batch is bottled sitting in my basement waiting to be distributed to those of my co-workers who donated to the 2nd Wind Fund. International #StoutDay is a good day to give these out.
So, what am I doing for International #StoutDay? I'm going to enjoy a bottle or two of Stouticus.
Keep an eye on Stout Day on twitter here: http://twitter.com/#!/search/%23stoutday
For what it is worth, I added Stouticus American Stout to Untappd. I think that if you check-in today (November 3rd, 2011), you can earn your Stout Day badge. I'm not actually sure, and most of you don't have the opportunity to try it, but here it is: http://untappd.com/beer/94623
Happy #StoutDay everybody (except my sister).
I've got a few imperial stouts that I'm cellaring for a while but plan to pull out an old bottle of Bristol Brewing's XXX Winter Warlock. It was brewed on 2003 and aged for 3 years before they released it in 2006. Now 8 years old. I'm hoping this 18.7% ABV bad boy still tastes good. I've waited on this brew a bit long I think. I picked up that bottle in 2009 and figure #StoutDay was a good a time as any to open it up.
ReplyDeleteI figure a stout would be a good choice for my next homebrew. I'll have to scan your homebrew site to see what you've done in the past.
Thanks for the comment, Dave.
ReplyDeleteYep, #StoutDay is a great excuse to break that out. What sized bottle is that 18.7% ABV? I think that is higher in alcohol than any beer I've ever had.
The only all-grain stout that I've done is Stouticus. I did an extract Imperial Stout that I called Tweedle Beetle Imperial Stout.
Come to think of it, I still have some of the TB's buried in one of my beer fridges. I might have to break that out as well. It is only around 8.5% ABV, so it won't mess me up like what you're having tonight.
ESheppy. You keep mentioning your reward to coworkers for donating...have you come up with a suitable 6-pack reward for me?
ReplyDeleteAnd *now* I'm offended that you're trying to exclude me from your beer holiday. Humph.
I have what I think is a suitable 6-pack reward for you, Mrs. Bluefield. I'll bring it on Thanksgiving and you can tell me if you think it is suitable.
ReplyDeleteThe bottle of XXX Warlock is a 12oz bottle. It packed the equivalent of 3 to 4 beers in that small package. It ended up being drinkable, more sweet than I expected (hop profile drops over the years) and still dang powerful.
ReplyDelete