What is a stout?

A stout is a black beer. There are lots of variations and categories and styles and whatnot, but that is the essence of stout--dark. I decided to make this year's version of St. Patrick's Day Stout with some black malt and not much else. I skipped the roast barley. I didn't use chocolate malt. I stayed away from oats, too. I kept this one very simple. Took the first runnings and made one hop addition--that was it. The yield was five gallons at 1.048 (12ºP) and I pitched a sachet of Safale-05. It was a mild and mostly sunny day here in the State of Jefferson despite the calendar saying it is January.  I don't usually brew for Lá Fhéile Pádraig this early, but a little aging in the keg never hurt any beer, especially a stout. If you go to this website, it will tell you about different kinds of stout. If you go to Ireland and drink Guinness, Murphy's, and Beamish, you will find out about those kinds of stouts. Around here we get lovely beers like Obsidian Stout from Deschutes Brewery in Bend, Oregon, and Sierra Nevada Stout from Chico, California. Stout beer has many possibilities. I suggest that you brew up your own version, or at least encourage a homebrewing friend to brew one you'll like.

Non. Ian.