13A - Dry Stout

Stouts in general, and dry stout in particular, has been defined by a single brewery, Guinness. The history of stouts began with the history of porters. For an in depth look at the early history of porter, check out this page on the porter style.

Stouts were once known as "stout porters". As the turn of the 19th century arrived, the porter and stout styles were in decline, except in Ireland and a few other places in Great Britain. Ireland continued producing stout porters until the style was simply known as stout. Around 1820 Guinness began brewing his stout porter to capitalize on the popularity of the style in Ireland. The stout produced back then was much different than today. When they originally called the beer "stout porter", it was called stout for a reason. The OG of the stouts at the time were in the 1.070-1.090 range. Today, the dry stout is not really "stout" at all, in fact, many standard porters have more alcohol than the typical dry stout. Hop rates were much higher as well, approaching 90 IBUs in some cases. Today, the definitive dry Irish stout, Guinness Extra Stout, is actually the lightest stout as far as alcohol which runs around 3.9% ABV and the bottled version comes in at around 6% ABV with the bittering IBUs in the 30-45 range.

English pale malt makes up most of the grain bill at 60-70%. For some commercial breweries, roasted barley is the only specialty malt used. This is not a general rule however as many will add flaked barley for body and head retention and sometimes carapils for extract brewers. Some add a small percentage of oatmeal or wheat (at around 6%) to enhance the body and mouthfeel. Other popular specialty grains include chocolate malts and black malts, but these are used in a very small amounts and primarily to add complexity to the beer. The hopping profile comes mostly from English hops such as East Kent Goldings or Fuggles, but may include Challenger, Northdown or Target. An Irish ale yeast is the traditional choice for a dry stout, although other yeasts are used to get full attenuation and the dry character typical of the style.

Important factors to remember when brewing a dry stout are keeping the roast flavors within a narrow range which is acceptable for the style, getting good attenuation to achieve the dryness needed, and keeping the dark roasted grains from making an overly acidic beer. To accentuate the dry character in a dry stout, don't include any caramel malt in the grain bill which can give sweet caramel flavors and negatively impact the dryness. It is traditional and almost essential to add some roasted barley to the recipe for that distinctive "dry stout" character. Many use flaked barley for body and mouthfeel as well, since the beer is generally very low in alcohol. As mentioned above, an Irish ale yeast will add the correct ester profile for this beer. But since this yeast doesn't generally attenuate well, make sure you add enough healthy yeast and use a fermentation profile that ramps up the temperatures towards the end of fermentation to reduce diacetyl levels and insure proper attenuation. You can sometimes get away with a more neutral yeast, such as an American Ale yeast, to insure proper attenuation and the dry finish.

• Aroma: You should notice lots of coffee and roasted barley and roasted malt aromas in a dry stout. There may be some slight chocolate, cocoa and/or grainy secondary notes as well. Esters should be medium-low to none with no diacetyl aromas present. Hop aroma should be low to none.
• Appearance: Jet black to deep brown with garnet highlights. It can be opaque (if not, it should be clear). A thick, creamy, long-lasting, tan- to brown-colored head is characteristic.
• Flavor: Dry stouts have a moderate roasted, grainy sharpness, optionally with light to moderate acidic sourness, and medium to high hop bitterness. A dry, coffee-like finish from roasted grains should be evident. May have a bittersweet or unsweetened chocolate character on the palate, lasting into the finish. Balancing factors may include some creaminess, medium-low to no fruitiness, and medium to no hop flavor. No diacetyl.
• Mouthfeel: Dry stouts should have a medium-light to medium-full body, with a creamy character and low to moderate carbonation. For the high hop bitterness and significant proportion of dark grains present, this beer is remarkably smooth. The perception of body can be affected by the overall gravity with smaller beers being lighter in body. There may be a light astringency from the roasted grains, although harshness is undesirable.
• Overall Impression: A very dark, roasty, bitter, creamy ale.
• Comments: This is the draught version of what is otherwise known as Irish stout or Irish dry stout. Bottled versions are typically brewed from a significantly higher OG and may be designated as foreign extra stouts (if sufficiently strong). While most commercial versions rely primarily on roasted barley as the dark grain, others use chocolate malt, black malt or combinations of the three. The level of bitterness is somewhat variable, as is the roasted character and the dryness of the finish; allow for interpretation by brewers.
• Ingredients: The dryness comes from the use of roasted unmalted barley in addition to pale malt, moderate to high hop bitterness, and good attenuation. Flaked unmalted barley may also be used to add creaminess. A small percentage (perhaps 3%) of soured beer is sometimes added for complexity (generally by Guinness only). Water typically has moderate carbonate hardness, although high levels will not give the classic dry finish.
• Vital Statistics: OG: 1.036 – 1.050 FG: 1.007 – 1.011 IBUs: 30 – 45 SRM: 25 – 40 ABV: 4 – 5%.

• Commercial Examples: Guinness Draught Stout (also canned), Murphy's Stout, Beamish Stout, O’Hara’s Celtic Stout, Russian River O.V.L. Stout, Three Floyd’s Black Sun Stout, Dorothy Goodbody’s Wholesome Stout, Orkney Dragonhead Stout, Old Dominion Stout, Goose Island Dublin Stout, Brooklyn Dry Stout.

References: Information for this page was adapted in part from the Wikipedia article entitled Stout (beer), Brewing Classic Styles 80 Winning Recipes Anyone Can Brew, written by Jamil Zainasheff and John J. Palmer, and the 2008 BJCP Style Guidelines.

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