AG #4 - Session Stout, first impressions

This recipe was based on my Standard Stout, however even though I was very happy with that beer (very happy!), I decided to tweak the recipe a bit. This tweaking involved upping the roasted flavour, along with the bitterness, while also changing the yeast.

One problem that I encountered during the brew day was that I missed my volume by quite a bit, this had the result of giving me a beer that was concentrated into 21 litres, but the ingredients were formulated based on a volume of 26 litres. The result of this was to make my "tweaks", major changes! This is apparent in the final brew.

The beer pours a lovely jet black with a thick creamy tan head. The first thing that hits you from the aroma of this beer is the roasted barley, this dominates the smell. This is a full bodied beer with a low level of carbonation, the mouthfeel is very nice with a big deep level of bitterness at the end. I think the yeast certinaly makes a difference in this beer, the Irish Ale II yeast that I used in the original recipe gives a lot smoother taste and also gives a hint of sweetness, whereas I find the Danstar Nottingham yeast used in this version to be quite harsh.

Overall this is a very nice beer, however it just was not what I was looking for from this brew. The roasted taste and bitterness are too strong, also at 5% ABV it is a whole 1% above what I was aiming for. I am hoping that these flavours will mellow and balance over time, in the meantime it is still a beer that I will enjoy. However when brewing my next stout I will revert to the original recipe.