Sunday Night Suds - Saranac Irish Stout

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Saranac's newest beer (offered in six packs or in the What Ales You Winter Box 2010) - Saranac Irish Stout.

The Saranac website identifies the Irish Stout as a dry stout. As explained by the experts at Beer Advocate, dry stouts:

tend to have light-ish bodies to keep them on the highly drinkable side. They're usually a lower carbonation brew and served on a nitro system for that creamy, masking effect. Bitterness comes from both roasted barley and a generous dose of hops, though the roasted character will be more noticeable. Examples of the style are, of course, the big three, Murphy's, Beamish, and Guinness, however there are many American brewed Dry Stouts that are comparable, if not better.

The Saranac Irish Stout has some similarities to the BA definition, albeit with some significant differences. Since Saranac does not utilize the nitro delivery system like the English imports, there is no artificial creaminess to the beer after it has been poured. There is some bitterness, almost as if this was a distant cousin of Guiness, but the strong coffee flavor is not present.

I would recommend this beer to those who are looking to try stouts, but are not yet ready for the true English stouts. This beer would go well with cholents, stews and char-grilled steaks. Although the brew is on the high end of the alcohol scale for dry stouts (it has a 5.5% abv) it is not significant enough to effect the flavor of the brew and will not clash with the meat.

Saranac Irish Stout is under the Kosher Supervision of the Va'ad of Detroit, as is every other brew produced by Saranac. To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about Saranac Irish Stout, please follow this link http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/99/55183.

As always, please remember to drink responsibly and to never waste good beer unless there is no designated driver.

If you've tried this beer or any others which have been reviewed on the kosher beers site, please feel free to post your comments (anonymous comments are acceptable).

Finally, if you have seen this post being carried on another site, please feel free to click here to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!