Irish Origin
CATEGORY 16: CLASSIC IRISH-STYLE DRY STOUT
Dry Stouts have an initial malt and caramel flavor profile with a distinctive dry-roasted bitterness in the finish. Dry Stouts achieve a dry-roasted character from the use of roasted barley. Some slight acidity may be perceived but is not necessary. Hop aroma and flavor should not be perceived. It has a medium body. Fruity esters are minimal and are overshadowed by malt, hop bitterness and roasted-barley character. Diacetyl (butterscotch) should be very low or not perceived. Head retention and rich character should be part of its visual character.
| Original Gravity (°Plato): | 1.038-1.048 (9.5-12 °Plato) |
| Apparent Extract-Final Gravity (°Plato): | 1.008-1.014 (2-3.5 °Plato) |
| Alcohol by weight (volume): | 3.2-4.2% (3.8-5%) |
| Bitterness (IBU): | 30-40 |
| Color (SRM): | 40+ (150+ EBC) |
Gold Cup Winner
Founders Stout
Mishawaka Brewing Company
3703 North Main Street
Mishawaka, Indiana, USA 46545
Brewmasters: Tom and Rick Schmidt
Established 1992
Production: 1,300 bbl. (1,500 hl.)
Asked about the brewery’s great moment, Tom Schmidt replies, “Any day has its ‘great moments’ if one is to sit down to a slab of our ‘Oh Baby! Oh Baby Back Ribs’ and a pint of any of our beers.” Great moments seem to be what it’s
Tom Schmidt and Rick Schmidt, Brewmasters
all about at the Mishawaka Brewing Company in the fabled football area of South Bend, Indiana. On June 14, 1996, the brewpub received a postcard from regular patrons Jim and Sharon Turley. The card, written as they drank a luscious glass of Guinness in a small pub in Ireland, noted, “We both agree that as good as the Guinness is here on the ‘old sod,’ we still like your Founders Stout better!” The next day the brewery learned their Founders Stout had won the Gold Cup at the World Beer Cup.
Fascinated by the enthusiasm and stories of success they heard from attendees at the first National Microbrewers Conference in 1986 (now called the National Craft Brewers Conference and Trade Show), Tom Schmidt and Jim Foster began their journey to brewpub reality. Years of research, brewery visits, legal maneuvering and careful planning culminated in the 1992 brewery and brewpub opening. The city of Mishawaka had its first brewery. The 9,000-square-foot building, formerly housing a fitness center, became a “fitness” center of another sort with a 330-seat restaurant and outdoor beer garden.
The brewery routinely uses three strains of yeast for its ales, lagers and wheat beers. Interestingly, the brewery has discovered that its patrons prefer a degree of diacetyl (a butterscotch character); consequently, it pays careful attention to the temperature during fermentation to achieve the desired character in many of the brews.
One of the problems you’ll find upon a visit to the brewpub is having to choose from the tremendous variety of beers on tap. Four Horseman Ale, Lake Effect Pale Ale, INDIAna Pale Ale, Silver Hawks Pilsner, Ankenbrock Weizen, Raspberry Wheat and Gold Cup winner Founders Stout are almost always available year-round. Specialty beers are brewed, such as Grumpy’s Oatmeal Stout, Hop Head Ale, kNUTe Brown Ale, Oktoberfest Beer, Resolution (barley wine) Ale, Cherry Wheat, Dominator Doppelbock and Jac ‘O’ Lager Pumpkin Beer.
This introduction wouldn’t be complete without mention of their homebrew connection. With extensive backgrounds in manufacturing, science, sales and marketing, Foster and Schmidt already had some beery ideas percolating by early 1987. Tom Schmidt constructed a pilot-scale brewery for his own self-taught home course in the art and science of brewing. It’s paid off with great beer and international recognition, both at the World Beer Cup and the Great American Beer Festival.
CHARACTER DESCRIPTION OF GOLD CUP-WINNING FOUNDERS STOUT
Simply rich, seductive and exotically black. There is nothing transparent about this brew. Though the label claims this beer is made according to the Reinheitsgebot, fortunately it is not. The rich nonmalted roasted barley is a preciously important ingredient in this brew and is actually not allowed according to the German purity law, which states that beer can only be made with malt, water, hops and modern-day yeast. The aroma expresses a wonderful underlying complex alelike fruitiness, a caramel-toffeelike richness and a chocolate-cocoa character that is evident but subtle. And ah, yes, the wonderful expression of roasted barley proliferates. Overall a clean, sweet aroma with suggestions of dark caramel malt (expressed as a light sweetness). Smooth and velvetlike flavor indicating a cocoa character, with the first impression a brief burst of roasted malt and sweetness followed by a smooth transition to hop bitterness. A relatively light body creates the impression of a wonderfully refreshing beer, contrary to its rich and seductive appearance. While not Guinness (which wasn’t entered into this competition), this beer has more character than Guinness in its flavor profile. Surprisingly, the aftertaste is not bitter but relatively clean and neutral, with just enough roast-malt, roast-barley and hop bitterness left to complement the overall impression. There is a notable alcoholic tingle in the aftertaste. It’s a stout that is so complex it leaves you wondering about your overall impression; a seductive coffeelike bitterness lingers. It is extremely well balanced. No hop aroma or flavor.
Goldings would be a good choice of hops. Even American Goldings would work as the character of English Goldings would be lost. The brewery’s recipe dry-hops this stout, yet it is so well integrated it is lost in the overall complexity.
• Recipe for 5 U.S. gallons (19 liters) Founders Stout
Targets:
Original Gravity: 1.052 (13)
Final Gravity: 1.016 (4)
Alcohol by volume: 4.6%
Color: 56 Black SRM (122 EBC)
Bittering Units: 37
ALL-GRAIN RECIPE AND PROCEDURE
| 7 lbs. | (3.2 kg.) | American 2-row pale malt |
| 11/2 lbs. | (0.68 kg.) | American caramel malt—20 Lovibond |
| 1/2 lb. | (0.23 kg.) | American chocolate malt |
| 1/2 lb. | (0.23 kg.) | American roasted barley |
| 1/2 lb. | (0.23 kg.) | American stout roast |
| 1/4 lb. | (114 g.) | American black malt |
| 101/4 lbs. | (4.7 kg.) | Total grains |
| 3.5 | HBU | (99 MBU) American Perle hops (pellets)—90 minutes (bittering) |
| 3.5 | HBU | (99 MBU) American Willamette hops (pellets)—90 minutes (bittering) |
| 2.5 | HBU | (71 MBU) English Kent Goldings hops (pellets)—15 minutes (flavor) |
| 1/4 | oz. | (7 g.) American Mt. Hood hops (pellets)—dry-hop for 2 weeks (aroma) |
| 1/4 | tsp. | Irish moss |
| 3/4 | c. | corn sugar for priming in bottles. Use 1/3 cup corn sugar if priming a keg. |
Wyeast 1335 British Ale yeast or Wyeast 1098 British Ale yeast suggested.
A single-step infusion mash is employed to mash the grains. Add 10 quarts (9.5 l.) of 170-degree F (77 C) water to the crushed grain, stir, stabilize and hold the temperature at 153 degrees F (67.5 C) for 60 minutes.
After conversion, raise temperature to 167 degrees F (75 C), lauter and sparge with 5 gallons (15 l.) of 170-degree F (77 C) water. Collect about 6 gallons (23 l.) of runoff, add bittering hops and bring to a full and vigorous boil.
The total boil time will be 90 minutes. When 15 minutes remain, add flavor hops and Irish moss. After a total wort boil of 90 minutes (reducing the wort volume to just over 5 gallons), turn off the heat, then separate or strain out and sparge hops. Chill the wort to 65 to 70 degrees F (18-21 C) and direct into a sanitized fermenter. Aerate the cooled wort well. Add an active yeast culture and ferment for 4 to 6 days in the primary. Then transfer into a secondary fermenter and add aroma-dry hops. Allow to age for two weeks or more.
When secondary aging is complete, prime with sugar, bottle or keg. Let condition at temperatures above 60 degrees F (15.5 C) until clear and carbonated.
MALT-EXTRACT RECIPE AND PROCEDURE FOR FOUNDERS STOUT
| 43/4 lbs. | (2.2 kg.) | English dark dried malt extract |
| 1 1/2 lbs. | (0.68 kg.) | American caramel malt—20 Lovibond |
| 1/2 lb. | (0.23 kg.) | American chocolate malt |
| 1/4 lb. | (114 g.) | American roasted barley |
| 1/2 lb. | (0.23 kg.) | American stout roast |
| 23/4 lbs. | (1.2 kg.) | Total grains |
| 5.5 | HBU | (156 MBU) American Perle hops (pellets)—60 minutes (bittering) |
| 4 | HBU | (113 MBU) American Willamette hops (pellets)—60 minutes (bittering) |
| 2.5 | HBU | (71 MBU) English Kent Goldings hops (pellets)—15 minutes (flavor) |
| 1/4 | oz. | (7 g.) American Mt. Hood hops (pellets)—dry-hop for 2 weeks (aroma) |
| 1/4 | tsp. | Irish moss |
| 3/4 | c. | corn sugar for priming in bottles. Use 1/3 cup corn sugar if priming a keg. |
Wyeast 1335 British Ale yeast or Wyeast 1098 British Ale yeast suggested.
Steep crushed specialty grains in 1 ½ gallons (5.7 l.) water at 150 degrees F (65.5 C) for 30 minutes. Strain and sparge with enough 170-degree F (76.5 C) water to finish with 2½ gallons (9.5 l.) specialty grain liquor. Add the dried malt extract and bittering hops and bring to a full and vigorous boil.
The total boil time will be 60 minutes. When 15 minutes remain, add flavor hops and Irish moss. After a total wort boil of 60 minutes, turn off the heat, separate or strain out and sparge hops, and direct the hot wort into a sanitized fermenter to which 2 gallons (7.6 l.) of cold water have been added. If necessary, add additional cold water to achieve a 5-gallon (19-l.) batch size. Chill the wort to 70 degrees F (21 C). Aerate the cooled wort well. Add an active yeast culture and ferment for 4 to 6 days in the primary. Then transfer into a secondary fermenter and add aroma-dry hops. Allow to age for two weeks or more.
When secondary aging is complete, prime with sugar, bottle or keg. Let condition at temperatures above 60 degrees F (15.5 C) until clear and carbonated.
Silver Cup Winner
Neptune Black Sea Stout
Neptune Brewery Co.
New York, New York, USA
Dark as a stout should be. Roast-coffee character evolves in the aroma without any hop character, as it should for style. Sweet caramel is evident but not overdone; in fact, its suggestive presence serves only to balance the robust roast-barley and roast-malt character. Impressively light-to medium-bodied stout with good clean malt notes balanced by the sharp bite of hop bitterness and the astringent character of roast barley. A slight cocoa flavor dwells playfully in the background, but it is the roast barley-coffee character that impresses most. Floral hop flavor comes through after the initial pleasantries of malt assault. Dry, bitter aftertaste is like a good clean cup of black coffee, but with the additional pleasant complexity of floral hop flavor, it’s more than any cup of java will ever be.
Estimated profile based on tasting Color: 30+ SRM (60+ EBC) Bittering Units: 37-41
Bronze Cup Winner
Seminole Stout
Buckhead Brewery and Grill
Tallahassee, Florida, USA
Deeply dark and opaque stout. Very clean aroma with appropriate absence of hop character. Foundation for aroma is an earthy, subtle roasted-barley character. Slightly smoky and coffeelike, but not overstated. Intriguing foundation. Mouth feel is medium-bodied (almost full-bodied) with a flavor based on roasted barley and caramel malt. Some bitterness, certainly attributable to the roasted malts and barley. Hop bitterness is clean and definitive, being neither gentle nor soft, but rather punctual. Aftertaste is slightly reminiscent of caramel malt, but roasted and hop bitterness carry the day. Quite a refreshing stout with clean attributes that serve to help define and represent this style well. Malt, roasted barley and hops say it all.
Brewery formulation uses American dark crystal, chocolate, black, Munich and wheat malts, roasted barley and oats. Northern Brewer and Willamette hops are used for bitterness and flavor.
Estimated profile based on tasting
Color: 30+ SRM (60+ EBC)
Bittering Units: 36-40
CATEGORY 17: FOREIGN-STYLE STOUT
As with Classic Dry Stouts, Foreign-Style Stouts have an initial malt sweetness and caramel flavor with a distinctive dry-roasted bitterness in the finish. Some slight acidity is permissible and a medium-to full-bodied mouth feel is appropriate. Hop aroma and flavor should not be perceived. The perception of fruity esters is low. Diacetyl (butterscotch) should be negligible or not perceived. Head retention is excellent.
| Original Gravity (°Plato): | 1.052-1.072 (13-18 °Plato) |
| Apparent Extract-Final Gravity (°Plato): | 1.008-1.020 (2-5 °Plato) |
| Alcohol by weight (volume): | 4.8-6% (6-7.5%) |
| Bitterness (IBU): | 30-60 |
| Color (SRM): | 40+ (150+ EBC) |
Gold Cup Winner
San Quentin’s Breakout Stout
Marin Brewing Company
1809 Larkspur Landing Circle
Larkspur, California, USA 94939
Brewmasters: Brendan J. Moylan and Arne Johnson
Established 1989
Production: 2,700 bbl. (3,200 hl.)
San Quentin also won the Strong Ale Category. Refer to that category for a description of the brewery.
CHARACTER DESCRIPTION OF GOLD CUP–WINNING SAN QUENTIN’BREAKOUT STOUT
With an erotic glimmer, a faint red hue barely pierces through this black pearl, covered with a clean white head of foam. Chocolate and roast malt blast out in the aroma. Fruity esters are subliminally low with a suggestion of caramel. Hop aroma is not evident. With a first taste one is met with the impression of a medium sweet and medium-bodied stout extraordinarily balanced with hop bitterness. Finely tuned and artfully brewed. The roast-malt character does not contribute to any astringent bitterness or mouth feel. A second and third mouthful still portends a medium-bodied beer, but with great attenuation. Malt sweetness feels like it is a result of high mashing temperatures rather than a lot of caramel. The sweet and bitter balance so important in a stout is dead center with a slight bitter hop aftertaste. Hops do not portray flavor, only a soft, clean bitterness. Generally aftertaste is mildly bitter with a roast-malt character after an initial hit of sweet and full malt sweetness. An ample brew for ample times. Quenching balance promotes drinkability.
• Recipe for 5 U.S. gallons (19 liters) San Quentin’s Breakout Stout
Targets:
Original Gravity: 1.065 (16)
Final Gravity: 1.020 (5)
Alcohol by volume: 5.8%
Color: 84 SRM (168 EBC)
Bittering Units: 28
ALL-GRAIN RECIPE AND PROCEDURE
| 101/4 lbs. | (4.7 kg.) | American 2-row Klages/Harrington pale malt |
| 1/2 lb. | (0.23 kg.) | English crystal malt—80 Lovibond |
| 1/2 lb. | (0.23 kg.) | flaked barley |
| 1 lb. | (0.45 kg.) | American roasted barley |
| 1/2 lb. | (0.23 kg.) | American black malt |
| 123/4 lbs. | (5.8 kg.) | Total grains |
| 4 | HBU | (113 MBU) American Chinook hops (whole)—105 minutes (bittering) |
| 3.2 | HBU | (91 MBU) English Northdown hops (whole)—105 minutes (bittering) |
| 1/4 | tsp. | Irish moss |
| 3/4 | c. | corn sugar for priming in bottles. Use 1/3 cup corn sugar if priming a keg. |
Wyeast 1968 London ESB Ale yeast
A single-step infusion mash is employed to mash the grains. Add 13 quarts (12 l.) of 175-degree F (80 C) water to the crushed grain, stir, stabilize and hold the temperature at 158 degrees F (70 C) for 60 minutes.
After conversion, raise temperature to 167 degrees F (75 C), lauter and sparge with 4.5 gallons (17 l.) of 170-degree F (77 C) water. Collect about 6 gallons (23 l.) of runoff, add bittering hops and bring to a full and vigorous boil.
The total boil time will be 105 minutes. When 10 minutes remain, add Irish moss. After a total wort boil of 105 minutes (reducing the wort volume to just over 5 gallons), turn off the heat. Then separate or strain out and sparge hops. Chill the wort to 65 to 70 degrees F (18-21 C) and direct into a sanitized fermenter. Aerate the cooled wort well. Add an active yeast culture and ferment for 4 to 6 days in the primary. Then transfer into a secondary fermenter and age for two to three weeks.
When secondary aging is complete, prime with sugar, bottle or keg. Let condition at temperatures above 60 degrees F (15.5 C) until clear and carbonated.
MASH-EXTRACT RECIPE AND PROCEDURE FOR SAN QUENTIN'S BREAKOUT STOUT
| 43/4 lbs. | (2.2 kg.) | English dark dried malt extract |
| 21/2 lbs. | (1.1 kg.) | American 2-row Klages/Harrington pale malt |
| 1/2 lb. | (0.23 kg.) | English crystal malt—80 Lovibond |
| 1/2 lb. | (0.23 kg.) | flaked barley |
| 1 lb. | (0.45 kg.) | American roasted barley |
| 1/2 lb. | (0.23. kg.) | American black malt |
| 5 lbs. | (2.3 kg.) | Total grains |
| 5 | HBU | (142 MBU) American Chinook hops (whole)—60 minutes (bittering) |
| 5 | HBU | (142 MBU) English Northdown hops (whole)—60 minutes (bittering) |
| 1/4 | tsp. | Irish moss |
| 3/4 | c. | corn sugar for priming in bottles. Use 1/3 cup corn sugar if priming a keg. |
A single-step infusion mash is employed to mash the grains. Add 5 quarts (4.8 l.) of 175-degree F (80 C) water to the crushed grain, stir, stabilize and hold the temperature at 158 degrees F (70 C) for 60 minutes.
After conversion, raise temperature to 167 degrees F (75 C), lauter and sparge with 2 gallons (7.6 l.) of 170-degree F (77 C) water. Add water if necessary to collect about 2.5 gallons (9.5 l.) of runoff. Add malt extract and bittering hops and bring to a full and vigorous boil.
The total boil time will be 60 minutes. When 10 minutes remain, add Irish moss. After a total wort boil of 60 minutes (reducing the wort volume to just over 5 gallons), turn off the heat. Then separate or strain out and sparge hops, and direct the hot wort into a sanitized fermenter to which 2 gallons (7.6 l.) of cold water have been added. If necessary, add additional cold water to achieve a 5-gallon (19-l.) batch size. Chill the wort to 65 to 70 degrees F (18-21 C). Aerate the cooled wort well. Add an active yeast culture and ferment for 4 to 6 days in the primary. Then transfer into a secondary fermenter and age for two to three weeks.
When secondary aging is complete, prime with sugar, bottle or keg. Let condition at temperatures above 60 degrees F (15.5 C) until clear and carbonated.
Silver Cup Winner
Cascade Special Stout
Cascade Brewery Co.
Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Rich, dark and alluring color with a suggestion of transparency. Rich roasted malt and unique fruity aroma suggest a dry character. Roast character is vaguely coffeelike with a light aromatic sweetness; not at all chocolatelike. First flavor impression is simply delicious, medium-bodied with an extraordinary clean finish. It has the complex nature of alelike fruitiness, but what really makes this stout distinctive is the toffeelike character of the roasted malt or barley. It is worthy for any brewer to experience and quenching to any stout enthusiast. Hop bitterness is evident, but roast barley/malt obviously contributes to the sensation of bitterness without astringency.
Estimated profile based on tasting
Color: 28+ SRM (56+ EBC)
Bittering Units: 30-36
Bronze Cup Winner
Echigo Stout
Uehara Shuzou, Echigo Beer
Nishikanbara-Gun, Japan
It’s a glass of nighttime, extraordinarily black. Wonderfully pleasant, complex fruitiness subtly reminiscent of wild cherries or plums. As the beer warms, the roast malts emerge through the fruitiness in a delicate way. Medium-to full-bodied beer. The intriguing foreplay of a woody, cedarlike smokiness accents the emerging roast-barley flavor. It intoxicates with a sense of anticipation. Finishes extraordinarily dry and clean. A subtle roast-burnt-malt bitterness is sensed in the aftertaste, but the overall sensation is of a slight hop bitterness without complicated interference from hop flavors and malts. This is a well-stated, simple stout with exotic overtures. The brewer has managed to combine simplicity with the poetry of malt and hops. An exceptional example of this style.
As the beer warms, malt and hops begin to emerge with greater impact, but remain well balanced, assuring one’s continued well-being.
Estimated profile based on tasting
Color: 50+ SRM (100+ EBC)
Bittering Units: 36-40