Hey all-
I wanted to hear from you all on this:
Was thinking of brewing NBs Dry Irish Stout for my dad for the holiday’s. Has anyone ever brewed this extract recipe, and if so, did you enjoy it? My dad is really into stouts at the moment and wanted something similar to Guinness. Any other ideas?
Thanks,
David
You could just try Jamil’s recipe with the new Marris Otter extract and roasted barley. Not sure you can use flaked with just steeping.
I converted Jamil’s Dry Stout to extract using BeerSmith
1lb of English Roasted Barley (use the darker barley 450SRM)
1lb Carapils
7lb Liquid Extract (I’d try the new Marris Otter)
2oz East Kent G0ldings 60’
Use WLP002 yeast.
OG: 1.046-48
It’s really hard to get the dark color of Guinness. You have to crush the barley in a coffee grinder and make sure to use 450 SRM. You will not have a very dark beer with the NB kit unless you demolish the barley.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the kit, but then again it was my first beer kit when i started brewing. I thought it was a bit plain, also I agree that the color was not as black as advertised. I really loved the Midnight Beatdown Wheaten Porter waaaayyy better…though yes it is a porter.
Thanks for the thoughts. I do own a coffee grinder and a spice grinder. Might just give it a shot and see. Looking for the flavor more so than the color.
A hop bomb of a porter! You could go with the St. Paul Porter and tell him it’s a stout. He won’t know the difference 
It’s good and dark and full of the roasty, toasty character.
A hop bomb of a porter! You could go with the St. Paul Porter and tell him it’s a stout. He won’t know the difference
It’s good and dark and full of the roasty, toasty character.[/quote]
Just so happens that I have that in the primary right now! I’m eager to try it.
I made the Dry Irish Stout kit last year, and side-by-side taste test with bottled Guinness it was nearly identical. (Everyone preferred the NB kit though.) Dead-easy kit too. I sort of think that Guinness tends to taste thin and watery, so a copy of it would be the same. I try to respect it as a style, just maybe not my favorite.
I just did the St. Paul Porter and so far it has been excellent. Lots of body, lots of flavor. It seems like it could compete with some of the benchmark straight-Porter styles out there (like Edmund Fitzgerald). To me SPP is much more exciting than the stout. But if you’re dead-set on Guinness the stout kit will give you that.
I made the dry Irish Stout kit twice and really liked it. Yeah, it might not be super crazy dark and the flavor isn’t particularly roasty or hoppy, but neither is Guinness and that isn’t a bad thing if it is what you like. If he is a fan of Guinness, I would say go for it!
I just recently made the St. Paul Porter also and definitely agree that it has more going on flavorwise, but I really don’t think you can go wrong with either. It sounds like you should probably get another fermentation bucket and make both!
Haha! Absolutely. I just don’t have enough bottles to do it. Trying to our together a kegging system. We shall see!
