Harry Allen's Irish Stout
Depoe Bay Brewing Co. / The Horn Public House

very well made and classic take on the style, a genre of beer i love but dont see all that much anymore, this has actual irish malt in it apparently which is a nice touch, and i think its quite well refined, perhaps the best of the beers i drink while we were here, fun little spot right in downtown depoe bay. some shine to this, black in color as it should be, not viscous, heady. the nose is great, fresh brewed drip coffee, dark roast, but low bitterness when i drink it, so its almost cozy even though its not sweet, maybe debittered malt or something, cold steeped, not sure the process, but this doesnt carry the bitter intensity that some of these do, yet its also not bogged down by richer malt, so its simple but its a little different too. the malt is earthy and distinctive, bready and baked and hearty but not heavy, dark chocolate, some amount of dark soil character, possible black tea, all subtle but i love the nuance, the grain is great. roasty but less bitter again in the flavor, smooth the whole way, airy feeling, lighter than it looks by a mile but not that low in alcohol as the style goes. this really fits the cool rainy weather they seem to always have here, a timeless and old worldy recipe, even without as much irish yeast character as some of these have, perhaps fermented a bit cooler, which is nice for drinkability. cool dark grain integration, tasty beer!