The Dark Night | Dry Stout by Two Roots Brewing Co
Dark chocolate in a glass
My favorite places to drink stout include my sofa for conversation after dinner or outside around a campfire. I used to think that stouts were winter beers. Not anymore. Now I happily enjoy them in the evening during any season.
This Experimental 1351 NA is front-loaded with dark chocolate flavors funneling into a moderately bitter malty finish. Despite the strong flavors this beer drinks lightly. It competes nicely with its alcoholic cousins.
According to BrewWiki (yes, that is a thing!) “Dry Stout also called Irish Stout is a relatively light bodied, bitter stout whose coffee-like dry flavor comes from using dark roasted malts.” Though in the case of Two Roots Brewing Co’s Dry Stout, chocolate is the dominant flavor.
It pours a deep dark color — black as a starless night — with a rich foamy head. The cocoa nibs come through in smell and taste.
This is the kind of beer where you’ll likely enjoy just one. Or you might choose to share one with your partner or a friend. That’s because this brew has such rich, intense flavors that you don’t need to drink very much of it to feel satisfied.
I was also a tad bit worried that having more than one glass might keep me from falling asleep, as cocoa nibs do contain some caffeine, though apparently far less than coffee beans. Instead, cocoa contains a higher percentage of theobromine which has similar mood-enhancing and alertness-increasing properties as caffeine, but with fewer side effects.
And just in case you’re as confused as I was, theo-bromine does not refer to the bromine (= chlorine alternative used in spas) of the gods (theos). Instead broma is Greek for food. And for this chemical compound in chocolate to be called the "food of the gods" makes much more sense. [Spa bromine derives from bromes or bromus which means ‘stench’.]
Unfortunately the Experimental 1351 NA is currently listed as sold out, though I wonder if that means that it hasn’t yet been officially released to the public. If you’re curious to try it, you can ask Two Roots to notify you when it becomes available at this link.
Full disclosure: Two Roots Brewing Co. sent me a free sampler 6-pack of various brews to try. Thank you for supporting Buzz Free Brews!