What springs to mind if I say ‘dark Irish beer’? If you’re from Cork, it’ll be one of two local loves (team Murphy’s for a sweeter stout, team Beamish for bitter notes). If you’re from almost anywhere else, it could be a global brand that needs no naming, but whose dark malt aromas waft out over Dublin city from its James’s Gate hub like an invisible cloak of smells-like-home comfort. For fans of dark beers, however, the choice is far more varied than you might credit, and worth exploration.
It runs from deceptively light and sessionable black lagers to dark cherry sours to syrupy barrel-aged imperial stouts made for sipping. Imperial stout was brewed historically to withstand travelling to Russia’s 19th-century Imperial Court. Its high alcohol (up to 12pc ABV) acted as a preservative, as did a generous hand with the hops.
The style has made a comeback this century, with American brewers getting creative, often pushing the alcohol or hop levels even further, or layering the flavour intensity by barrel-ageing (BA) or with added ingredients like chocolate. Black lagers dial down on fruity complexity and hone in on the crisp, hoppy bitterness that make lagers so refreshing Black lagers dial down on fruity complexity and hone in on the crisp, hoppy bitterness that make lagers so refreshing. Lagers are brewed slowly with a special yeast evolved from a Patagonian strain that can withstand colder fermentation temperatures.
These conditions rein in those fruity esters.