It’s St Patrick’s Day, and across the world vast quantities of Guinness are being put away (stocks permitting), but this weekend I plumped for a local option.
Last week, Verdant Brewing Co announced the release of Sail We Must, a nitro dry Irish stout, coming in at 4.2% ABV.
I settled down in the front of the Hub bar, in St Ives, on sunny Saturday, to enjoy a pint. And, as one might expect, it was pretty good.
Now, it might well have been the first pour of the day, and the lad serving it was a bit hesitant with it, but it didn’t have the full creamy head one might have expected. I’ve seen other folks’ photos on Untappd which more resembled what I expected.
The taste, however, was great. I found it fruitier than Guinness, in the sense of dark dried fruit, such as prunes, with some date sweetness, too. Slightly nutty roast malts, some cocoa coming through, and notes of espresso coffee. And the dryness was spot on.
Reminded me a bit more of St Austell’s Mena Dhu stout more than Guinness, a beer we used to sell a lot of when The Star was open. Had an MD in the Pierhouse, Charlestown, towards the end of last year and it was as good as ever. One to try, nitro stout fans.
