In honor of Saint Patrick’s day, I wanted to do a review of an Irish style beer that wasn’t Guinness, so I settled on Moylan’s Dragoons Dry Irish Stout.
For most people the words Irish and stout immediately connect with Guinness. For the most part, Guinness is a very good example of the style: dark colored, light bodied, low carbonation, white head, coffee notes and a slightly bitter flavor. Most of these characteristics come from using roasted, unmalted barley, which the Irish originally did to dodge British taxes on malted barley.
Moylan’s Brewery, in Navato, CA (just North of San Francisco), primarily focuses on Irish and Scottish brews (and a few California styles as well). You can usually find a few of their offerings around town year round. I got my 22oz bottle of Dragoons at the 8th Street Bottle Shop, in Downtown LA, for $8.
The pour is very black with nice amount of fluffy head and a moderate amount of lace. The aroma is malty with a hint of coffee, leather, and sweetness. It’s fairly light on the mouthful, as the style should be, with a creamy texture. There is an initial sweetness that moves to a deep malt flavor that has notes of vanilla and coffee and finishes with a slightly bitter chocolatey note. There is a lingering bitter flavor on the aftertaste that lasts just long enough to be enjoyable. Coming in at only 5.0%, this is a very drinkable bottle.
This was a very enjoyable beer to drink and brings all the great malty flavors a stout should have without the heaviness of some other styles. I would definitely pickup another one of these, even if it’s not a certain Irish Holiday.
| Name | Dragoons Dry Irish Stout |
| Brewery | Moylan’s Brewery |
| Style | Irish Stout |
| ABV | 5.0% |
| Availability | Year round bottle and draft |
| Rating | 4 out of 5 |
Cheers
Beer Guy LA
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