In terms of beer styles, a ‘White Stout’ is as contradictory as a ‘Black IPA’. Having said that, there are a large number of Black IPAs on the market that I thoroughly enjoy. White Stouts? Not so much.
It wasn’t until a few months ago that I had ever heard of a white stout. I was visiting a friend in Sacramento and he took me to Track 7 Brewing Company.
“You have to try their Panic IPA”, he told me.
But as soon as I saw a ‘White Stout’ on their beer menu, I knew I had to try it. I had never seen or heard of a white stout before and was curious to see what it was all about.
Color
It poured clean and crisp looking, almost like a golden ale. The color alone leads you to expect something that the beer is not.
Smell
Upon smelling and tasting the beer, you are taken by surprise. The beer smells of roast and coffee with small hints of vanilla.
Taste
It tastes like chocolate and coffee and the subtle hints of vanilla still show through, though I’m not sure if the vanilla was in my head since the beer had such a light color.
Mouthfeel
The mouthfeel was a bit more light and crisp than I like in a stout, but maybe that’s what they were going for.
This was all the inspiration that I needed. After my first sip of this beer, I knew I wanted to make something similar. I looked at is as a challenge – How can I get all the flavors typical in a dark beers, roasted malts, chocolate, and coffee into a beer that pours golden?
We began formulating a recipe and asking anyone who had information about white or light beers with coffee and chocolate additions as too how to add the flavor without picking up any (or very much) color.
Stay tuned for the follow-up posts – Our Recipe and The Results
Image Credit
George B on Untappd
Drew on Untappd
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