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Beer · Recipe
Dry Irish Stout Recipe: Brew Guinness-Style Beer at Home
| Pick | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Priming Sugar 5 oz, Two Packages | Priming sugar | Check price ↗ (paid link) |
| Whirlfloc Tablets, 10 Tablets | The Whirlfloc this recipe names | Check price ↗ (paid link) |
| CARGEN 14 inch Cotton Brew Bags for Grain and Dry Hopping, 15 Pack | Grain bag for the steep | Check price ↗ (paid link) |
| Northern Brewer Copperhead Copper Immersion Wort Chiller | Cool it fast | Check price ↗ (paid link) |
| Brewing Hydrometer Alcohol Tester Kit: USA-Made Beer & Wine American-Made Specific Gravity ABV Test Pro Series Traceable & Borosilicate Glass Test Tube Jar & Brush | Know when it is finished | Check price ↗ (paid link) |
| Kegco Elite Series Dual Gauge Nitrogen Draft Beer Regulator | What the nitrogen route actually needs | Check price ↗ (paid link) |
| 5 Gallon Home Brew Keg - New Ball Lock - Stainless Steel | The keg | Check price ↗ (paid link) |
| Craft A Brew Bone Dry Irish Stout Recipe Kit Refill, 1 Gallon | Or buy the recipe rather than the parts | Check price ↗ (paid link) |
| Irish Stout Ale Home Brew Beer Recipe Ingredient Kit, 5 Gallon | The full-size ingredient kit | Check price ↗ (paid link) |
Prices come from Amazon and refresh nightly. A pick shows “Check price” when we do not have a current figure for it.
About Dry Irish Stout
Dry Irish stout is the most famous beer style from Ireland, epitomized by Guinness. Despite appearing heavy and filling, it’s actually a light-bodied, highly drinkable beer at 4-5% ABV. The dry finish, roasted barley character, and creamy nitrogen head define this classic style.
Recipe Overview
Batch Size: 5 gallons
ABV: 4.2%
IBU: 40
Color: Black (40 SRM)
Method: Extract with specialty grains
Ingredients
Fermentables
- 6 lbs Light Dry Malt Extract
- 1 lb Roasted Barley (unmalted)
- 0.5 lb Flaked Barley (for head retention)
- 0.5 lb Crystal 80L
Hops
- 1.5 oz East Kent Goldings (5% AA) – 60 minutes
Yeast
- Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale or White Labs WLP004 Irish Ale
- Or Safale S-04 (dry yeast)
Other
- 5 oz corn sugar (priming)
- 1 Whirlfloc tablet (15 min)
Priming sugar
Priming Sugar 5 oz, Two Packages
Exactly the 5 oz this recipe calls for, already weighed. Note that a stout primed to bottle-carbonation levels will not have the nitrogen pour described in the intro.
The Whirlfloc this recipe names
Whirlfloc Tablets, 10 Tablets
Ten tablets is twenty batches at the usual half-tablet dose. Added with 15 minutes left, as the boil step below specifies.
Brew Day Process
Steep Grains
Crush roasted barley, flaked barley, and crystal malt. Steep in 2.5 gallons water at 155°F for 30 minutes. Remove grain bag and let drain.
Grain bag for the steep
CARGEN 14 inch Cotton Brew Bags for Grain and Dry Hopping, 15 Pack
Two pounds of dark grain in a bag rather than loose in the kettle, so the steep comes out cleanly and the roasted barley husk stays out of the boil.
Boil
Bring to boil, add DME, return to boil. Add East Kent Goldings hops. Boil 60 minutes. Add Whirlfloc at 15 minutes remaining.
Cool and Ferment
Cool to 68°F, transfer to fermenter, top to 5 gallons. Pitch yeast. Ferment at 65-68°F for 10-14 days.
Cool it fast
Northern Brewer Copperhead Copper Immersion Wort Chiller
Copper conducts heat faster than stainless, so the same coil length reaches pitching temperature sooner. Speed matters here: the gap between flameout and a pitched yeast is the most vulnerable window of the whole brew day.
Know when it is finished
Brewing Hydrometer Alcohol Tester Kit: USA-Made Beer & Wine American-Made Specific Gravity ABV Test Pro Series Traceable & Borosilicate Glass Test Tube Jar & Brush
The previous pick here was discontinued, and this is the closest current listing in the same class at a comparable price. It fills the same slot: Know when it is finished. We have not tested it, and the specifics below come from the listing rather than from us.
Bottle or Keg
For authentic Guinness experience, consider kegging with nitrogen/CO2 mix. For bottles, prime normally with corn sugar.
What the nitrogen route actually needs
Kegco Elite Series Dual Gauge Nitrogen Draft Beer Regulator
Why it fits
Beer gas is a nitrogen-carbon dioxide blend served at far higher pressure than straight CO2, and it needs a regulator built for nitrogen fittings and that pressure range rather than a CO2 regulator with a different gas behind it. This is the part of the creamy-head setup people most often try to skip.
Limitations
A nitrogen regulator alone does not give you the pour. You also need a keg, a beer-gas cylinder from a gas supplier, and a restrictor-plate stout faucet, which Amazon does not reliably stock. Budget for sourcing those separately.
The keg
5 Gallon Home Brew Keg – New Ball Lock – Stainless Steel
One 5 gallon Cornelius keg takes exactly this batch. Ball lock is the homebrew standard that every disconnect and fitting is made for.
Or buy the recipe rather than the parts
Craft A Brew Bone Dry Irish Stout Recipe Kit Refill, 1 Gallon
A one-gallon version of this style with the grain, hops and yeast already matched. Useful for testing the style at a fifth of the commitment before scaling the 5 gallon recipe above.
The full-size ingredient kit
Irish Stout Ale Home Brew Beer Recipe Ingredient Kit, 5 Gallon
The same batch size as this recipe, with the grain bill and hops pre-assembled. Worth comparing against sourcing the fermentables list above yourself.
Tasting Notes
Expect roasted coffee and chocolate notes, creamy mouthfeel despite light body, subtle hop bitterness, and a dry finish that invites another sip.
Shop this recipe
Brewing Hydrometer Alcohol Tester Kit: USA-Made Beer & Wine American-Made Specific Gravity…
