First taste of John Bull Irish Stout

A week last Friday, a week and a half after after bottling it, I decided to take my first taste of the John Bull Irish Stout.



It certainly looked the part, all be it without tremendous head retention. My primary concern was whether it had kept the deep, delicious coffee flavour I had so much enjoyed when I sampled some during bottling. Sadly, the answer to this was no, at least not with such depth. I would say there was a very subtle coffee undertone. That said, I certainly enjoyed my still very green pint of stout. It was very mild, most likely as a result of the extra water I added when I kicked off fermentation, but this made for a very relaxed and easy to drink stout. I rather suspect the flavours are going to grow and develop in the bottle, meaning that in a month or so, I will likely have a really enjoyable beverage - that is, if I can keep my hands off it that long :-)