Here’s something original: a breakfast stout you could actually drink for breakfast. I’m talking about Long Ireland Breakfast Stout, a roasty coffeesih treat from the Long Ireland Brewing Company of Riverhead, Long Island New York. This beer is not sold in Georgia, but I got a bottle from our own Jimmy White when he made the trek from New York to Georgia recently.
Back to my original thought. Many of the so-called “Breakfast Stouts” on the market top out at a higher alcohol content than I’d want to even think about in the morning. In fact, I’m not a morning drinker at all, but if I was to drink a beer with the morning meal, I think I’d pass on Founders Breakfast Stout (8.3% ABV) or Dogfish Beer for Breakfast (7.4%). Much more moderate for morning imbibing would be Long Ireland Breakfast Stout at just 3.5% by volume, in the tradition of the low alcohol stouts of Ireland.
From the website:
A rich, black milk stout that is brewed with roasted barley, flaked oats and milk sugar. We then blend fresh-brewed premium coffee into the brew, producing a delicious balance of silky sweetness with roasted coffee undertones.
INGREDIENTS
Pale Malt
Roasted Barley
Flaked Oats
Milk Sugar
Hops: Willamette
Long Ireland Breakfast Stout has an alcohol content of 3.5 % by volume with 30 I.B.U.s. It is a year round offering.
Long Ireland Breakfast Stout pours to a jet-black color with a thick creamy tan head of foam and a firm coffeeish and slightly sour nose. Taking a sip, the beer is slightly thin in body but with a definite roastiness and solid coffee grind notes. I wouldn’t call this a rich milk stout, but it is a flavorful one and I LOVE that it is so low in alcohol. A breakfast beer you can drink at breakfast! Perhaps more coffeeish than beerish, but as Michael Jackson once said, a small beer, but a cherished one.
I give Long Ireland Breakfast Stout 3.5 stars overall but I’ll add a ½ star for the low ABV. American brewers seem so reluctant to brew sessionable, low-strength beers like them and I salute Long Ireland for bucking that trend.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft
(G)=Growler