Slightly more sweet than expected, but a nice light and roasty stout. 3.5/5 stars.
Irish Stout is an interesting style. Done correctly, it retains most of the flavors of a stout while having a much lighter body and little of the residual sweetness of a typical English or American version. The light body and subtler flavors of this style lend themselves well to nitrogenation, which is why Guinness frequently serves their offering on nitro. The tiny bubbles give a soft, creamy texture to beer, and combined with a light-bodied dark beer it can give the impression of an iced latte. Yum!
Of course, an Irish Stout can be excellent without nitro too. I think that there is a danger of having it become too similar to a dark lager, though. Dark lagers have the roasty coffee/chocolate malt flavors typical of a stout, but with almost none of the body or sweetness that pumps up a stout. The key differentiation between a dry stout and a dark lager has to come from leaning into the ale characteristics. Ales have noticeable traits coming from the esters given off by the yeast. They can be fruity, warm, or several other complex flavors and aromas. Lager yeast, on the other hand, tends be selected for not imparting esters to the beer. Thus why lagers can have a very clean profile that focuses solely on the malt and hops in the brew. By making sure that a dry stout accentuates the ale ester qualities, leaning into the additional complexity that the ale brings to the party, it will never be confused for anything other than itself.
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A Beer a Day 