Irish Hello - Saint Arnold Review

Few things are more pleasant than a light and dry stout that can be shared all day and all night with friends and family. There’s something special about that roasted and smooth flavor in a lower ABV beer. It’s something that can be consumed all year and certainly in large quantities in the month of March.

But you don’t always have to go to Ireland to find such suds. Saint Arnold from down the road in Houston brings it to us in their year-round offering Irish Hello, a dry Irish stout coming in at 4.3% ABV and 26 IBU. Saint Arnold brews this beer starting with a malt bill of 2-row, pale chocolate, debittered black, and torrified wheat, and they add a little hop flavor with Perle hops. They say they used debittered black, a newer malt, because it highlights the roasted and chocolate flavors and cuts back on the astringency. And trust me, as someone who has brewed with black malt quite often, it can be astringent, so good call on Saint Arnold’s part.

This sounds like a great spring stout, so let’s see how it adds up in our first impressions.

First Impressions:

• On the Eyes--Deep and dark with a touch of amber shining through when held up to the light. And topped with a beige head.

• On the Nose--Roasted and light with a touch of chocolate and floral hoppiness. Stout without a doubt, so let’s drink it.

• On the Palate--Like the aroma, it’s lightly roasted and fudgey. There’s the softest note of hop flavor to add to the complexity and balance. Irish Hello is medium-bodied and malty as can be. Even with the roasted and chocolate flavors this dry stout has that distinct Saint Arnold taste. The wheat malt keeps it smooth and the chocolate becomes the prominent flavor the longer I drink. And as promised, the finish is pleasantly dry and encourages more drinking.

Food Pairings: Meat and potatoes, baby. Shepherd’s pie or a wonderful Irish beef stew.

Final Thoughts:

Irish Hello is sweet and light and fun to drink. It goes down smoothly and brings the classic stout flavor while maintaining a sessionable ABV, and the dry finish makes it all the smoother. I will admit that Irish Hello, like many sessionable stouts, does become a little one-note by the second or third beer, but it maintains its smoothness and remains sessionable, malty, and perfect for any time of year.

Cheers!

Mr. Brew