A day drinking stout: Wild Heaven Smiling Eyes

Wild Heaven Smiling Eyes, a dry Irish stout debuts Friday at both brewery locations. 

This lower alcohol beer is brewed with black and chocolate malts, for a pronounced roasted flavor. 

The Irish Stout started in London over 300 years ago. Then, it was called a porter, not a stout. The base malt was a dry, acrid, low-grade brown malt that gave the beer a “smoaky tang” flavor. 

The London Porter style grew in popularity in Ireland for years, changing in 1817. That’s when a man named Daniel Wheeler invented a malt roaster that would make bitter, dark roasts without a weird “smoaky tang” as the flavor was previously described. From that roaster came “Black Patent” malt. Irish brewers adopted the darker malt, while English brewers continued with brown malt.

Black Patent malt is still widely used today. 

Three breweries – Beamish, Murphy’s and Guinness popularized the Irish Stout, with Guinness leading the trio in overall production.  For years leading up to the style, “stout” was an adjective, not really a style per say. Stouts basically meant “strong” to drinkers in British pubs in the 1700’s. 

In the instance of the Dry Irish Stout, the name is contradictory – as they weren’t strong at all, most hovering around 4% alcohol by volume.

Wild Heaven’s Smiling Eyes, (minus the black patent malt, yet still dry and roasty), is available starting March 10th in 16-ounce cans and draft. 

Style: Dry Irish Stout
Availability: 16oz Cans, Draft. Limited Release
Debut: 3/11/22

4% ABV

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