The Beer Circle » Beer, Brew It Yourself, Stout » Guest Post: Three Headed Dog

Guest Post: Three Headed Dog

June 19th, 2013 | Add a Comment | Written by Margaret Weaver (Guest Author)

Editor’s Note: This is another of what we hope are many contributions from our readers. These guest posts come from our friends, followers, and fellow beer geeks who have something they want to share. If you’ve attended a great event, tasted a rare beer, want to give your favorite brewery some love, or share anything else beer related feel free to send us an email at thebeercircle@gmail.com and let us know! This post specifically is from Margaret Weaver, otherwise known as Kenton’s better half, whose interest in beer was born out of Kenton’s forays into homebrewing.

“Fluffy” (Harry Potter & The Sorcerer’s Stone)

After years of avoiding this whole craft beer craze, Kenton finally won me over. After seeing his attempts to brew some beer himself, I became interested in the process of how beer is made. Tours of the Yuengling plant and of Troegs further piqued my curiosity and thus, Three Headed Dog Stout was born. Yes, that is an ode to Harry Potter, I am a big fan and thought the name suited.

This past Valentine’s Day, Tröegs released a chocolate stout in their scratch series that turned out to be very popular, especially because of the location in Hershey, PA. Kenton and I were fans and decided that because it may not reappear at Tröegs, we should try to make a clone. Instead of Hershey’s chocolate, we used chocolate made by the Wilbur Chocolate Company, a Lititz, PA based company, only sold in Lancaster County. Their signature candy is a Wilbur Bud which is a larger and tastier version of a Hershey Kiss. Their chocolate is richer and better tasting than most gourmet chocolates and it makes any dessert even more delicious. It turns out that it makes a chocolate stout pretty tasty as well.

We used cocoa powder and milk chocolate chips in the recipe. The chips and cocoa powder went in during the boil. We used a chocolate extract that went in right before bottling. Next time, I think I will want to use dark chocolate chips because dark chocolate tends to be more flavorful and would really enhance the richness of the beer. All in all, it came out very well. At first, we were afraid that it wouldn’t be as strong but after sitting for two weeks in the bottles it worked itself out.

Three Headed Dog

Appearance
The coloring is of your typical stout and it has a nice amount of head. It’s slightly cloudy, but I attribute that to the brewing process.

Aroma
It smelled like chocolate but it wasn’t overpowering, but without tasting it, you can definitely tell it’s a chocolate stout. A coffee aroma is present but it doesn’t overshadow the chocolate.

Taste
Cocoa in the mid palate and the sweetness lingers for a short period of time, leaving you wanting more. I mentioned using dark chocolate because it would be more present in the taste since I couldn’t really taste the chocolate too much. It showed up in the mid-palate but, even there, it was a little weak.

Mouthfeel/Drinkability
It is a smooth beer but I kind of wish it were more defined since it still was a little watery. All and all, it’s drinkable and refreshing, which I prefer to the heaviness I’ve found in beers like your traditional milk stouts.

Overall
I’m really pleased at how this turned out. I was a little nervous when the batch didn’t garner a large ABV upon bottling, but it works. In hindsight, I think I would have chosen to use Troeg’s recipe and instead of the one we used. I rated this 4 caps based on the decent drinkability of the beer and on the fact that it was pretty close to a typical stout.

Beer Stats
Style: Sweet Stout
Serving: Bottle
Size: 12 oz.
ABV: 4.80%
BA Score: n/a
RB Score: n/a

Last updated by Margaret Weaver (Guest Author) at June 19, 2013.

Written by Margaret Weaver (Guest Author)

Margaret Weaver is a native of Lancaster County, PA and works as a financial writer in Harrisburg. She used to only drink Yuengling and jungle juice at college parties, but thanks to The Beer Circle writer Kenton Martin, she was introduced to craft beer. After trying Troegs beer, she never looked back. Some of her favorite spots to enjoy a beer include Troegs Brewing Company, and Springhouse Brewing Company’s bar in Lancaster, the Taproom.

Filed under: Beer, Brew It Yourself, Stout · Tags: Homebrew, Homebrewing, Review