About two years ago I brewed a straight St. Patrick's Stout without any modifications. It was good but not great. I felt like it was lacking in mouth feel and depth. I got another St. P's when I purchased the International Pack so I thought I'd experiment with it. I found this recipe on the Mr. Beer site and it looked interesting so I ordered the extra LME pack and brewed it up. I used robust instead of smooth though. At bottling I made a couple more changes - along with the coffee I also added 4tsp of lactose sugar 1/4 tsp of vanilla extract and 6 oz of Irish Whiskey. Did I end up with the exact Irish-Car-Bomb-In-A-Bottle flavor I was hoping for? No I did not. Did I end up with one of the best stouts I've ever tasted? Absolutely. It's super dark with a lovely brown head. The added coffee and LME adds the depth of flavor that the St. P's LME can is missing on its own. I will most certainly do this one again and I won't mess with the vanilla and whiskey.

OK a 3 may be overly critical as the description is pretty spot on. This is a morning cup of coffee. I have to repeat that this is a cup of coffee. I don't taste anything other than what I'd expect to come from my percolator. I have Bustelo espressos in the morning. (That's what I used for this.) I was hoping for a beer with a light coffee kick. Nope. It's a coffee kick in the pants. It should be renamed to Sunday Morning Wake-up. Better choice than an Iced Coffee from D&D. But it's pretty much that. A cold coffee without sugar or creamer.I'll make this again but will probably dabble with modifications. Maybe add some brown sugar during brewing and 1/2 the espresso at bottling. Or try add another LME Smooth pack or two to increase the ....toffee richness of flavor with residual sweetness.On a side note: I don't see myself ever going back to commercial beers. Mr. Beer has spoiled me. Happy Brewing

Truth be told I havent brewed this yet. Based on previous experiences with Mr Beer this wil be a fun brew to create and enjoy. The service that Mr Beer provides is top notch and havent been let down yet. Follow the directions experiment when you're ready and understand the brew methods.. and ENJOY!!