Beer Styles
There are basically two types of beer:
ales and
lagers.
Ales are top-fermented beers. Top-fermenting yeast thrives in warmer temperatures and withstands higher alcohol concentrations. The resulting beers are generally crisp, sweet, flavorsome, somewhat fruity and lack carbonation. Stout beers are part of the ale family. They are dense and dark, and you might notice a hint of chocolate on your palate. Stouts are brewed from a base of roasted malt.
Lagers are bottom-fermented beers. They are stored at low temperatures for longer periods of time (weeks to months — the word lager comes from the German word lagern, "to store") and become mellow, clear and carbonated. Lagers are typically light-colored with a mild hop flavor and strong carbonation.
Cream Ale is a hybrid of ale and lager. Basically it's ale-fermented at a lower temperature and then conditioned like a lager (low temperature). Cream ale colors range from amber to red. They are smooth and well-rounded with a hint of hops.
STOUTS
Guinness Draught
The milkshake of beers, this "meal in a bottle" has that roasted malt flavor and hint of chocolate we've come to expect from most full-bodied beers. A rich and creamy Irish favorite for centuries, this hearty brew is best straight out of the bottle or, if it's canned, from a tulip-shaped pint glass. Ask your bartender for a "perfect pint," an optimal pouring method which, according to the company, should take 119.53 seconds. Can't wait that long? Just think of how happy you'll be when that fluffy white cloud forms at the top of your glass, distinctive of "draught" or nitrogen-infused brews. Warning: May put hair on your chest.
Guinness Foreign Extra Stout
Brewed with more hops than domestic Guinness, this version was intended to last longer in warm climates and so survive the lengthy sea journey abroad, since hops act as a vital preservative. Moreover, it has the happy effect of enhancing the beer's flavor and strength. The Foreign Extra Stout is Guinness' strongest beer at 7.5 per cent alcohol by volume. With a dark color that belies its rich, chocolaty taste, this stout goes down smoother than Guinness Draught, and with less bitterness.
Beamish Stout
Often compared to Guinness, Beamish is dark and chocolaty like its more famous cousin, but features a slightly lighter body and spicier bite. Before it hits your lips, this stout goes through a two-week brewing process using the original Beamish yeast, dating back to 1792. It is well worth the wait — sweet flavors of caramel and hints of coffee balance out the bitter, hoppy finish. Like Guinness, Beamish comes in a nitro-can to simulate the taste and texture of a freshly-poured pint for a result that is truly bittersweet.
Murphy's Irish Stout
The lightest and sweetest of Ireland's Big Three (Guinness, Beamish and Murphy's), Murphy's Irish Stout is the "nice guy" of the group. But don't be deceived — that just means you can drink more of ‘em. Think chocolate milk topped with a double shot of espresso and finished with a one-inch thick head of caramel-infused creamy goodness. Since the company's acquisition by Heineken in 1983, Murphy's has been enjoying a reputation as one of the fastest growing stout brands in the world. Have a Guinness for dinner, but save this one for dessert.
Ohara's Celtic Stout (Carlow Brewery)
Carlow Brewery is what you would call old school. Its name comes from Carlow, a small town located in Ireland's historic Barrow Valley region and home to a once-thriving craft beer scene. In the 1800s, crafting your own beer was a popular practice among the inhabitants of Carlow, but this ended with the takeover of small breweries by big business. Carlow Brewing Company, founded in 1996, is reviving this olde tyme way of producing beers long lost, motivated by the belief that their way of manufacturing beers is superior to modern methods.
O'Hara's Celtic Stout is true to the original Irish stout. It's a robust, full-bodied combination of hops and roasted barley, providing both sweetness and a roasty bite with no artificial additives. Just hops, barley, yeast and water — that's it. (Really makes you wonder what you're drinking in all those other beers.) If you're looking for the real deal, this is it.
CREAM ALES
Kilkenny Irish Cream Ale
Kilkenny has friends in high places. Guinness brews it; Diageo, the world's largest producer of spirits (Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker, Jose Cuervo, Bailey's and Guinness) carries it; and Smithwick's, Ireland's oldest brewery, is where it originated. The beer is older than some countries, with a heritage dating back to the fourteenth century.
The taste can be described as Smithwick's with less hops and a creamy head like Guinness. The amber brew has the rich aroma and flavor of toasted malt. It's all at once sweet and creamy, offset by some bitterness and is available in both draught (nitrogen-infused) and canned forms.
ALES
Murphy's Irish Red
Irish red ales get their reddish hue from the small amounts of roasted barley they contain. Some manufacturers artificially color their beers red, and as a result some beers labeled "red ales" are not truly so. In America, darker amber ales are also sometimes labeled as "red ales."
Murphy's Irish Red was originally brewed as Lady's Well Ale in 1856. Lady's Well, located across from the company's brewery in Cork, has been a religious site for Catholics since the eighteenth century. Dutch beer juggernauts Heineken International purchased the brewery in 1983.
This true Irish red is dry, crisp, hoppy and very carbonated with some signs of fruit and caramel.
Smithwick's Irish Ale
This beer is so old, it dates back to the fourteenth century when monks would brew their own next door to the Smithwick's brewery. The ruins of the original Franciscan abbey that once stood there can still be seen. Smithwick's is Ireland's oldest operating brewery, the major ale producer in Ireland and, along with Guinness, part of Diageo.
Like Murphy's Irish Red, this is a red ale characterized by caramel maltiness and a hint of hops.
