Murphy's Stout

Whilst in Ireland visiting the relatives, I made a short trip south to County Cork to visit Blarney Castle and kiss the stone. It was hoped that some of the eloquence would rub off in the entries in this blog but so far that has yet to be seen! Anyhow, no trip to Blarney would be complete without sampling some of the traditional Irish fare at the Maskerry Arms. Since we were in Co. Cork, I decided to go for the local Corkonian option which is Murphy's Irish Stout (4% abv). Murphy's stout departs Guinness from the first sip. The beer is slightly sweet, similar in taste and texture to a milk stout rather than a dry stout. The beer is darker too. Guinness tends to pour a deep ruby colour which you can see when you hold the pint glass up to the light. Murphy's on the other hand is black, and I mean pitch black. The pour as with all Stouts in Ireland is now from a nitro keg system, so the usual creamy head is present. Also worthy to note is that the beer seems to have absolutely no carbonation at all. Guinness itself may appear flat, but there is some carbonation present which can be demostrated when you gently rock the glass. Murphy's however, does not display any observable carbonation. Overall, I think this beer is roughly on par with Guinness and one thing it has going for it is its price. In my local Tesco it is always a fair bit cheaper than Guinness which may influence some drinkers whilst shopping.
Anyhow, Murphy's stout is one to keep an eye out for and is a good example of the subtle differences between different Irish stouts. Website: www.murphys.com