Beamish Stout

After a leaving the Blarney area we decided to head into Cork to have a look around. Putting it bluntly, Cork is a little bit dull, very grey and not worth getting out of the car for! we headed down for the coast then and pulled into a little town with nothing but a caravan park and a pub called The Speckled Door. A quick glance over the taps at the bar showed all the usual suspects and one I had yet to come across - Beamish Stout. The initial taste is a dry, but hop laden stout - more in tune with a London porter than other Irish dry stouts and the beer is also more 'real' and not so 'creamy' even though the beer was dispensed through a nitrokeg system. Overall it is probably one of my favourite Irish stouts as it has a fresh, roasty, but still hoppy taste.

Beamish has been brewed in County Cork since 1792 and has produced their stout ever since. The brewery was acquired by Scottish and Newcastle earlier this year, and now produces Beamish Red, Fosters, Miller and Kronenbourg in addition to its flagship stout. Website: http://www.beamish.ie

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