Drinking your way though the stable of (available) Irish beers

With it being St. Patrick’s Day and all, you’ve probably made some plans to have a night of increased of beer intake. Sounds wonderful! But, before you head out into the wide wide world tonight you’ll need to be thoroughly boned up on your Irish beers. Thoroughly. Boned.

March 17, 2011; 12:00 PM • by Ross Catrow

For this reason myself and the always lovable Justin Morgan sacrificed an entire evening painstakingly working our way through Capital Ale‘s Irish offerings while eating a delicious giant pretzel. We do this because it is important work. IT MUST BE DONE.

Capital Ale has five Irish beers on tap, and one Irish cider (cider! don’t knock it!). There may have been more options hidden away in the dark recesses of their bottlefridges, but who has time for bottles! Not this guy.

You’ve heard of most of these, and most of them are worth remembering, fondly.

Magner’s Original Cider

While the first cut may be the deepest, the first beer definitely was the most awkward. As I incoherently tried to explain why Justin and I would need two glasses and that we were splitting beers for an article on a very important website, the group to our right proceeded to mock both us and our decision to order cider. LET THEM MOCK I SAY.

Unfortunately, we both thought this was a pretty generic cider: not too sweet but ultimately unexciting.

4.5%
Ross: **; Justin: **
more »

Smithwick’s Irish Ale

Ordering a Smithwick’s at Penny Lane is perhaps the most intimidating beer-ordering experience that exists. Dare not pronounce it incorrectly! It’s SMIH-TECKS. Honeslty, you might just be better off to avoid the whole situation and get a Boddingtons.

Pronounced incorrectly or not, I love Smithwick’s. It’s about as mild and easygoing as you can get, JUST LIKE IRELAND (?).

ABV: 5%
Ross: ***½; Justin: ***
more »

Harp Irish Lager

Justin said it best: “This reminds me of college.” It would also be doubly fantastic with ONE THOUSAND wings. This beer is like the Kingfisher or Red Stripe of Ireland.

ABV: 4.3%
Ross: ***; Justin: ***½
more »

Carlow O’Hara’s Irish Red

I’d never had an O’Hara’s before, and it was easily the most interesting beer on the docket. Definitely the only beer we tasted with a pronounced hopiness.

ABV: 4.3%
Ross: ****; Justin: ****½
more »

Guinness Draught

Guinness! I love this beer. If it didn’t cost an extra three hundred dollars to put Guinness in my keggerator I would have done it months ago. Do you like awesomeness? Do you like chocolate milk? Then, down the hatch I say!

ABV: 4.1%
Ross: ****; Justin: ****
more »

Murphy’s Irish Stout

I have it on good authority that Murphy’s Irish Stout does not taste like bubble gum that you’ve found stuck to the bottom of your shoe. But it sure did at Capital Ale house. The smell and taste were both cloying and unappealing. I’m going to claim “dirty glass” on this one. Maybe you’ll have a better experience with it?

ABV: 4.3%
Ross: **½; Justin: ***
more »