Irish stouts

Irish stouts : the must-haves

Porterhouse Oyster Stout

In Ireland, breweries never cease to compete in terms of inventiveness and wacky beers! It’s up to whoever comes up with the…

Murphy’s

Murphy's is an Irish brown ale belonging to the stout family. Older than most of the beers brewed in Ireland today, Murphy's…

The Beamish

Beamish is a typical Irish dark beer, served in most Irish pubs. Brewed in Cork by Beamish and Crawford, this beer is…

O’Hara’s beer

If you're ever in County Carlow, we recommend you try one of their local beers: O'Hara's. Brewed by the Carlow Brewing Company,…

Black Rock Irish Stout

If you like Irish stouts, then the Black Rock should whet your appetite! This typically Irish beer is brewed by Dungarvan Brewery,…

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Irish stouts

The term stout refers to a specific Irish beer brewed from highly roasted barley. This type of beer is particularly associated with major beers brewed in Ireland, including the famous Guinness, Murphy’s, and Caffrey’s.

The Stout

History of stout

Stout was originally a term meaning “strong”, “proud”, or “brave”. It was not until the 14th century that the word was used to refer to Irish beers considered particularly pronounced in bitterness and alcohol content.

It was not until the 18th century that this name became restricted to a single type of beer: Porter-style beer, which is notable for being dark and brewed from highly roasted barley and malt.

In 1759, the Guinness brewery opened its doors to produce a beer of this type, initially called Porter and later Stout Porter. Many competitors followed this path, and Ireland soon saw the emergence of numerous stouts, such as Murphy’s and Caffrey’s.

A beer strong in flavour and alcohol

The intense roasting of the barley and malt together generally gives stout a caramelised, slightly coffee-like flavour that balances the beer’s pronounced bitterness.

This technique also gives it a brown colour tending towards deep black, making it easy to distinguish from other Irish beers…

Generally speaking, stout is the most widespread beer in Ireland. It is offered in every Irish pub in the country and served on tap. (It is also sold in supermarkets, but does not have the same qualities as a pub beer).