Guinness’s centuries-long dominance of Irish stouts is no accident. It’s about as perfect as a beer can get. But, in the same way that you can’t eat bacon and eggs for every single breakfast of your entire life, sometimes we’re in the mood for a different Irish stout. On those occasions, we have a handful of options, both in Ireland and here in the US.
So, What’s an Irish Stout?
But hold on. Before we get to the recommendations, you might be asking yourself what sets an Irish stout apart from a regular stout. Let’s hit a couple of the big characteristics. It should have a drier finish than other stouts and the roasted barley means the dominating malt flavors should be close to chocolate and coffee. There’s a nice hop bitterness to balance out the malt’s sweetness. It’s dark in color, close to a deep, deep red. The low ABV means it can (and should) be served in big imperial pints and lends itself to long afternoon and evening sessions.
Compare that to most modern stouts and you’ll find that the Irish stout is a deceivingly refreshing, approachable, sessionable beer.
Now, let’s get into some of the best examples of this delicious beer. Here are the best Irish stouts that aren’t Guinness.
The Best Irish Stouts
Murphy’s Irish Stout
Murphy’s is our go-to when Guinness has worn out as much of its welcome as Guinness ever can. It’s not like there are massive, style-divergent differences between the two. It’s more nuanced, like trying to tell the difference between tap water in different cities. Which we don’t mean as a comment on the quality of the beer, more a comment on how different regions of Ireland drink both like tap water. We find Murphy’s is a bit darker, heavier, and roastier than Guinness, all of which make it exceptionally well suited to day-drinking during chilly early spring days. Murphy’s is a little tougher to find than Guinness, but it’s in most grocery stores and liquor stores. You’ll find a good nitro four-pack if you put a little effort in.
Beamish Genuine Irish Stout
Beamish has been around almost as long as Guinness and, if possible, has an even more devoted following. That could partially be due to its more limited distribution in Ireland. Or it’s due to the innate Corkonian lust for independence. Like Murphy’s, it’s not massively different and it’s the nuances that make it a satisfying divergence. Here, it’s in the roast and bitterness, both of which have been dialed up in Beamish. We speculate it’s due to a slightly larger proportion of roasted barley.
There are definitely cans floating around here in the US, but we have a feeling they’re getting here in less-than-legal ways. Beamish’s website says they don’t currently export.
O’Hara’s Irish Stout
O’Hara’s was among the first names we heard coming out of the Irish craft beer renaissance, which put them in a tough position as they tried to break into the American market. They had the monumental task of taking a chunk out of Guinness’s dominance. It seems to have worked though. Their stout can be found in the odd liquor store around the US.
Their stout is different from Murphy’s, Beamish, and Guinness in more profound ways than the other three are different from each other. It’s just as drinkable as the others, but it’s like they found a way to combine the highlights of the big three into one beer. There’s a great roasted barley backbone, a finely balanced dry bitterness, and an exceptional smoothness. Last time we were in Dublin and found it on tap, we happily stuck with it through the night.
Galway Bay Brewery | Buried at Sea
Galway Bay Brewery’s Buried at Sea Milk Stout bucks a few of the more typical characteristics of Irish stout in a couple ways, the main one being the addition of lactose and chocolate to the beer. It puts the beer a little closer to American offerings than traditional Irish. In fact, a good way to think about Buried at Sea might be as a middle point between an American milk stout and a traditional Irish stout. To be clear, that doesn’t mean it gets on top of you the way some American stouts can. Buried at Sea is just as sessionable as any of the other stouts we’re featuring here, with nicely developed flavors that invite a second and third (and so on) pint. Right now, it’s found primarily in Ireland and even then, mostly in the pubs that Galway Bay Brewery operates. So take this less as a recommendation for St. Patrick’s Day and more as the start of a pub crawl.
Left Hand Brewing | Dry Irish Stout & Milk Stout
We’re featuring two choices from Left Hand Brewing for two reasons. The first is we’ve never had a bad beer from Left Hand. The second is their Dry Irish Stout, which would be our main recommendation, is only available in mixed packs, which means it likely won’t be as accessible as their Milk Stout, which is the second recommendation. Both are exactly what you want from a nitro stout with the obvious differences inherent in their styles. The dry Irish stout is a creamy, approachable stout with a substantial body. The milk stout is a rich, sweet stout that drinks like a roasted milkshake, with the key difference of not sitting like lead in your stomach. Either one is a solid bet.
Dry Irish Stout:
Milk Stout:
Breckenridge Brewery | Nitro Irish Stout
The Nitro Irish Stout from Breckenridge is a surprisingly light offering for a stout coming from an American brewery. Normally we’d expect to find some hoppy kick or deep toastiness, something to insist that this was a stout from America. But there isn’t. It’s a mild, unassuming, drinkable, enjoyable, smooth, creamy, light bodied beer, with a perfectly reasonable 4.8% ABV. Honestly, if someone put this in front of us for a blind taste test, we’d have a hard time separating it from its Irish inspiration.
Southern Tier Brewing Company | Irish Cream Stout
A quick point of clarification. When you’re reading this beer name, read it as Irish-Cream Stout, not Irish Cream-Stout. We say this because we were confused the first time we had it and were thinking about it more as the cream ale version of a stout than a stout with a taste and texture closer to Bailey’s. With that new frame of reference, the beer certainly lives up to its name. There’s a good heartiness to it thanks to the roasted malt and lactose and the hops are deftly handled. It’s on the heavier side at 5.8%, so have some caution if it’s going to be your afternoon’s main beer.
Wilmington Brew Works | Bricfeasta Indiscretion
We’re being a little elitist and self-serving here, because Wilmington Brew Works is this article’s writer’s favorite brewery in his hometown, but he’s going to cover for this conflict of interest by vehemently defending the quality of this Irish Oatmeal Stout. It has the exact flavor profile you’d want in an Irish stout, with a smooth, roasted malt profile and light bitterness. The addition of oats to the mash also bodies it up, but not to the point of heaviness. It’s just satisfying. The only complaint we have about it is that it’s not on a nitro tap, which should be considered a massive hint to anyone from Brew Works currently reading this.
