Written by Why O’Hara’s Irish Stout? I wanted to make it a point to try and find at least ONE ‘real’ Irish beer to review this week for St. Patrick’s Day.
Sure, there are plenty of Irish beers to choose from as we have in the past – Guinness, and Smithwick’s Irish Ale among them – but as we will soon learn, those beers are almost as much English as they are Irish. Both of those beers are owned by the makers of Guinness — Diageo plc of Henrietta Place, London. Just how Irish are those two beers anyway?
O’Hara’s Irish Stout is undoubtedly an Irish beer. Its maker, Carlow Brewing Company is an independent Irish brewery that started up in 1996 and began to brew their beers in 1998 in an effort to revive the craft beer scene that has long languished in that country.
They’ve had some success in that regard – in 2000, O’Hara’s Irish Stout was voted the world’s number one stout by a panel of 33 International Judges at the Brewing Industry International Awards. Not bad considering it was up against 74 other entries!
So, in an effort to find a ‘real’ Irish stout for St. Patrick’s day, I think I succeeded! Let’s see how the beer is.
The pour is, not surprisingly, stout-like. The beer is black in color, but hints of ruby red can be coaxed from it when held up to a bright enough light. It creates a dense beige-colored head that has good retention and creates a bit of lacing. I’ll say that while it looks like a Guinness, it doesn’t have that same cascading bubble effect that the ‘wigitized’ cans of Guinness create when poured into a glass. I’m not taking point off for that, its just an observation!
The aroma of this Irish stout is quite different than Guinness I think. I’m picking up a lot of roasted malts and something of a bitter chocolate or bitter coffee type of smell – or possibly a combination of the two. Nice.
On to the taste! First, I’ll remind you that this beer is better a bit warm, don’t take it out of the fridge and chug it down, you’ll miss a lot of what is offered in the taste. Like the smell, O’ Hara’s Irish Stout is big on the roasted malt flavor. It’s almost bordering on a burnt flavor, but I won’t go that far. Still, the sweeter malts are great and balance the bitter coffee flavors that seem to be a bit stronger than the bitter chocolate flavors, but they together blend quite nicely to create a very interesting result.
There’s a touch of dry hoppy bitterness in the finish, and the aftertaste of coffee and malt is very nice.
The body is a bit on the thin side, and I had not expected that, but this beer is really very smooth and drinkable. Weighing in at a relatively mild 4.3% ABV, this Irish stout would make and excellent session beer as well.
Overall, I was mightily impressed with this true Irish stout. If you’re planning on drinking Guinness for St. Patrick’s Day this year, why not give the stout from O’Hara’s a try as well? I think you’ll be in for a pleasant surprise, and O’Hara’s represents the reviving craft beer industry up against the corporate giant that most people equate with Irish beer.
Rating: 
So, what’s your favorite Irish beer? Also, make sure you come back on St. Patrick’s Day! We have a special guest poster who is going to be talking about the state of Irish beer today!
Yay!
Glad you got to try this, and liked it. It’s a welcome change to the usual “black stuff”. The Portherhouse also do some great stouts, and if you can find their Wrassler’s XXXX you should give it a go. Unfortunately, one of my favourite Irish beers, Galway Hooker Irish Pale Ale, is not available in the bottle, but it’s possible they’ll do so in the future if Porterhouse open their new bottling line to other Irish microbreweries. As well as tasting great, it also shows that Ireland is not just about stout, despite what Diageo would have you believe 
Oh, the O’Hara’s Celebration and Porterhouse Celebration were really nice beers. They should make them part of their regular offerings!
.-= Barry M´s last blog ..Allersheimer Landbier Dunkel =-.
@Barry M – I looked high and low for something truly Irish and unfortunately the picking are a bit slim! Still, this was a great beer and I really enjoyed it. I hope that more of their beers find their way to the States in the future – I’d love to try them all!
.-= Scott-TheBrewClub´s last blog ..McSorley’s Irish Black Lager =-.
If it’s any consolation, Scott, I’m only an hour and a half flight away from my native Ireland, but can I get more than Guinness or Kilkenny here? Nope!
Actually, that’s a lie. I just found an online store selling O’Hara’s Stout and Red in Cologne. I wonder how fast they can deliver…
.-= Barry M´s last blog ..Allersheimer Landbier Dunkel =-.
I guess you’ll have to find out! (Lucky you!)
.-= Scott-TheBrewClub´s last blog ..Founders Breakfast Stout =-.
After much searching of the shelves, I haven’t found anything irish enough to drink on St Patrick’s Day, so I think I might break open that bottle of Tactical Nuclear Penguin… but start with the Paradox Stout, which is the beer TNP is ‘iced’ from.
.-= Bob the Brit´s last blog ..Pancake Day =-.
It has been a while since I’ve had this beer. i think of it as a classic. You know…we need to revisit these simple, classic beers a lot more. There is such an emphasis (understandably so) on new/extreme/crazy beers we forget the ones that are solid, dependable, historical, delicious, etc. I’ve really got a hankering for this now…for the burnt bitter flavor.
.-= nate´s last blog ..Guest Review: Don from Beer and Whiskey Bros Reviews Pete’s Wicked Strawberry Blonde =-.
@Bob – sounds like a good idea! Paradox Stout is the Father of TNP, huh?
@Nate – you’re right about that. You know, when I was researching this beer there were more than a few people who said this beer is more what Guinness ‘used’ to be like – whatever that means. I’m assuming its changed over the years, but its not something I could talk about first hand being so young.
I really liked this beer and I’m hoping I can find more of Carlow Brewing’s stuff to try.
.-= Scott-TheBrewClub´s last blog ..Beer Review -Yards Extra Special Ale (ESA) =-.
TNP is Paradox that’s been aged for a further six months in a different malt whisky cask and then ‘iced’.
And I agree with @Nate, it’s good to go back to the classics, which is why whenever I visit the Great British Beer Festival, I try and start with a pint of Landlord. Set the bar high!
.-= Bob the Brit´s last blog ..Pancake Day =-.