Tag: Guinness

Draught Diversions: St. Patrick’s Day 2019 Six Pack

Draught Diversion

Draught Diversions is the catchall label for mini-rants, think-pieces, and posts that don’t just focus on one beer here at The Tap Takeover. We hope you don’t grow too weary of the alcohol alliterative names we use…

Last year for my St. Patrick’s Day post, I wasn’t yet doing the six pack feature and was a little all over the place with beer recommendations/suggestions. As such, I stuck with some of the more traditional options – Guinness, Murphy’s, etc. with some brief mentions of other, local (mostly NJ) options. So for 2019, some not so traditional options or twists on those traditions. I did have and enjoy one of those beers I highlighted in last year’s St. Patrick’s Day post – the Guinness 200th Anniversary Export Stout and recommend it. As usual, I’ll put my list together alphabetically by beer name.

Black Magic Stout | Empire Brewing Company | Syracuse, NY | Stout – Irish Dry | 5.8% ABV

Image courtesy of Empire Brewing’s Twitter

For all the NJ beers I review and feature, I don’t feature many NY beers here at the Tap Takeover. That said, this Irish Dry Stout from Empire Brewing is one well worth featuring. I had it a few years ago and really enjoyed it and found it to be similar to Guinness but maybe a little sweeter. I imagine this one could be found on Nitro Draft in NY, especially closer to the Syracuse area where the brewery is located.

What Empire Brewing says about the beer:

A traditional dry Irish stout, carbonated with nitrogen (it pours very much like a Guinness). Dry roasted flavors are prominent, with hints of chocolate and coffee on the finish. World Beer Cup Gold Medal winner for best Dry-Irish Style Stout in the world!

Craic | River Horse Brewing Company | Ewing, NJ | Stout – Irish Dry | 9.1% ABV

Image Courtesy of River Horse’s Facebook

One of the great NJ Breweries, River Horse partnered with Jameson Irish Whiskey a couple of years ago for their Caskmates series of beers. This was the first of those beers which was first brewed in 2017. If you’re going with a whiskey or a stout involving some kind of whiskey barrel aging, there’s no better whiskey than Jameson especially around St. Patrick’s Day. This beer was produced in fairly limited quantities and I’ve not had the chance to try it yet. (Though if the fine folks at River Horse are reading and happen to have an extra bottle…)

What River Horse and Jameson say about the beer:

An imperial, dry Irish-style stout aged with vanilla and coffee beans. We love doing takes on classic cocktails. This is our take on an Irish coffee. Aptly named Craic*, because beer is meant to be fun.

*Craic is a term for news, gossip, fun, entertainment, and enjoyable conversation, particularly prominent in Ireland.

Irish Coffee | Carton Brewing Company | Atlantic Highlands, NJ | “Imperial” Cream Ale | ABV: 12%

This was the first variant of Carton’s legendary “Regular Coffee” game I had and it still ranks as one of the best beers I ever had. As the name implies, Carton adds some Irish cream and crème de menthe in the brewing process. This would be a perfect dessert sipping beer after you’ve enjoyed your Corned Beef or Shepherd’s Pie. I’m hoping this beer gets released again since I haven’t had it nearly four years..

What Carton says about the beer:

Irish Coffee is a continuation of the Regular Coffee game. Our golden imperial coffee cream ale has been finished on Irish wood and peppermint. Much like Regular Coffee looks to evoke an amusing version of the acidic bitter coffee curbed by milk and sugar that starts a day in a paper cup, Irish Coffee addresses it on the other end of the day. A beer rendition of a mug of coffee touched by Irish and whipped cream with a drizzle of green crème de menthe to tie up a big meal. Drink Irish Coffee to take it all home.

Irish Stout | O’Hara’s Brewery (Carlow Brewing Company) | Leinster, Ireland | Stout – Irish Dry 4.3% ABV

This was my St. Patrick’s Day beer last year in an Irish tavern (or a bar decorated to appear so) whilst men in kilts were playing bagpipes. I enjoyed the beer very much while I had my traditional shepherd’s pie. I think this is better than Guinness’s standard stout even if not quite as widely distributed. O’Hara’s also has an Irish Red and an IPA to round out their top 3 beers (of about 70+ beers in total).

What O’Hara’s says about the beer:

The flagship of the O’Hara’s brand, this uniquely Irish stout brings one back to how Irish stouts used to taste. First brewed in 1999, it has since been awarded prestigious honours for its quality and authenticity. .

O’Hara’s Irish Stout has a robust roast flavour complemented by a full-bodied and smooth mouth feel. The generous addition of Fuggle hops lends a tart bitterness to the dry espresso-like finish. This sessionable stout beer is filled with rich complex coffee aromas mingled with light licorice notes. The combination of traditional stout hops with an extra pinch of roast barley allows us to stay true to Irish tradition, recreating a taste so often yearned for by stout drinkers..

Kindred Spirits | Innis & Gunn | Edinburgh, Scotland | Stout – Other 6.1% ABV

Pic Alan Richardson Dundee, Pix-AR.co.uk
Innis and Gunn Kindred Spirits

I’ve had a few beers from Innis & Gunn and enjoyed them, and this one looks like it would help that trend continue, should I have the opportunity to try it. If Jameson is the most recognizable Irish Whiskey, then Tullamore D.E.W. is probably a close second. With barrel staves from Tullamore part of the aging/brewing process, this would be an appropriate stout to enjoy on March 17.

What Innis & Gunn says about the beer:

We’ve collaborated for the first time with Tullamore D.E.W., bringing together the very best of Scots and Irish craftsmanship to launch our newest Limited Edition: Kindred Spirits.

Using our unique barrel ageing process, this Scottish Stout has been matured using Tullamore’s legendary triple distilled whiskey barrels creating a rich and delicious Irish Whiskey barrel-aged stout. A perfect pairing of the character of Innis & Gunn’s rich flavour packed beer, and the sweet, spicy, smooth taste of Tullamore D.E.W. with notes of dark chocolate and coffee alongside hints of vanilla.

Stout Aged in Bulleit Bourbon Barrels | Guinness Open Gate Brewery and Barrel House | Baltimore, MD | Stout – Foreign / Export | 10% ABV

Image courtesy of Brewbound.com

I wasn’t going to get away without mentioning one of the many beers from Guinness. This one is slightly different for a few reasons. It is one of the first beers – and first barrel-aged beer – to come out of the new Open Gate Brewery and Barrel House Guinness opened in Baltimore. This beer may also be the first widely available barrel aged beer from Guinness. As it so happens, both Guinness and Bulleit are owned by Diageo, the world’s second largest distiller. A nice bit of corporate synergy allowing for what could be a really good beer in a hot popular style. Supposedly, only 15 cases were made available to the entire state of New Jersey so I’ll probably have a tough time finding this one. (Unless somebody from Guinness Open Gate is reading this and wants to send me a bottle!)

What Guinness says about the beer:

Guinness Antwerpen Stout aged in Bulleit Bourbon Barrels. Rich and endlessly complex. The stout we first brewed just for Belgium aged in charred oak bourbon barrels. Coconut and oaky vanilla aroma with a rich and full bodied, dark caramel and coconut flavor.

So there you have it. Whether you enjoy one of these beers or something along your own preference, something you have as a St. Patrick’s Day tradition like a Guinness Draught or a Conway’s Irish Ale from Great Lakes, do so safely and responsibly. Sláinte!!!

Draught Diversions: March 2018 Six Pack

Draught Diversion, Monthly New Brews

Draught Diversions is the catchall label for mini-rants, think-pieces, and non-review posts here at The Tap Takeover. We hope you don’t grow too weary of the alcohol alliterative names we use…

March has concluded, so it is time here at The Tap Takeover for me to post my March Six Pack. As always, I’ll assemble the six pack chronologically starting with the beer I had earliest in the month up to (in this case) a beer I had on the last day of the month. March was a bit darker, with a dip into some stouts/porters that are typically in my sweet spot breaking the IPA dominant trend from the previous two months.

Yeti (Great Divide Brewing Company) Stout – American Imperial / Double – 3.25 bottle Caps on untappd

I like stouts and imperial stouts, but not all are created equal and not all palates are created equal as this beer demonstrates. I realize the higher ABV stouts, like Yeti which clocks in at 9.5%, will have a high hop component (75 IBU) but for me, the hop presence was far too dominant. There’s also a strong licorice taste and I don’t like licorice. At all.

200th Anniversary Export Stout (Guinness) Stout – Foreign / Export– 4 bottle Caps on untappd

I mentioned this one in my St. Patrick’s Day post and I was very pleased with the beer. This is sweeter than the standard Guinness with a really nice chocolate and toffee thread of flavor in the beer. Like the majority of stouts, this beer became more flavorful as it warmed and the toffee/chocolate sweetness became really balanced. My wife also made outstanding Stout Chocolate cupcakes with this beer.

Wobbly Cow Coffee Milk Stout (Flying Fish Brewing Company) Stout – Milk / Sweet – 4.25 bottle Caps on untappd

Flying Fish seems to be a regular on these posts. I follow Flying Fish on all their social media platforms and read about this beer which I initially thought was a brewery-only release, but I am very happy that I was proven wrong. This is perhaps the most subtle of any barrel-aged stout I’ve had, but it is wonderfully balanced. None of the many flavor components (coffee, chocolate, sweetness and rye whiskey) over power another and at 8% the beer won’t totally knock you out. The finish on this one is very clean.

Ship Wreck Porter (Carton Brewing Company) Porter – Imperial/Double – 4.25 bottle Caps on untappd

 

Carton just might be my favorite NJ brewery and porters just might be one of my favorite styles, so I’m basically programmed to like this beer. I haven’t had many beers aged in rum barrel so this was a bit of a twist on the barrel aging theme for me. Of course it was delicious because those are the only kinds of beers Carton knows how to make. The porter likely would have been good on its own, but the sweetness from the rum cut any of the smokiness that some porters can exhibit.

Centennial IPA (Founders Brewing Co.) – 4 bottle Caps on untappd

Founders is one of my favorite breweries, I’ve written about them quite often here and I’d avoided the IPA section of their portfolio for a while. That won’t be happening any longer. I’ve come to realize Centennial Hops are some of my favorite hops and that’s the hop that gives this one it’s flavor. I can see many of these in my future.

Westmalle Trappist Tripel (Brouwerij der Trappisten van Westmalle) Belgian Tripel – 4.5 bottle Caps on untappd

This beer is quite simply, a world class ale. There are only 12 officially designated Trappist Breweries in the world and I’ve had two of the three ales from Westmalle. The Dubbel is really tasty, but this one is obviously more recent in my memory so it really stands out as something complex, delicious, and perhaps the epitome of what a Belgian Tripel should be. Most Trappist ales are sold in single bottles, but the approximate $4 to $6 price tag is oh so worth it. The Belgian yeast works wonders, the beer has some fruity elements as well as some spice elements that altogether make a fantastic, must-try beer.

Six beers, two from outside of the US, two from New Jersey, three stouts, one porter, one IPA, and one Belgian Tripel. Not a bad variety if I do say so myself.

Draught Diversions: St. Patrick’s Day 2018

Draught Diversion

Draught Diversions is the catchall label for mini-rants, think-pieces, and posts that don’t just focus on one beer here at The Tap Takeover. We hope you don’t grow too weary of the alcohol alliterative names we use…

If Oktoberfest is the Fall holiday for beer, then St. Patrick’s Day, the day when everybody is Irish, is certainly the Late Winter/Spring Holiday day for beer. Not just a holiday for a specific style of beer, but a brand, some would say. Guinness, of course. Guinness is far from the only beer option (or even Irish Stout) to enjoy on and around St. Patrick’s Day, so I’ll touch on a few of those. But I’ll start with Guinness itself.

Guinness, the most popular and best selling stout in the world is still quite well regarded by many craft beer folks despite being such a global brand. When it comes to stouts, especially Irish Stouts, few compare to Guinness especially when the line from the keg to the tap is short. A nice touch is when the bartender adds a four-leaf clover to the head.

Guinness has been expanding their portfolio here in the U.S. over the past handful of years, including a Blonde Ale (the less said the better), an “Irish Wheat” that was surprisingly tasty, and several stouts. They offer up a Milk Stout as well as a Belgian-inspired Antwerpen Stout. The Guinness I’m really looking forward to trying, though, is the 200th Anniversary Export Stout, brewed in late 2017 in honor of the 200th anniversary since Guinness was first shipped to America.

The “other” Irish Stout, Murphy’s is also an excellent example of the style. It has been many, many years since I enjoyed a Murphy’s. I may have to change that soon.

Many American brewers try to evoke the style as well. This may not come as a shock to folks who read this blog regularly, but my favorite is probably Victory Brewing’s offering: Donnybrook Stout. I believe this is a draft only beer as I’ve never seen it in bottles or cans, but I recall the beer hitting the same notes as Guinness does, and to a fairly successful degree. Breckenridge Brewery has a “Nitro Dry Irish Stout” that is very much playing into the whole Guinness beer profile, too. Of course, Breckenridge is one of a growing number of American Craft Breweries purchased by Anheuser-Busch and part of its “High End” brand initiative.

It isn’t all about the Stouts on St. Patrick’s Day, though. Smithwick’s is the brand name for the Red Ale the fine folks at Guinness brew and distribute. For years this was a go-to beer for me. I even prefer a “Black and Red” or “BlackSmith” to the traditional “Black and Tan.” Smithwick’s may be the quintessential Irish Red Ale and again, many American brewers try to evoke the style.

I miss this logo from the beer. The new red logo looks like Bud and doesn’t stand out at all.

For my beer drinking dollar, the best of the American interpretations of an Irish Red Ale is – hands down, no discussion – Great Lakes Brewing’s Conway’s Irish Ale. I seem to alternate going with this or something from Guinness on St. Patrick’s Day.  Great Lakes (rightfully so) makes a big deal out of this one on St. Patrick’s Day.

I’ve only touched upon some a few of the seasonal/holiday appropriate brews to enjoy (responsibly!) during a St. Patrick’s Day celebration, I know.* Of course, some Jameson would also be perfectly appropriate or one of the caskmates brews they’ve brewed in collaboration with a few American Craft brewers, like the Craic they partnered with River Horse here in New Jersey to brew last year. This beer is really tough to find and I haven’t had much luck yet.

Some other NJ breweries are getting in on the fun, too.*

*Gotta save some for next year’s St. Patrick’s Day post, right? 

For some Irish brews to enjoy for St. Patrick’s Day, take a look at this great article by Jason Notte.

There you have it. A quick rundown of some of the more widely available and widely known seasonally appropriate brews for St. Patrick’s Day as well as a handful of beers from some NJ Breweries. I know there are many more, so drop a note in the comments to let me know of a good one I may have overlooked.