Best Irish Beer

guildofevil

As a counterpoint to the Best foreign beer? thread, what is your favourite Irish Beer?

For the purposes of this thread, I will define an Irish beer as a beer brewed in Ireland, by an Irish owned company. The reason I specify this is that there are many beers brewed in Ireland, like Budweiser, or Heineken that are not Irish beers.

To start the ball rolling, I will go for Galway Hooker, as that is the beer I drink most often, when I step into the beer hall, in the Bull and Castle. My opinion changes, as my mood changes, but this is where I am right now.

hamsterboy

Dunno if they still make it or not but "Cumin" wheat beer from Carlow Brewing Company. Was in college there years ago and went on a tour of the microbrewery. Loads of free pints then and got hooked. Haven't had it in years, hope they still make it....someone here should know

HB

oblivious

Here are mine

Galway Hooker, Mess Maguires porter, Porterhouse TSB, Porterhouse Wrasslers XXXX Stout, Franciscan Well red

loyatemu

guildofevil wrote: »

As a counterpoint to the Best foreign beer? thread, what is your favourite Irish Beer?

For the purposes of this thread, I will define an Irish beer as a beer brewed in Ireland, by an Irish owned company. The reason I specify this is that there are many beers brewed in Ireland, like Budweiser, or Heineken that are not Irish beers.

your definition also rules out Guinness, Murphys, Beamish etc - they may be owned by foreign companies but they're clearly Irish beers.

oblivious

loyatemu wrote: »

your definition also rules out Guinness, Murphys, Beamish etc - they may be owned by foreign companies but they're clearly Irish beers.

and beers claiming to be Irish that are contracted brewer out side the state

oblivious

loyatemu wrote: »

your definition also rules out Guinness, Murphys, Beamish etc - they may be owned by foreign companies but they're clearly Irish beers.

Some of them are so international now they are nearly Irish style

guildofevil

Can they really be considered Irish? They started out as Irish, but are they Now?

Guinnes, for instance, is brewed in Ireland, as well as other parts of the world, by Diageo, an English based mulinational. If you can have a pint of Guinness brewed in Nigeria, for an English company, how can you conider it to be an Irish beer?

guildofevil

hamsterboy wrote: »

Haven't had it in years, hope they still make it....someone here should know

Not a huge fan of Curim myself, I think O'Hara's Stout is the Carlow Brewing Company's best offering, but I think you can get it in most bottle shops and I think I've seen it in Tesco.

jonny68

Guinness is of course Irish and always has been and is most definitely the best ever Irish beer.

davejones

Harp ain't to bad (but it is Irish)maybe not the best.
Don't drink it all the time myself not many Pubs around my way stock it.:(

rubadub

guildofevil wrote: »

you can have a pint of Guinness brewed in Nigeria, for an English company, how can you conider it to be an Irish beer?

Exactly, and for the same reasons I think the Irish versions of heineken, bud etc should be allowed in the definition. I expect they are brewed mainly with Irish ingredients in Irish breweries. A lot of the BUL beers have the recipie changed to suit local tastes, so in the UK many beers like heineken or carlsberg are available as 3.4% versions, to suit the UK apparent desire for low % beers with a particular taste.

So a factory here makes its own version of heineken and gets ruled out, yet if they overlabelled the bottle with "finnegans ale" it is allowed on the list.

MoominPapa

Draft: Poterhouse TSB
Bottle: Curim Gold

BeerNut

rubadub wrote: »

Exactly, and for the same reasons I think the Irish versions of heineken, bud etc should be allowed in the definition. I expect they are brewed mainly with Irish ingredients in Irish breweries. A lot of the BUL beers have the recipie changed to suit local tastes, so in the UK many beers like heineken or carlsberg are available as 3.4% versions, to suit the UK apparent desire for low % beers with a particular taste.

So a factory here makes its own version of heineken and gets ruled out, yet if they overlabelled the bottle with "finnegans ale" it is allowed on the list.

I agree. Under Guildofevil's rules, Kinsale Lager would be out, despite being an Irish brand, an Irish recipe, the property of an Irish company and brewed in Ireland, because the company contracted to brew it is headquartered in the UK.

Also: are we talking geographical or political Ireland (i.e. does Clotworthy Dobbin count)?

Zaph

hamsterboy wrote: »

Dunno if they still make it or not but "Cumin" wheat beer from Carlow Brewing Company. Was in college there years ago and went on a tour of the microbrewery. Loads of free pints then and got hooked. Haven't had it in years, hope they still make it....someone here should know

HB

Curim is pretty widely available, I've bought it in supermarkets and the likes of O'Briens and Molloys.

Nice beer, but my vote goes to Blonde Biddy from the Biddy Early Brewery in Inagh, Co. Clare.

gurramok

Guinness/Beamish/Murphys are Irish, they originated from here!

As for best, I'd go for the ales mostly..Kilkenny, Porterhouse Red, Mess Maguire's Rusty, the Carlow beers (Molings and Curim). Guinness and Beamish for best stout

On reflection, we Irish have good Irish beer available and may it long continue!

fantasma

Is Hoffmans an Irish beer brewed in Waterford??

Pakia

A very useful thread.

Now I've to first find them in local pubs of Maryland then judge them.

BeerNut

Pakia wrote: »

A very useful thread.

But quite a few years out of date.

Siuin

Pakia wrote: »

A very useful thread.

Now I've to first find them in local pubs of Maryland then judge them.

I thought you said on another thread that you're a Muslim...?

_blank_

Siuin wrote: »

I thought you said on another thread that you're a Muslim...?

Nothing to do with the thread title at all, infracted for trolling

the beer revolu

I suggest that we close this thread and start a new one.
The landscape of Irish beer has changed dramatically over the years since this thread has started.

In fact, I'll go ahead and start a new one and the mods can close this one/delete my new one/keep both as they see fit.