Murphy's Irish Stout

Belgian · Post by **Belgian** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 4:47 pm

...beer does not travel well. Even in well packaged kegs and cans. It's not always due to the bar or the imagination.

Beers I've had in Germany fresh on tap are SO much better there.

When it arrives in a bottle here, it's still good beer - but it has no Poetry.

Everyone should beer travel in Europe!

cirrosis · Post by **cirrosis** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 12:00 am

if i am not mistaken, Murphy's was purchased by Heineken a few years back. they then decided to start brewing their Irish stout in Holland (where better to brew an Irish stout) after that TBS virtually eliminated it from their keg rooms

Philip1 · Post by **Philip1** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 6:41 pm

Murphy's is widely available in Holland. The bottles one buys there of Irish Stout and Irish Red don't indicate where they are brewed. That tells me they are not really brewed in Ireland but are trying not to let the public know that.

liammckenna · Post by **liammckenna** » Thu Nov 23, 2006 5:27 pm

Murphy's is indeed owned by Heineken.

Definitely the least consumed stout in Ireland. The least roast character of the three big Irish stouts.

It's a lovely pint if you ever find yourself in Cork.

Pax.

Liam

Steve Beaumont · Post by **Steve Beaumont** » Fri Nov 24, 2006 9:05 am

A few quick points pertaining to this thread. First, one of the reasons Labatt-brewed Guinness is so different than the Irish-brewed stuff is that it is produced using an extract that Guinness creates in a dedicated brewery in Ireland and ships to its licensed brewers all over the world. And if that sounds rude, well, in my opinion, at least, it is.

Secondly, Guinness is not distributed here by Sleeman, but by Diageo, who after all own the brand. On the occasions that I have had a pint in Toronto, flown to Ireland and promptly sampled another pint in Dublin, I've noted no telling difference. (Which is not to say there isn't one, just that if there is, it's pretty minor.)

That said, I do find the flavour of Guinness much different than it was even a handful of years ago, as the company has pushed more and more to capture the lager-drinking youth market. No longer, to my palate, does it have the appetizing "tang" of dry, almost sour roast that once made it so appealing. Tellingly, when I travelled the island from Dublin to Cork to Shannon a few years ago, not even Guinness loyalists would dispute with me the assertion that the beer didn't taste as it used to.

Thirdly, last time I checked, Heineken was still brewing Murphy's in Cork. What caused the furor a couple of years back was that the company decided to change the name of the brewery from Murphy's to Heineken Ireland and focus on the Red instead of the Stout.

O'Hara's, I think, is an excellent stout. After what's brewed at the Porterhouse, particularly their Oyster Stout, I think it's the best pint of black left in Eire.

And finally, welcome Liam. I missed your entry to the Towel last month. What you been doing lately?

GregClow · Post by **GregClow** » Fri Nov 24, 2006 10:22 am

Steve Beaumont wrote:Secondly, Guinness is not distributed here by Sleeman, but by Diageo, who after all own the brand.

So, what's the story with this bit on the Sleeman website?:

"Sleeman is proud to market and/or distribute world-class imported products such as Guinness, Grolsch, Samuel Adams, Scottish & Newcastle, Pilsner Urquell and Strongbow Cider and provide contract production for Japan’s Sapporo products in the United States."

Is this old info that hasn't been updated?

Steve Beaumont · Post by **Steve Beaumont** » Fri Nov 24, 2006 10:33 am

Sleeman distributes for Diageo in BC, Quebec, Nova Scotia and PEI.

Belgian · Post by **Belgian** » Fri Nov 24, 2006 10:42 am

Steve Beaumont wrote: O'Hara's, I think, is an excellent stout. After what's brewed at the Porterhouse, particularly their Oyster Stout, I think it's the best pint of black left in Eire.

I was really pleasantly surprised by this O'Hara's Celtic Stout.

I was expecting just another Euro-bottle disaster, and yet here was this full, tasty balanced ale with some character. Such a product would not embarass any craft brewer, as far as reasonably quaffable beers go.

liammckenna · Post by **liammckenna** » Fri Nov 24, 2006 11:49 am

Steve Beaumont wrote: That said, I do find the flavour of Guinness much different than it was even a handful of years ago, as the company has pushed more and more to capture the lager-drinking youth market. No longer, to my palate, does it have the appetizing "tang" of dry, almost sour roast that once made it so appealing. Tellingly, when I travelled the island from Dublin to Cork to Shannon a few years ago, not even Guinness loyalists would dispute with me the assertion that the beer didn't taste as it used to.

And finally, welcome Liam. I missed your entry to the Towel last month. What you been doing lately?

It is indeed but a shadow of it's former self. As the auld fellas used to say in The Palace Bar, "It has no cut to it". To quote an old colleague, when I had my first pint of Guinness, "I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or throw up". Guinness has only themselves to blame for introducing Ireland to Bud. Apparently the story used to be that as a young fella, you started drinking Smithwicks and eventually 'became a man' after choking down your first few pints of the black stuff (please excuse my political incorrect gender usage)

Given Bud challenges the palate not at all, it's not surprising that Bud is emerging as the biggest selling beer in Ireland. Young Irish people's palates are dancing to a new tune, forsaking this traditional progression more and more. Guinness is trying, in their way, to stem the bleeding. The introduction of 'Cold-flow technology' which dispensed an ice cold pint at the tap was not received too well by the auld fellas in Ireland. I remember being in a pub and seeing one fella ask (in all seriousness) if the barman could microwave his pint on high for 7 seconds. Another time I saw an auld fella with his pint in a teapot of warm water. MMM cold, crisp, clean - sounds like any mega brewer advertising slogan.

I also heard they no longer do the bottle conditioned pint bottles anymore.

Shameful, really.

As usual Stephen, I'm not doing enough! Ha! I'm off to Newfoundland for a few months to start a new brewpub (back for Christmas), doing a lot of development and operations work in the cooler business (don't choke), trying to start my own thing.

Pax.

Liam

Belgian · Post by **Belgian** » Fri Nov 24, 2006 2:32 pm

liammckenna wrote:as a young fella, you started drinking Smithwicks and eventually 'became a man' after choking down your first few pints of the black stuff (please excuse my political incorrect gender usage)

Not 'a man'? - so a 'young fella' should become what - a 'non-gender specific maturing individual?'

No I'm kidding. But it is an interesting topic:

We live under this stupifying pressure to be "Political Correct" - something bad for normal, healthy communication, not least because it prohibits people thinking and speaking from their own moral conscience. That doesn't work for a just society!

Man is a more discerning creature than that, and yet each word in our language can - and will - get twisted around and abused by people with Agendas. Those abusers of words are a huge moral problem, creating a world of Lies and hypocrisy.

BeerMonger · Post by **BeerMonger** » Sat Nov 25, 2006 10:41 am

I read that last paragraph four times and still haven't a clue what you are saying...my bad.

old faithful · Post by **old faithful** » Sat Nov 25, 2006 10:52 am

It is my impression too that Guinness Draft is not as good as it once was, although I maintain it is still a good pint when fresh and served properly.

Guinness FES also is still a fine glass. Diageo should sell it in Canada.

The old U.K. bottled-conditioned Guinness Extra Stout was the best of all though. It is no more in England, I am not sure about Ireland.

O'Hara's Celtic is excellent and has the sharp roastiness that Irish extra stout is known for.

I urge stout fans to pick up some Sleeman's Porter if they want to see what an excellent beer in the porter/stout family is all about.

Taste it side by side with O'Hara's: it is as good, maybe better.

Gary

BeerMonger · Post by **BeerMonger** » Sat Nov 25, 2006 4:39 pm

Belgian, I see you rewrote that post...it didn't make sense to you either did it?

old faithful · Post by **old faithful** » Mon Nov 27, 2006 6:30 pm

Just an update on my post about Sleeman Porter, which was based on an earlier brewing of this year.

The current one I bought does not seem quite as rich-tasting. It has little if any hop nose (the earlier seemed more redolent of English hops). Also, I can't detect the "soy" or "Worcester" taste the earlier one had. It is less carbonated than that one however, which is a plus.

It is still an excellent product but seems less flavourful than earlier brewings.

Maybe these are natural variations of barley and hops and it will shift back...

I hope too we can see both of these beers on draft at selected pubs at least. I think they would be well-received and it would stimulate sales of the bottled beers.

Gary

Cagiva650 · Post by **Cagiva650** » Wed Nov 29, 2006 9:29 am

liammckenna wrote:

As usual Stephen, I'm not doing enough! Ha! I'm off to Newfoundland for a few months to start a new brewpub (back for Christmas), doing a lot of development and operations work in the cooler business (don't choke), trying to start my own thing.

Pax.

Liam

Brewpub? In Newfoundland? Woooo Hoooo! I am looking forward to that!