It’s March and that brings the St. Patrick’s Day holiday – a day known for beer drinking! There are two beer styles associated with Ireland – Stout and Irish Red Ale. No green beer here – the food coloring does not add anything to beer. Let’s discuss these styles and some food pairings.
Now stouts have many more variations, and some are more aligned with Ireland and some with England, as well as other countries. The flavors distinguish these stouts from one another. The Irish versions of stout are Irish Stout and Irish Extra Stout. Irish Stout has a black coffee bitterness from the dark roasted malts used in brewing. For a dark ale, Irish Stout is very light in body and low in alcohol! A great example is Guinness Irish Draught or Murphy’s Irish Stout. It pairs well with traditional Irish specialties like corn beef and cabbage and Irish stew, which sometimes has Guinness as an ingredient.
Irish Red Ale is an amber to reddish ale with malty flavors of caramel and toffee-like notes. There is very little bitterness or hop flavors – an easy drinking beer for a beer centered holiday. It pairs well with many foods and is on the menu at most Irish pubs. Two great examples are Smithwicks Irish Red and Killian’s Irish Red.
Irish Extra Stout is the big brother to Irish Stout with more bitterness and more roasted malt flavor – more like espresso but also having some notes of bittersweet chocolate. This ale is also higher in alcohol. Irish Extra Stout can pair with the main dishes mentioned above, but also a dark chocolate dessert. Two great examples of this ale are Guinness Extra Stout or Porterhouse XXX.
Arthur Guinness started brewing in Dublin, Ireland in the late 1700s with a porter and the first stout brewed and marketed was in 1810. The history shows that Arthur Guinness secured a 9,000-year lease at St. James Gate in Dublin on December 31, 1759. This is a great tourist attraction now in Dublin and the tour includes an ale at the end! There is a Netflix series on the Guinness Family called the House of Guinness showcasing the first generation after the founder. Get a Guinness and grab a seat!
Guinness has been called the “blonde in the black dress” for the looks of a well poured black pint with a thick foamy blonde head in a curvy tulip pint glass. Guinness is sold worldwide and is a great example of the stout style.
Two stouts of English origin are less bitter and more smooth – Sweet Stout, also called Milk Stout, and Oatmeal Stout, which both originate from England. Sweet Stout has flavors of coffee and cream and in some varieties, chocolate milk. There are still roasty flavors but not as bitter as the Irish stouts. The ale is brewed with lactose (milk sugar) which ale yeasts cannot ferment. The resulting ale has a sweetish taste and a fuller mouth feel. This ale can connect with milk chocolate-based desserts but also some English foods like Bangers and Mash. A great example of this ale is Left Hand Milk Stout.
Oatmeal Stout is an English Stout style brewed with oatmeal. Oatmeal’s biggest contribution in the ale is mouthfeel. This stout is smooth and silky on the tongue with some coffee bitterness but also a toasty nutty flavor. Pair up an Oatmeal Stout with a traditional Shepherd’s Pie made with ground lamb. Two great examples of this style are Samuel Smiths Oatmeal Stout or Young’s London Stout.
The stout style is also brewed in the Caribbean – Tropical Stout, and by American Craft brewers – Imperial Stout. Some examples of Tropical Stout are Dragon Stout and Jamaican Stout. These are very malty but much less bitter – almost a rum-like flavor. Some examples of Imperial Stout are North Coast Old Rasputin Imperial Stout and Bells Expedition Stout. These beers are very high in alcohol, with flavors of molasses and dried fruits and many are aged in the bottle for a period of time.
Experiment with these ale styles to match up to your traditional Irish foods this St. Patrick’s Day. Enjoy an Irish Red Ale or a Stout with your celebration and leave the green beer alone! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
