More than 33.3 million U.S. citizens identify their heritage as Irish. That’s not only about 44 percent of the world’s 75 million-strong Irish diaspora, but it’s also more than five times the 6.5 million population of Ireland itself. Also, with apologies to Arthur Guinness, his namesake beer has an audience here in the U.S., but not a large one. There are two main beer styles that we typically think of in connection with the Emerald Isle: dry stout and red ale. When it comes to Irish dry stouts, your natural inclination is likely to order a Guinness. That’s fine. It’s a classic. But there’s a world of Irish-style American craft beer out there to explore, and they’re not all Guinness. Irish dry stouts are black beer with a dry-roasted character thanks to the use of roasted barley. The emphasis on coffee-like roasted barley and a moderate degree of roasted malt aromas define much of the character. Hop bitterness is medium-to-medium high. Irish reds are close to American red ales, but rely more on malty sweetness than hoppy bitterness. There is a bit of contention surrounding Irish reds, with some debate as to its historical past and true characteristics. We are told that the Celtic ales brewed in Ireland in the Middle Ages had a recognizably red tinge, although the modern version of what we consider the “Irish-style red ale” is most likely very different from the style of this early account. You don’t have to book a flight to Ireland to get a taste, either. You can enjoy Irish-style beers at Peaks and Pints today via our flight Craft Beer Crosscut 3.15.18: A Flight of Irish Style.
Iron Horse Quilter’s Irish Death
7.8% ABV, 12 IBU
Ellensburg, Washington’s Iron Horse Brewery is an iconoclastic brewery. They’re not ones to copy/paste a style into their profile just to compete with the Irish beer giants. Quilter’s Irish Death was born of a reverence to the dry Irish stout. Created by the Iron Horse Brewery founder Jim Quilter, this craft beer has been called a sweet stout, strong ale and Scotch Ale. We call it delicious with a massive amount of malt that goes down easy. On the nose, caramel malt was definite and distinct. On the tongue, is over-the-top malty with sweetness and caramel flavor. We survived this beer candy to see another day.
Task Force Dead Cell Jack Irish Stout
5% ABV
According to Task Force Brewing Dead Cell Jack Irish Stout hype, “When John ‘Jack’ Miller first emigrated to the US, there weren’t many jobs for a lowly Irishman from Bantry. He was pleased to get a job at a garage, doubly so when he was offered a nickel for each car battery (‘cell’ in the late ’20s) he sold — handy when you have 8 kids to feed! Strangely enough, nearly every car he serviced needed a new battery and shortly after that every one in the Connecticut River Valley knew to avoid ‘Dead Cell’ Jack for car repairs. Jack soon moved on to American Brass, where he worked the rest of his life. This dry, lightly roasty stout, with hints of chocolate and caramel is what I imagine my grandfather would have enjoyed at the end of a workday. With maybe a drop of Uisce Beatha to follow.” There you have it.
Stones Throw Mickey’s Irish Red
6% ABV
In the spring of 2016, Jack Pflueger and Tony Luciano, the latter of whom is also the brewer, opened Stones Throw Brewing in the greater Bellingham area — a stones throw from the Interurban Trail, Boulevard Park, downtown Bellingham and Chuckanut Drive. The duo repurposed shipping containers in their sustainable building design. Their bar, featuring refrigerated cup holders, is made from two huge pieces of scrap steel once part of a bridge near Mt. Vernon. Their Mickey’s Irish Red gets its deep red color from the good portion of roasted barley in the grain bill. Slightly sweet with plenty of malt and caramel flavors, Mickey’s finishes slightly dry. There is just enough bitterness from single addition of English hops to bring a bit of balance.
Breckenridge Nitro Irish Stout
4.8% ABV, 38 IBU
Breckenridge Brewery, based in Littleton, Colorado, released Nitro Dry Irish Stout, a beer brewed in collaboration with Belfast’s Boundary Brewing Cooperative. The new stout is the third installment of Breckenridge’s Nitro Series, which thus far has also included the Nitro Vanilla Porter and Nitro Lucky U IPA. Nitro Dry Irish Stout is brewed with roasted barley, flaked barley and Irish Stout Malt, yielding a black color, creamy body, coffee flavors and a dry finish.
Guinness Extra Stout
4.2% ABV, 45 IBU
Arthur Guinness actually began by brewing ales and porters. It wasn’t until 1819, with the introduction of Daniel Wheeler’s black “patent” malt, that stouts began to be brewed. The words “dry” or “Irish” are often tacked on to “stout” in order to differentiate it from English and American sweet or milk stouts, which usually contain oatmeal or lactose. Yes, the Guinness brewery in Park Royal, London closed in 2005. The production of all Guinness sold in the UK and Ireland was moved to St. James’ Gate Brewery, Dublin. We’re going place it on this flight for old time’s sake. Guinness Extra Stout is a top-fermenting brew made with roasted malts and roasted unmalted barley. It’s classified as a “dry stout” or “Irish stout” — smoother and roastier than its English and American counterparts. The regular stuff is extra-dark with a black hue and a dense, tan-colored foam. Despite its dark color and strong flavor it’s medium-bodied and quite drinkable.
