Beer of the Weekend #53: Murphy's Irish Stout
The beer this weekend is Murphy’s Irish Stout brewed by Murphy Brewery Ireland Limited of Cork, Ireland.
In honor of St. Patrick’s feast day (excuse me for only being half Catholic) I’ve decided to review the Big Three Irish stouts in the next week. In preparation, I bought a new piece of glassware tonight, as you can see from the pic. It’s a tulip pint glass, which holds 20 ounces. The Big Three all come in four-packs of nitrogen cans (Guinness is available in six-packs, though) that are a tad bit larger (14.9 and 16 ounces) than normal bottles (12 ounces). Therefore, if you want to do things properly — comme moi — they need to be poured in pint glasses that are a tad bit larger than normal conical pints, which only hold 16 ounces. In the past I’ve used my conicals for nitro cans because it was all I had. When the glass was full — liquid beer plus head — there were always a few ounces left in the can, which I either poured in after taking a few sips from the glass or drank from the can. I’m not doing that ever again.
Speaking about glassware, I took the next step toward beer geekdom tonight. I used a separate dish sponge to wash the glasses. It’s another way to respect beer. I’m becoming very dedicated to my beer drinking.
Just a quick note before moving on to the tasting: I’ve had Murphy’s Irish Stout before — many, many times before — and I think it is my favorite of the Big Three. However, since I’m going to sample each in such quick succession I will be able to confidently crown my favorite next Friday.
Serving type: Four 16-ounce nitrogen cans.
Appearance: Poured a deep black that was not quite opaque. The customary cascade climbed to the top where a finger and a half of very thick, creamy head developed and did not dissipate. It’s beautifully Irish.
Smell: Milk chocolate and coffee.
Taste: The milk chocolate from the smell comes through and is well balanced with an espresso-like bitterness.
Drinkability: It’s smooth, but also watery, as if Murphy’s brewed a stout and diluted it…heavily. Yet it’s amazing. Here’s to you, Leopold.
Fun facts about Murphy’s Irish Stout:
-Serving temperature: 50-55ºF.
-Alcohol content: 4 percent ABV. Low. Very low. I’ll have to check, but that’s probably the lowest ABV of any beer reviewed on BotW.
-Food pairings: BA recommends barbeque, “Latin American,” chocolate, and smoked or grilled meat.
-Murphy’s began exporting its stout internationally in 1985. It was introduced in “25cl long neck stout bottles.” However, it began exporting to the US in 1979.
-Murphy’s also brews a red beer, Murphy’s Irish Red. I drank a sixer in November 2004 (there’s a reason I remember that) and from what I recall it was okay.
-Here’s an interesting tidbit from the Murphy’s website: “In the year of 1913 the No.5 Vat at ‘Lady's Well’ Brewery burst and sent 23,000 galleons of porter flooding through the brewey and out on to Leitrim Street. The Cork Constitution, the local newspaper of the time wrote that ‘a worker had a most exciting experience and in the onrush of porter he had to swim in it for about 40 yards to save himself from asphyxiation.’” Is it the Irish-English spelling or just poor copyediting?
-More interesting Murphy’s history. Marie Louisa Murphy was the daughter of Daniel Murphy, the granduncle of James J. Murphy, the brewery’s founder. She was one of the many mistresses of France’s King Louis XV, and was a favorite model of French artist Francois Boucher. At 14, she posed nude for an apparently famous portrait.
The Quiet Man’s grade: B+.
In honor of St. Patrick’s feast day (excuse me for only being half Catholic) I’ve decided to review the Big Three Irish stouts in the next week. In preparation, I bought a new piece of glassware tonight, as you can see from the pic. It’s a tulip pint glass, which holds 20 ounces. The Big Three all come in four-packs of nitrogen cans (Guinness is available in six-packs, though) that are a tad bit larger (14.9 and 16 ounces) than normal bottles (12 ounces). Therefore, if you want to do things properly — comme moi — they need to be poured in pint glasses that are a tad bit larger than normal conical pints, which only hold 16 ounces. In the past I’ve used my conicals for nitro cans because it was all I had. When the glass was full — liquid beer plus head — there were always a few ounces left in the can, which I either poured in after taking a few sips from the glass or drank from the can. I’m not doing that ever again.
Speaking about glassware, I took the next step toward beer geekdom tonight. I used a separate dish sponge to wash the glasses. It’s another way to respect beer. I’m becoming very dedicated to my beer drinking.
Just a quick note before moving on to the tasting: I’ve had Murphy’s Irish Stout before — many, many times before — and I think it is my favorite of the Big Three. However, since I’m going to sample each in such quick succession I will be able to confidently crown my favorite next Friday.
Serving type: Four 16-ounce nitrogen cans.
Appearance: Poured a deep black that was not quite opaque. The customary cascade climbed to the top where a finger and a half of very thick, creamy head developed and did not dissipate. It’s beautifully Irish.
Smell: Milk chocolate and coffee.
Taste: The milk chocolate from the smell comes through and is well balanced with an espresso-like bitterness.
Drinkability: It’s smooth, but also watery, as if Murphy’s brewed a stout and diluted it…heavily. Yet it’s amazing. Here’s to you, Leopold.
Fun facts about Murphy’s Irish Stout:
-Serving temperature: 50-55ºF.
-Alcohol content: 4 percent ABV. Low. Very low. I’ll have to check, but that’s probably the lowest ABV of any beer reviewed on BotW.
-Food pairings: BA recommends barbeque, “Latin American,” chocolate, and smoked or grilled meat.
-Murphy’s began exporting its stout internationally in 1985. It was introduced in “25cl long neck stout bottles.” However, it began exporting to the US in 1979.
-Murphy’s also brews a red beer, Murphy’s Irish Red. I drank a sixer in November 2004 (there’s a reason I remember that) and from what I recall it was okay.
-Here’s an interesting tidbit from the Murphy’s website: “In the year of 1913 the No.5 Vat at ‘Lady's Well’ Brewery burst and sent 23,000 galleons of porter flooding through the brewey and out on to Leitrim Street. The Cork Constitution, the local newspaper of the time wrote that ‘a worker had a most exciting experience and in the onrush of porter he had to swim in it for about 40 yards to save himself from asphyxiation.’” Is it the Irish-English spelling or just poor copyediting?
-More interesting Murphy’s history. Marie Louisa Murphy was the daughter of Daniel Murphy, the granduncle of James J. Murphy, the brewery’s founder. She was one of the many mistresses of France’s King Louis XV, and was a favorite model of French artist Francois Boucher. At 14, she posed nude for an apparently famous portrait.
The Quiet Man’s grade: B+.
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