Beer of the Day Review - Beamish Draught Irish Stout

Let me start by saying that this is a biased review. I LOVE Draught Irish Stouts. I consider Guinness Draught to be the 'Nectar of the Gods'. I plan to eventually shell out about a grand to get a home keg set-up with the nitro tank so I can enjoy Guinness on tap at home. Also, I consider Murphy's Irish Stout to be just as good as Guinness. Now enter into the equation Beamish Draught Irish Stout, from Beamish & Crawford in Cork, Ireland. (FYI, draught is just a different spelling of draft, it's pronounced the same.)

The reviews on Beeradvocate.com were good and the price was great so I picked up a 4-pack of nitro-cans at ABC Fine Wine & Spirits in Doral. Truely one of the best beer decisions I have ever made.

Forgive my blasphemy but... this may be better than Guinness! It pours with less head than Guinness, even with that same nitro widget bouncing around inside my can like an agitator ball in a can of Krylon. The head might be slightly less but it's still creamy and the color is still black with a touch of red around the edges when held up to the light.

For the uninformed, some beers, like Guinness, use nitrogen to help create that thick, creamy head. Nitro is the only way Guinness is poured on tap at any bar and to help recreate that at home the widget was created, which is basically just a little ball with nitrogen in it that is placed inside the can (or bottle). When the beer is opened the change of pressure releases the nitrogen and it mixes with the beer and creates that cascade effect that looks like an upside down waterfall in the glass and forms that wonderful creamy head. (I'm in a rush so that's the quick and dirty explanation. For a more on point, technical breakdown hit up Wikipedia.)

Now back to the review - this beer may be better than Guinness! Nitro beers are known to not have much of a smell, somehow this is a side effect of the nitro, but what I can smell is basically roasted malt, some chocolate malt and coffee. The taste is bitter but sweeter than Guinness, mainly roasted malt and chocolate. Don't get me wrong, the sweetness is a good thing and in no way overpowering.

As far as the mouthfeel, that is pretty much like Guinness & Murphy's, which is thin and ever so slightly chewy. Some folks don't like the nitro-stouts because they are so thin, some might even call it watery. Those folks want something rich and hearty and full-bodied. There's nothing wrong with that but rich and hearty is usually not as easily drinkable as light and thin, so there, to me, is the beauty of the nitro-stout. Combine that with a 4.10% abv and we have a beer that you can drink as long as you want.

So at the end of the day, I learned that Beamish is a great beer, sweeter than the typical Irish Dry Stout and incredibly smooth... and it leaves some nice lacing, too. If Beamish was as popular and as available as Guinness then I would be drinking Beamish instead. Unfortunatly, it isn't so I'll just have to enjoy it whenever I encounter it. 

With all that said, and my obvious bias laid out on the table, I hereby pronounce this as my first Glass FULL beer. If you don't like Guinness then don't bother with this one but if you do like Guinness then you need to try Beamish, it's just that much tastier. Cheers!

I just found this video about Beamish, check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGukSK33QRs

The Beer of the Day