Murphy’s Stout

Today’s beer is Murphy’s Stout. Like the Wexford Irish Cream I reviewed yesterday, Murphy’s comes in a can with a nitrogen widget. When opened, the widget releases the nitrogen into the beer and turns pouring it into an event. The Japanese can keep their tea ceremony, crack open one of these and see what makes the lads in Ireland say, “if you’re lucky enough to be born Irish, you’re lucky enough.”

So what happens when you start the pour? In this case you’re greeted by a dark, almost black beer with a not quite white head. The nitrogen bubbles in the beer begin to wash down the inside of the glass from the top to the bottom in a series of waves that, much like staring into a bonfire, is completely mesmerizing. This settling process only took about 40 seconds before I was left with a dramatically dark glass of beer that you couldn’t see through, topped by a half finger of creamy foam.

The dark roasts of the stout come through in the aroma along with metallic hints from the can itself. The beer itself felt somewhat watery in my mouth, with none of the creaminess I expected after drinking the similarly presented Wexford yesterday.

The taste of this beer is very much in keeping with the stout style; dark, roasted coffee-like malts dominate the beer. The only hint of hops in this beer come at the end of a drink in the nice dry finish. The light feel and low 4% alcohol content make this a very drinkable beer. I would not hesitate to recommended this beer for someone just getting into stouts. For a true stout purist, however, there are better beers out there with deeper flavors and real creaminess.

By Eric – beer loving husband.