Murphy's Irish Stout

The dark brown, near opaque, Murphy's Irish Stout has been a favorite of the beer community for a long time however it is recently (over the last 10 years) also gaining some crossover support from your average Guinness drinker. It may not have the advertising and distribution budget of Guinness but if your a fan of Guinness, your going to love Murphys.

The pour is extremely rich with a small, maybe half inch, tan head. Excellent lacing with the smell of roasted coffee beans and toast. This nitro beer appears to contain more carbonation than Guinness yet just as smooth and easy to drink.

This brew is not as extreme as my favorite nitro brew, Youngs Double Chocolate, but very good none the less.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Guinness 250 Anniversary

Growing up in New Orleans, Abita Turbo Dog has always been my favorite stout. I enjoyed the flavor of nitrogen mixed Guinness but it was always a novelty item for me. I would occasionally drink a Guinness only when I knew it would soon be followed by something else. I could appreciate the roasted chocolate-toffee like taste and the rich sweet smell but I never got use to its deceptive feel in my mouth. At first glance, it looks like a heavy, high abv, beer that you would drink for a nite cap, but it ends up feeling like a very good, sweet stout that was never conditioned.

Then came Guiness 250. I swear the first time I tasted this brew I pictured a Turbo Dog. It is everything that a Guiness should be. It still have that sweet alluring aroma and deep coffee-toffee taste, but the added co2 makes the finish just as good as rest. The only down side for me was that the 250 brew was not as heavy as the origional, which was not a heavy beer to begin with.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised and look forward to another one.