Posted on 03/16/2005 9:20:33 AM PST by Dan from Michigan
The true color of Irish beer
Take time to discover the warmth and the richness of Eire's best libations.
By Heather McPherson | Sentinel Food Editor Posted March 16, 2005
With a national beer as thickly colored as liquid chocolate, do you really think any true Irish imbiber would tint his or her beer green on St. Patrick's Day?
"Not in this bar," says Ann Tobar, manager of An Tobar Irish Pub in Hotel Orlando North (formerly the Sheraton Maitland). She expects the house to be packed as the Guinness flows on Thursday.
Pastel beer is for the Bennigan's crowd. Armed with bottles of green food dye, celebrants have trivialized a brew culture that is as rich in flavor as it is in tradition, says Julie Bradford, editor of All About Beer magazine (allabout beer.com).
For the Irish-beer neophyte, lagers might be a good starting point. Think American pilsner with more substance and character. But Bradford urges adventurous drinkers to jump right in with the dry stouts.
"There's not much difference between, say, an Irish Harp Lager and many finely crafted American beers," says Bradford. "If the person prefers to tiptoe into the world of Irish beer, a better bet would be a red ale like Smithwick."
(snip)
Other Irish beers to look for in pubs and full-service liquor stores this St. Patrick's Day are Beamish Irish Stout, Kilkenny Irish Beer, Macardles Traditional Ale, Murphy's Irish Stout (sweeter and rounder than Guinness, says Bradford) or Murphy's Irish Amber.
All have distinctive attri-butes and -- even better -- not a green hue among the lot.
(Excerpt) Read more at orlandosentinel.com ...
I REALLY did not need to see that picture.
It looks like I picked the wrong 40 days to give up drinking.
I gave up pizza instead this year.
Alcohol, soft drinks and french fries this year. I'm down a belt loop.
If I wanted a lite beer, I'd put an ice cube in it.
looks like I picked the wrong day to stop drinking
Congratulations. That's not easy.
Trifecta
.
You might enjoy this joke:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1363438/posts?page=66#66
I'm partial to an Irish brew that can be had here on tap at select pubs. It's called "Smithwick's". Pronounced..."Smitick's". Quite Yummy.
Guinness Draft is the best watery, flat beer around.
>>But seriously, though, folks, authentic Irish music is as hard to listen to as authentic Irish beer is hard to drink
Have some Altan queued up on my iPod right now. "Mazurka" right at the moment. Can't say I understand the Gaelic lyrics in some of the songs, but I really love the music.
Two years ago my wife and I spent a couple of weeks in Ireland on vacation. One of the things I learned is that Guiness taste better when brewed with home waters.
I'm going to have a few pints of the black stuff tonight for my birthday, and a few more tomorrow as a cure! *LOL*
Who among us does not love, "H - A - Double R - I, G - A - N spells Harrigan"?
I swear I was thinking "What if this Freeper is of the fairer sex?" after I typed the comment.
Then, in my arrogant masculine way, threw caution into the wind and let the chips fall where they may...Sorry for the presumption on my part.
Just as the Englishman's sitting down, a fly dive-bombs his pint and falls in. The Englishman, disgusted, pours the whole beer out, and orders another pint of Bass.
Seconds later, another fly ends up in the Irishman's pint. The Irishman plucks the fly out from the beer, throws it over his shoulder, and drinks the pint in one gulp.
Moments after this, a third fly falls into the Scotsman's pint. The Scotsman plucks out the fly, stares it right in the eye, and yells, "SPIT IT OOT, YE BASTID! SPIT IT OOT!!"
Do yourself a favor and order a Half & Half. Not only will you neatly sidestep the legacy of the Black & Tan's, Harp's better than Bass anyway.
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