The true color of Irish beer

Orlando Sentinel ^ | 3-16-05 | Heather McPherson

[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.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Point taken! I'll do that later tonight when we hit the pub* after a sumptuous feast of me Irish MIL's Corned Beef and Cabbage. Yum!

*A "Pub" on St. Patty's Day, a "Bowling Alley" the other 364 days of the year, LOL!

[B Knotts]

ROFL

[knews_hound]

Home Brew is Best BTTT.

Cheers,

knews hound

[uglybiker]

Kitty sez Happy Birthday.
:-P