Irish beers to help make your St. Patty's Day authentic

Originally published in the March 16, 2011 issue of the Coast Report
By Annie Kim, News Editor

Photo courtesy of Google

A St. Patrick’s Day celebration is never complete without a nice tall glass of cold beer. So for the sake of research and to become fully prepared for the upcoming holiday, four popular Irish beers were put to the test.

The first beer on the tasting menu was Smithwicks, pronounced “Smitticks.” This Irish ale was first produced by brewer John Smithwick in 1710.

On first sight the beer is a dark brown color but still somewhat clear with a thick white foamy head. It definitely had a malt taste with noticeable hops. The beer was smooth and it was fun to keep saying “Smitticks” with each sip.

The second Irish beer was Kilkenny Irish Cream Ale which originated from Ireland’s oldest brewery. This beer was reddish-brown in color and had a creamy taste to it.

Kilkenny, along with Smithwicks are both brewed by the Guinness brewery company.

The next beer was Bass and although it is an English ale it was recommended by Aubre Day, the bartender at Skosh Monahan’s because of its popularity in Ireland. This beer was much lighter than the first two ales but seemed to have just as much intensity in flavor.

The last and final beer on my quest of finding the perfect Irish beer was Harp Lager. This beer is also brewed by Guinness and is said to be made with water from the Cooley Mountains in Dundalk, Ireland.

This beer was the lightest in color and noticeably crisp in taste, especially when compared to the other three beers.

So, after tasting four different beers and contemplating which beer reigned supreme, the best answer I could find was — try all four. After all, it’s St. Patrick’s Day.