Hey everyone,

I need to find out something for a school assigment: which Irish beer do you like best? And how did you started drinking Irish beers?

I need this information to make a report in which amongst others I am going to include a top 5 of Irish beers and the reasons why people start drinking Irish beers.

And I have to give a presentation about it. Still have got three weeks left of the 5 I was given so please help me out.

Sorry I do not drink but I thought the following may give you some info:
www.beamish.ie
www.beb.ie
www.bulmers.ie
www.caffreys.ie
www.carlowbrewing.com
www.guinness.ie
www.murphysbeers.com
www.iol.ie/~ange/harp.htm
www.irishpubguide.ie
www.dublindrinking.com

If you are still standing after all that drinking go to www.checkout.ie where you will find more info for your project.
Cheers.

Suggest strongly that you research the various beverages that an american would call beer but the Irish would call lager, bitter, stout, porter, and so on. Guinness is as different from Smithwicks Red as rye bread from Sourdough.
In other words redefine your essay. As for a top five-by volume is misleading since the cheapest beer will usually come out on top.
Why not take a different tack and contact any bars in Chicago or New York that have Irish names as well as bars in Dublin, Cork, Kilkenny and other Irish towns and ask them which beverages are the most requested.
Also learn what a black and tan is and I don't mean the historical bogeyman of Irish revolution days.

Hi

To be sure, ya can't beat a pint of Guinness - I drink it cos it's high in iron! Also it's creamy head and low bubble composition hooks you in. From the same "stable", Kilkenny goes down smooth too.

Cheers

"top 5" in what respect?

>>>>>>
Also learn what a black and tan is
>>>>>>>

the black and tan is favoured by americans (or irish-americans) in my experience. it doesn't seem to be very popular among the real irish.

to help with your research, i started to drink guinness because a friend at the time did (i was young and impressionable). this was just a phase that did not last very long. i now have it pretty rarely. i hardly ever have any other irish beers unless i'm in ireland (and i don't go there very often). i prefer english beers as they are fresher/less traveled than anything that is actually brewed in ireland.

i don't know about other irish beers but guinness is suffering from loss of sales. the london brewery was closed this year and now guinness for the UK market is brewed in ireland. uk is the largest market for guinness. it is less popular in ireland as well. young men here generally prefer lager or the WKD type drinks. wine or WKD types, by women. the old pint is generally seen as your dad's drink.

i think guinness extra cold was introduced to get the younger people on board but from my casual observation at the pub, it is not very popular.

Now I'm curious... what is a black and tan? (this "real Irish person" has never heard of it...)
thanks

This seems to me an odd topic for a school assignment - or is "school" being used in the American sense, to include tertiary education as well as high school and younger?

Where I come from a black-and-tan is 50-50 stout and lager, but it's not too common - Irish-Australians have never gone in for nostalgia.

Kilkenny - now you're talking. Good balance and body.

Black and Tan in Ireland is Half Guinness and half Smithwicks ( Ale).

Hello
One of our favourite beers is Harp Lager. It id defenitly the most popular larger. Its a bit heavier than most larger. Of course you cannot beat Guinness which is drank by the gallon over here! Its an aquired taste but once you drink your second pint, your in love!!

That's funny, I always thought a Black and Tan was Guinness and Harp. I guess it depends on what the pub has on hand. The last time I had one was years ago in Philadelphia.
Our favorite Irish beer is Caffrey's, but only on tap. My husband used to enjoy draught Caffrey's at some of the Irish pubs in Brussels, but then there was a distributor dispute and that was the end of Caffrey's (on tap) in Brussels.

I am Irish and have never seen or heard of anyone ordering a black and tan in Ireland. Harp is p***. Most people in Ireland tend to drink imported beers now - from Holland/Germany/Belgium and even US plonk!
Carlsberg and Heineken are the most popular lagers here.

Do any of you Irish folks recall the experimental "Guinness White" beer that was tested in 1995? I had 2 pints of it in a pub in Dublin...it had a faint taste of pepper to it. Guess it didn't do well since I've never seen it since.

We have one stout from a micro brewery here with Oysters in it! Aphrodisiac qualities - as long as you don't drink too much!

hey you guys,

tnx for the info... it has really helped me.

I do need some more info about how you guys started drinking Irish beers?

I went to the pub aged 16 and bought a beer. That's how I started. In that year of 'pretending to be 18' I drank Irish, English and Belgian beer along with wines from around the globe. This is how it began for me.

Hi remial
Poor you. I too am in the middle of an assignment for my degree. Mine's on conflict in the workplace, how exciting! I definitely think your assignment sounds so much nicer!!
Think with a lot of us it started with a sip from an adults glass when we were younger.One sip lead to another and I guess because you know that particular beer and have tasted it and know how to pronounce it thats the one you end up ordering on your first night of freedom!! As for me I drink Budweiser, only because thats what I started with, not sure at all if its the best beer but I always end up ordering it if I.m drinking beer. Really hope assignment goes well for you!

There are lots of publications about drinking at the moment in the UK - as they are very worried about binge drinking - here is one to get you started - it might be helpful for your assignment.
http://www.ias.org.uk/factsheets/binge-drinking.pdf

OOps remial, forgot you were asking about Irish beers, my boyfriend drinks Guiness. as does every male I know bar one.!! Guess its handed down from Dad to son or male role model or something. In Ireland its ok for women to drink pints of lager but to this day it seems odd for a lady to have a pint of Guinness in her hand, or at least its more unusual!

How one starts drinking Irish beers (in Middle America):

1. At minimum legal drinking age, go to bar with slightly older and more worldly friend.

2. Friend orders Guinness.

3. Think to self, "Guinness, eh? That's an Irish beer, isn't it? Like the Book of Records. I should try one of those."

4. Order Guinness.

5. Wait for Guinness.

6. Taste Guinness.