Murphy's Irish Stout
Murphy Brewery Ireland Limited

I like Guinness better. This one tastes too burnt. A bit too watery as far as mouthfeel is concerned. Definitely an enjoyable beer though. 14.9 oz can

Poured from 14.9 oz can into stout glass. Looks dark, dark brown to black with a cream colored, nitro boosted head. Smell is roasted barley, coffee and cream, and a hit of cocoa. Taste follows nose with roasted malt standing out at first, then chocolate in the middle leads to some bittering and coffee notes in the finish. The taste stands out despite the nitro pour which usually mutes the flavors for me. Feel is amazingly smooth and silky, medium bodied, and a little dry in the finish. Overall, this beer is solid. The aroma and flavor are better than Guiness in my opinion.

14.9oz can, with the widget. Stamped on can bottom is 'BBD JUL2023'.
Deep brown colored body. Creamy beige colored head. The head remains as a partial sheet on the glass.
Aroma is roasted malts, chocolate, and toffee.
Taste is roasted malts, chocolate, a bit of burnt coffee, and a touch of dark fruit.
Thinner mouth feel. Ultimately dry. Very good carbonation.
Has a sweetness and a creamy feel that make the beer extremely easy to drink.

Draft at Temple Bar Dublin

 

Appearance: Pours a completely black, dark opaque color with a strong tan head SRM of 24. (4.25)

Aroma: Strong aromas of dark grains, cocoa, dry chocolate. (4.00)

Flavor: Strong flavors of black grains, cocoa, smooth dry chocolate. (3.75)

feel: Medium-bodied, strong carbonation. Smooth, creamy with chocolate off the end that lingers. (4.25)

Compared to Guinness Draught 3/2023: Pours similar, larger head. Stronger aromas. More chocolate. More flavor overall. Smoother and creamier with more flavor.

Overall: A very nice Irish Dry Stout. Probably better than Guinness with more chocolate flavor and more creamier. Side-by-side and if I had to choose I'd pick this one. (Rating: 3.94)

16 oz can. Pours black with tall, long lasting, creamy, beige head and nice lacing. Aroma is of toasted malt, some dark and toffee. Body is light, creamy and smooth. Taste is of burnt grain, dark fruit, toasted malt, herbal hops and toffee. Finish is long and dry. OK brew.

14.9 oz can from the Wall of Beer in Clemson SC.

I start by being surprised that I haven't rated this beer before. And it's better than I remember. It looks great when poured partially due to the widget enhanced, creamy, dense beige head. It has a clean, roasty flavor with hints of bitter chocolate, coffee and licorice. This stout leaves a mildly bitter aftertaste with a substantial amount of roasted grain flavor.

 

 

 

Purchased from The Blue Door as a 14.9oz can for $2.75. Poured into an elongated tulip glass.

L - Pitch black, with a chestnut aura, and clear. A superfine cascade brings forth a three-finger creamy khaki head, after the course of a few minutes. Head retains extremely well, with gorgeous lacing.
S - Coffee, brown bread, and a hint of dark chocolate. Nice roasted backing.
T - Surprisingly savory. Still getting a roasted sort of brown bread, but it all seems umami in nature. Dry. Well-balanced throughout. A bit more one-dimensional than I would've preferred.
F - Medium-bodied, with mild carbonation. Chewy, and a bit watery. Super easy-to-drink. Silky.
O - Disappointed with the amount of roasted malt notes in your Guinness, but don't want to go balls-deep in baltic porter territory? Try this brew! I'll admit, I sort of wish this had more of a coffee/chocolate backing than it does, but it's pretty good. Fantastically dry. A beer worth pounding. I probably won't get it again, but I definitely won't turn one down.

 

 

Poured from a 14.9oz nitro can best by December 2022

On the pour a long-lasting and beautiful cascade formed leaving a super fine khaki head with honestly very good retention. A few minutes after the pour the head is still at 1 finger and poking out over the top of my pint glass. Body is not quite black but close. A reddish hue shines through.

Aroma is at first sniff, delicate, but once you get in there a nice roasty chocolatey sweet malt comes straight through, despite the thick head. A nice and smooth but lightly fruity ale note is present.

Taste follows the aroma woth dark chocolates and even dark roasted coffee notes are coming from the malts, but they still Maintain a nice sweetness and a bit of a nutty toffee finish. There is a nice balancing bitterness that could be some light hopping at first but it quickly comes through as a definite light burnt malt bitterness, but it goes with the sweetness to make a very nice balance. The ale yeast come through a bit at the end to brighten it up a bit and makes this a nice early fall afternoon refresher.

Feel is very smooth and creamy with virtually no carbonation bite. A very long velvety finish, while still maintaining a very drinkable almost crisp refreshing feel that makes you almost wanna give it an Irish go and chug the whole thing.

Overall this is a very versatile stout. Sessionable like guinness draught, but tasty like an overall better beer. It's the best of both worlds here: Macro consistency and drinkability, with craft flavor and feel. You might say I'm also talking about Sam Adam's and other similar breweries, but this is just better.

 

Exceptionally creamy head, probably thanks to the Draughtflow(r) device in the can. A dark, smooth brew easily up with my experience of Guinness, at least in US bars. Creamy and chocolatey to drink. Not bitter. I like this more than most people here do, but I haven't searched for the perfect stout. The name is Irish, but somehow, it was brewed in Edinburgh Scotland.

 

Can purchased and poured hard at Beer and Brew in Geneva, NY.

This one pours dark inky and glossy black with a big fluffy white head, a cascading bubble thing, and lots of lacing.

This smells like roasted malt and dark chocolate.

This feels pretty much spot on, but it's just so watery and thin. There's just very little flavor here, other than watery roast.

It's very drinkable, kind of creamy, but again, just so watery.

This is obviously a classic, but I don't completely see the appeal.

 

 

Pours a dark brown with a tan, almost nitro like head, somee lacing. Nose gets some roasted grains, taste is similar. Rich creamy body, long lasting carbonation. I prefer this to Guiness.

Appearance: Jet black with khaki mousse-like head exhibiting excellent retention.

Aroma: Roasted malt & coffee like aroma

Flavor: Deep roasted malt, coffee, bittersweet chocolate. Low to medium bitterness. Dry.

Mouthfeel: Light & creamy body. Dry at the finish with a touch of astringency.

Overall: Amazingly smooth & light for a dark beer. Very similar to a Schwarzbier for lager fans. Drank one a little too chilled, the second much warmer. Definitely want to drink this beer on the warm side, makes for a totally different and better drinking experience. Produces a thick, mousse-like head that lasts forever. I could find zero flaws in this sample or the first.

100% very typical of the style but that is the point after all, a little roasty, good malt flavor, super smooth from the nitro, probably more inclined to get this nowadays than Guinness but I also need to revisit Guinness

 

 

 

Like Guinness. Had the Guinness look, but a slightly darker head, a very creamy head. Slightly more bitter than Guinness and had a slightly maltier taste. This is quality, but just like Guinness it needs to be poured well and have all its ducks in a row to be a 5/5 (which it can be).

 

First enjoyed this in Ireland. I’m a Cork man myself, so it holds an extra special place in my heart. On first glance the average drinker would mistaken it for a Guinness. Looks almost identical and smells like that dry stout aroma. However, taste is unique. Low to zero bitterness and more coffee and cocoa notes than Guinness in my opinion. Excellently smooth and creamy. Wonderfully sessionable. However one word of advice, don’t take a tequila shot after slamming one of these!

Poured from pint can into clear plastic cup
Look: Black with a thick tan head measuring 2 fingers with great retention. Extremely similar to a Guinness.
Smell: Subtle coffee and chocolate notes
Taste: Follows the nose with hints to coffee and chocolate. Once again, very similar to a Guinness.
Mouthfeel: Silky smooth, medium bodied with decent carbonation.
Overall: In a blind taste test, I don't think I could tell the difference between this beer and a Guinness, which speaks volumes of how good this beer is.

14.9oz import widget cans, also on tap in Ireland.
L: Pours black w/very dark mahogany at the base w/a 1"" or less thick creamy & firm tan head w/world-class retention, cascading carbonation settles to almost nothing, some thick banding and lacing esp on tap.
S: A hint of sweet dark cocoa, dark roasted malts, light coffee char, light toffee.
T: Lightly sweet, lightly bitter, gentle complex char, dark unsweetened chocolate, a hint of soda bread. It has a beautiful pixelization flip btwx sweet/bitter.
F: It has a soft, plush marshmallowy pillowy medium-bodied mouthfeel with a broad bitterness spread across the tongue then a medium length drying finish and a respectable light linger.
O: An incredibly great tasting beer with little competition other than Guinness and Beamish. All are excellent. Murphy's is extremely easy drinking, not too heavy and is world-class in it's style.

Black in color with minimal light penetration. There’s a half inch of creamy beige head on top. The aroma is of dark malt. I’m tasting dark malt and caramel. The mouth is very creamy and decadently smooth.

 

 

Look: Coal black, with a one finger marshmallow grey head. The head is super dense with amazing staying power. The head has barely disappated after 5 minutes. It leaves lace all over the glass as the beer comes to its ultimate end.

Smell: I'm getting both milk and bitter chocolate, with dark coffee undertones. There is a hint of sandal wood in the mix which adds to the complexity.

Taste: Typical watery front end that you expect from an Irish stout. By the middle of the sip you notice the bitter dark chocolate characteristics, and a substancial creaminess's. Woody with a hint of tabacco flavour at the end.

Feel: Thick, creamy a definate mouthful. There is something for every part of your mouth in this brew.

So here's the thing, stouts as a style are my favourite beer category, but that being said, Irish Stouts are my least favourite stout variation. I tend to find them tops on look and feel, but watery in flavour, and in the end a beers flavour is the most important characteristic to me. All that said, this would be the best Irish stout I've ever had. Not as pretty as a Guinness, but better tasting and with as good a mouthfeel. So it earns a strong B+.

This is by far the best smelling beer I ever smelt but that's where it stops. It's one of the worst tasting beers I ever had.

 

This is another stout with a gas ball inside. Big hiss when you pop the tab and that's it for nitro. Otherwise tastes like a fairly good stout that lost it's fizz. pretty disappointing.