By Greg B. Another St. Patty’s day is coming in shortly, and no doubt there will be giant celebrations in Fells point and Canton, involving the miller lite girls and the Michelob girls and the Budweiser girls.  But this St. Patty’s day, why not drink some good beer for a change?  And no, green, in this case, does not necessarily equal good.  (Picture of a beam in the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin. Taken by me on 20 May 2007. Text reads, “Everyone’s Irish on March 17th”.)

I know, everyone loves just to get drunk on St. Patty’s day, and some of the best things to do that with are quick shots of whiskey and downing a few miller lites for cheap at a packed bar, but if you really want to go and enjoy good beer while doing this, you should probably pick from the following list, which represent my favorite Irish beers, in order of favoritism.  And yes, I’m aware that I’m probably about to take some flak for this.

Ohara’s Celtic Stout: I love this beer, and yes, Guinness is not my #1 favorite Irish beer.  One of the few places I’ve seen it in Baltimore (that I was looking for something different, anyway) is at Slainte’, in Fells Point in the upstairs bar.   It has a really wonderful coffee flavor and it is an absolute great balance of malts and bitters.  I think of all the Irish beers, this one has the most distinct character itself, both in flavor and aroma.  I guarantee you’ll enjoy it if you find it (if you like stouts, that is) and I think you’ll see why it’s #1 on my list of Irish beers. If you can find it, you should definitely try it.

Murphy’s Irish Stout: So it’s a close call between Guinness and Murphy’s as to which of these I prefer, and for the sake of controversy, I’ll put it here on the list!  It has a distinct character to it, a little less body than Guinness but also slightly sweeter, not quite a milk-stout, but something approaching it.  Still retains a beautiful roasted malt/barley aroma and taste.  Not on tap everywhere, and I don’t like it from the can (tends to be kinda flat), but if you can find it, go for it!

Guinness Stouts: I said stouts because you are likely to come across a few different ones by Guinness, here in the US.  The Guinness draught is by far the most common and my favorite of the bunch.  Try to get it on tap rather than the can, though the can’s nitrogen release widget does a good job (a better job than Murphy’s I think), it’s still not the same as getting it from the tap.  The dark roasted barley flavor is dominant in this beer, both on smell and on taste and it is a great balance between the thick, creaminess of the beer as well as bitterness of the hops and roasted malts.  The Guinness extra stout is another beer you may come across, usually sold in bottles.  This beer tends to be higher in alcohol than the draught (yes, lets dispel that myth right here.  The darker/heavier the beer does not equal the stronger/more alcoholic the beer.  There are plenty of beers, say, Clipper City’s Hang Ten which are 10% abv and are WAY lighter than a Guinness draught, which comes in something like 4.1% abv) and is also tends to be a bit thinner in body but really drives home that dark roasted malt character.  A good beer, less filling than the draught!

Molings Traditional Red Ale: Another great beer from the same brewery that produces the Celtic stout, this is a great red ale.  Fitting the style of beer well, this is a very malty, caramely beer that pours a nice red color.  You can definitely taste the toasted malts at the finish, which actually has a little bitter crispness to it that clears out the malty mouthfeel of the beer pretty well.  A good all around red ale.

Smithwicks Irish Ale -  If you want to pronounce it more officially, don’t say “I’d like a smith-wicks”.  That’s almost as bad as going to Geno’s or Pats and not knowing what you are going to order before it comes your turn to order.  It’s pronounced “Smiticks”.  A good red ale, it smells of toasted malts to give it a caramel type of smell.  Has a clean finish, pours a nice red color (again, get it on tap rather than in the bottle, it’ll taste better).

Harp Irish Lager:  Another good beer, I think produced by Guinness (Note the harp in the logo of Guinness and the name of this beer!) .  Definitely the lightest of the beers in this list in color, it has a nice floral/fruity aroma and a good all-around mouthfeel taste.  While lagers are not my favorite beer styles, this one is an OK choice for your St. Patty’s Day needs.

Kilians Irish Red – Not a bad beer, but kind of tasteless compared to some of the aforementioned beers.  If you’re looking for a good guzzler,  don’t want to drink Miller or Coors but want something decidedly more “Irish”, this is for you (though I think Coors brews this beer).  It has barley a hint of any hops and a shred of malty flavor to it, leaving is very crisp and easy to drink (many).