Looking for a new irish beer in USA

[barley ben]

does anybody know of some "other than the typical" irish beers that are possible to find in south New Jersey that are worth checking out? i can find many from many countries except ireland. i do love many of the popular ones but i'd like to try something new.

[barley ben]

sorry for all the "many's". i was just typing and didn't realize i did that!!

[Theakston]

Red Biddy is a nice fruity red ale from Ireland. It's available via mail order from the folks who sponsor this web-site.
The Real Beer Rare Beer Store:
(click on retail from the home page, then beverage bistro clubs, then beer, then rare beer store, then Ireland)

Only problem is it does take a while to get the orders shipped, due to the ridiculous inter-state alcohol laws in the USA. They have to ship it to a reseller in your state who then ships it to you.

[steveh]

There are three new offerings available in the Chicago area from the Carlow brewing company: http://www.carlowbrewing.com

Chicago isn't necessarily known for premiering new beers in the country, so I imagine you'd be able to find it nation-wide.

They have a "Celtic" Wheat that is supposed to be based on an ancient recipe. I found it sort of bland. And they have a typical Irish Red Ale, that I found okay, but nothing spectacular. Then they have a Stout - which I found pretty outstanding.

The trouble with the marketing is that all of these beers have their own name, the stout is O'Hara's, and it's difficult to tell that all three are brewed by Carlo. The packaging helps some, but it's sort of confusing.

Good luck.

S.

[Richard English]

It's happened again! I did post an answer to this and now it's gone! I wonder if it's something I'm doing!

The reason why you can't find many Irish beers is simply because there aren't many to find. Unlike the UK with its hundreds of breweries and thousands of beers, Ireland has very few.

Guinness's monopoly is even more extreme than once was A-B's in the USA. There are only around ten breweries in Ireland, few of whom produce anything worth drinking.

[barley ben]

hey, thanks for the info. i thought i was just missing it when im looking for new brews. guess im not. if English doesn't know of any then there must not be any worth while.

[Bryant]

does anybody know of some "other than the typical" irish beers that are possible to find in south New Jersey that are worth checking out?

I know around my area "The Southeast" all I see is Harp and Guinness. In fact, "our" Harp seems to be actually brewed in Canada, but I quite like it..... You know it seems like I might have tried an Irish Ale in a pint size bottle once from a larger liquor store in my area that I wasn't familiar with about a year ago, but it was flat out undrinkable. :(

Sorry I couldn't be more help. : /


Bryant

[barley ben]

man, let me tell ya. its hard to find new drinks in south jersey. i found one spot that has a good selection and that was by luck. i dont know where your from, but if you happen to be on I-295, stop off at the little liquor store on exit 21 ringht across from wa-wa. they have a great selection. it doesn't look like they would from outside. not much irish beer but some really great brews for south jersey.

[steveh]

Originally posted by barley ben ...then there must not be any worth while. [/B]

As Richard is correct that there are few small Irish breweries, it is not correct to assume there aren't any worth while. The O'Hara's Stout is worth seeking out and a good alternative to the mass marketed Guinness, Beamish, and Murphy's.

S.

[Richard English]

I have never been able to find O'Hara's stout although I have heard it spoken of. The only O'Hara's brewery on the Internet is in Minnesota, USA.

O'Hanlon's stout is well-known, of course. but it is brewed in England (in Devon) not in Ireland.

[steveh]

Originally posted by Richard English I have never been able to find O'Hara's stout although I have heard it spoken of.

Again, a drawback of their marketing strategy. O'Hara's is brewed by Carlow Brewing - Carlow, Ireland:
http://www.carlowbrewing.com/home.htm

Under the "outlets" section of their site it shows where you can find their beer worldwide. Please let us know if you find it, I'd be interested in your opinion of the stout.

S.

[barley ben]

the only outlet in the u.s. is around a 8 to 10 hour drive from me. i may stop by there if im heading that way, but it is quite a hike to pick up some beer! i'll check it out more in depth though. maybe they distribute it somewhere in my area. thanks...

[Richard English]

Quote "...Again, a drawback of their marketing strategy..."

I agree!

Even their UK outlets are unbelievable! Colne, for goodness' sake! That's just about the ends of the earth. Nobody goes there and there's nothing beyond it except dales!

And a Google search for the brand doesn't even find it!

When it's available somewhere sensible (London, say) I'll give it a go!

[steveh]

Are the U.K. outlets in the west? Closer to the "old sod?"

No Google find? Hmm - that's how I found the info right after I purchased a six-pack - try this one, the review follows my feelings of Carlow's beers pretty close: http://www.tobp.com/review/beer.asp?t=516

And no, the Steve being referred to is not me! At least, I don't think...

Here's one from your neighborhood: http://www.bottledbeer.co.uk/beer.asp?beerid=899 - and it says that the U.K. version is bottle conditioned Richard! I don't think the U.S. import is - now it looks like you'll *have* to seek it out! ;)

Steve

[Richard English]

Well, that's really strange. The first place I tried to check out O'Hara's was the Oxford Bottled Beer Database (which is the site you referred me to) and the neither of the search terms O'Hara's or Irish Stout could find it. However, Carlow did. I have written to the webmaster to suggest that there might be a glitch in the indexing.

I can't imagine why Carlow have chosen the distributors they have. As I said, Colne is just about as far away from anywhere as you can get!

We would suggest that it's just the Irish in them! (You may not know but the Irish are the butt of the "stupid people" jokes in the UK. I'm not sure which race has that unfortunate distinction in the USA - is it the Poles?)

Anyway, I'll obviously have to try again to find it though it'll have a hard job to beat my favourite stout - Lion from Sri Lanka.

[steveh]

Originally posted by Richard English
We would suggest that it's just the Irish in them! (You may not know but the Irish are the butt of the "stupid people" jokes in the UK. I'm not sure which race has that unfortunate distinction in the USA - is it the Poles?)

Anyway, I'll obviously have to try again to find it though it'll have a hard job to beat my favourite stout - Lion from Sri Lanka.

Yes, I saw "Snatch." Funny how all of those "Gypsies" had Irish accents...I suppose Michael Collins could have had a good laugh at Brad Pitt. ;)

The Irish in the U.S. are more known for their tempers (hence the colloquialism in my header), and not their drinking as much any more - thank goodness. Although, my grandfather was a fair man with the bottle and his bare knuckles.

Singling out a race of which to make fun has, happily, diminished in the U.S. these days. But there are still those who choose to remain hateful, the world over.

I wouldn't match up the O'Hara's to the Lion Stout either - they're almost two different styles. If I recall (it's been some time since I had the Lion), the Lion is a bit more robust and heavy on the roasted malts - similar to Guinness' Extra Stout. The O'Hara's is more subtle and slightly sweet - almost creamy.

S.