The Best St. Patrick's Day Irish Stouts

St. Patrick was born in Wales around 385 AD (no one is sure about this date) and his death was recorded on the 17^th day of March 431 AD, thus marking the commemoration of St. Patrick's Day to be celebrated in honor of the patron St. Patrick. March 17^th is a national holiday in Ireland and has always been a religious observance. As the years past the 17^th of March became a full on celebration with dancing, drinking and feasting on one of Ireland's most traditional foods, "beacon and cabbage".

The wearing of green, Shamrocks and green ribbons are worn in celebration of St. Patrick since the 17^th century and are still adorned today. It is said that St. Patrick used the Shamrock, which is a three-leaved clover plant, to explain and introduce the "Holy Trinity" to the pagan Irish. St. Patrick's goal was to convert as many Irish pagans to Christianity as possible and through the many years of his mission he was able to convert most of Ireland's pagans into Christianity.

During the celebration of St. Patrick's Day there is a large consumption of Irish Stout and several brands to choose from, even green stout! Listed below are some of the Irish Stout's available. Most, if not all of these are imported directly from Ireland and will guarantee traditional authentic Irish Stout.

Guinness Stout

Guinness Stout is a traditional Irish beer that comes from the St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin, Ireland. The average coast for a six-pack of this imported beer is around $9.29 to $12.00 depending on what state you are in and what store you are at.

The appearance is a very dark brown with a thick body and a tawny yellowish head. This particular stout smells of rich chocolate and sweet roasted malt undertones. The taste is just that, sweet chocolate and malt with a little bit of a bitter sourness at the end that lingers nicely in the mouth. Guinness does not leave you feeling overly full and does not have the high alcohol volume that some of the others may have; which means that you can drink this beer all day!

Old Plowshare Organic Stout

Old Plowshare Stout comes from the North Coast Brewing Company in Fort Bragg, California. Although this stout is not an import, it is just a tasty as any of the imported Stout's from Ireland. You can purchase this stout just about anywhere and it coasts $9.99 to $11.00 per six-pack. It is dark brown in appearance with a slight garnet color around the edges. The head is a very light brown that is huge and puffy. The aroma is that of bitter chocolate and sweet barley, along with roasted malt. The massive flavor of this beer is will tantalize your taste buds with its chocolate sweetness and it has a high alcohol content, so be careful when consuming this beer, drink to many and you might fall over!

Murphy's Draft Style Irish Stout

Murphy's draft style stout comes out of the Murphy's brewery in Ireland, it runs about &9.99 to $11.00 per six-pack. This stout has an off-white head to it and is pitch black in color with red tones. Murphy's is smooth and mild on the nose with roasted malt. This beer is very smooth and creamy going down and the flavors of sweet and sour leaves a lingering freshness in your mouth. Murphy's stout does not have high alcohol content, so you can consume a little more than others.

North Coast Old No. 38 Stout

This stout also comes from the North Coast Brewery in Fort Bragg, California and will coast about $9.99 per six-pack. The appearance is a nice light brown with a little red that shows through. No. 38 Stout smells great, it is probably the sweetest beer I have ever smelled with a nice chocolate and malt scents. The flavor of this beer is wonderful, not to dry and not to wet. It's very sweet and filling.

Moylan's Dragoons Dry Irish Stout

This stout comes from the Moylan's Brewery at 15 Rowland Way Novato, California. This dry stout has a huge head with a black appearance, but is really dark brown with a hint of garnet around the edges. The smell is a little funky with chocolate undertones. The taste is amazingly smooth, creamy and the semi-sweet chocolate dominates this beer. The coast for a six-pack is about $12.00.

References for this article came from guinness.com and beverages.suite.101.com