What's on Tap: Standing pat on stout

Published March 7, 2007 at midnight

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Seamus O'Hara and Fergal Murray have a suggestion for what type of beer you ought to have on St. Patrick's Day, a week from Saturday. Do their names give you a hint what the suggestion is?

"It should be a sin to dishonor St. Patrick by ordering a non-Irish beer," said Murray, brewmaster of Guinness stout.

O'Hara and his brother brew an Irish stout with their family name on it. Can he imagine a St. Paddy's Day when more Americans reach for an Irish stout than for a light lager dyed green?

"I hope so, but I don't know. It amazes me that there's such a big market over there for light beers," said O'Hara, calling from Dublin. "I hope to see a lot more people drinking stout on St. Patrick's Day."

On that, the two Dubliners can agree, even if their recommended brands differ.

O'Hara studied brewing during college, and got into home-brewing after graduating. Traveling in England and Belgium boosted his interest in beer, but it was exposure to the microbrewery boom in the U.S. that made him realize there was a fertile middle ground between home-brewing and major breweries.

"This was something my brother and I thought we could do," he said. "Ireland had a great tradition of beer, but it had almost died out. We were down to three breweries, so we had the idea that we could recapture some of what had been lost."

In 1996 they founded Carlow Brewing Co., which makes O'Hara's Irish Stout among other beers; Littleton-based Distinguished Brands International imports O'Hara's. It's on draught at establishments including the Dugout, Falling Rock and Limon.

O'Hara calls his stout fuller in flavor than the more popular Guinness, with strong roasted barley notes. It's not necessarily sweeter than other stouts, but less sour, with almost an espresso flavor, he said.

"Most of the stouts have a lactic- acid character, like yogurt. Guinness even adds lactic acid," O'Hara said. The acid was introduced to fight off bacterial contamination before breweries were geared up with stainless steel equipment. Despite modernization, the lactic acid became part of the tradition for a lot of stouts.

"We feel ours is a more authentic Irish stout," O'Hara said. "Flavor has been brought down in the mass-market stouts to appeal to the younger drinker. We haven't meddled with that."

Like O'Hara, Murray will be in Chicago to promote his product on St. Patrick's Day. But Murray was in Denver last month to visit some of the city's Irish pubs, checking to make sure that barkeeps are pouring Guinness properly - and leading toasts to kick off the green season. Brewmaster since 1995, he checks each batch for quality and spends much of the year traveling the world to promote Guinness.

"I'm always on display, and I have to concentrate - I can never have fun at these toasts," Murray said over lunch at the Irish Snug on East Colfax Avenue. The events give him a taste of rock stardom - but he doesn't let it go to his head.

"It's not me people are interested in, it's the brand," he said. "But it's great to see the interest. It's great to see Irish beer doing well and growing, and it's good to see the microbrew segment growing."

• Downtown's Great Divide Brewing Co., 2201 Arapahoe St., opened a new tasting room on Monday, featuring its award-winning microbrews on eight taps. Founder Brian Dunn promises tastings of seasonal and small- batch brews served exclusively at the Tap Room.

It's a cozy spot where you can peer through windows behind the bar to see the beer being made. The Tap Room is open 2 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, noon to 5 p.m. Saturday. To celebrate this week's opening, half-price beers are offered through Saturday, and customers may enter a drawing for a year's worth of free beer from Great Divide.

• Proto's Denver, the hip pizzeria near 15th and Platte streets, presents a beer tasting from 6 to 9 tonight. Beer flights, $15, will feature brews from Boulder's Twisted Pine Brewing Co.

• Last month I told you about Sam Adams' LongShot beers, home-brew recipes that earned national distribution after a contest sponsored by the company. Already it's time for the 2007 competition, which again offers fame and a $5,000 prize to two lucky home-brewers. Get brewing soon so you can submit entries between April 15 and May 1. For rules, go to samueladams.com.

• Seen on a Newcastle truck: "Driver does not carry bottle opener."

Beer of the month

Odell's Imperial Stout

• The story: Part of the Odell Brewing Single Batch Series, it debuted in limited release last year and is going wider this season. The Fort Collins brewer's next single-batchrelease, Double Pilsner, is expected in May.

• The taste: Rich and robust, with mellow hints of coffee. The Russian-inspired brew is 8 percent alcohol by volume.

• The look: Royally retro, in the style of Odell's sharp, understated labeling.

• Food pairings: Shellfish, smoked salmon, brie, blue cheese

• On sale: In six-packs of 12-ounce bottles, $10.50

What's on Tap appears the first Wednesday of the month in Flavor. dedrickj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5484

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