Today’s the day for a good Irish stout. Photo
courtesy CabotCreamery.com.

Irish beer has a relatively low profile in the beer world, where Belgians, Germans, Czechs and our own American microbreweries tend to take center stage.

The exception is Dublin’s Guinness. It’s ubiquitous, but it hardly leads a vanguard of the best Irish beers.

In the opinion of many, award-winning O’Hara’s Irish Stout, from a 10-year-old Irish brewery, makes a richer, smoother, more complex stout than the ubiquitous Guinness. It pairs well with everything, including seafood (we even continued to drink it with our dessert, apple pie).

Read our review of Irish beers and see how Guinness compared with Harp Lager, Fuller’s, Smithwick’s Ale and O’Hara’s.

We woke up and brewed a cup of Irish Breakfast Tea, enjoyed with some lemon-ginger scones from Sticky Fingers scone mix, our favorite (along with Iveta scones) for making delicious, moist scones with ease.

You’ve probably seen Irish Breakfast Tea—maybe even own a box. But do you know what it is?

In Ireland, “Irish Breakfast Tea” is simply called “tea.” It is a full-bodied, malty-flavored black tea blend, due to a combination of hearty Assam tea from India blended (which contributes the malty flavor) and Ceylon tea from Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon, which has a delicate, bright and lively flavor).

The proportion of the two teas is up to the blending company, but a classic tea will have a heavier weight of Assam. Most people drink it with a bit of milk, but a fine-quality blend is delicious drunk straight. It’s a strong tea: Many drink it only as a breakfast waker-upper. But the Irish love their tea strong, and drink it throughout the day.

Enjoy a cup of hearty Irish Breakfast Tea.
Photo by Sara Sang | IST.

After breakfast, Irish tea is served generally three times a day: a break at 11 a.m., 3-5 p.m. afternoon tea and high tea, or supper, at 6 p.m.

Learn more about tea in our Gourmet Tea Section.

The difference between Irish Breakfast Tea and English Breakfast Tea: English Breakfast Tea is full-bodied blend, though not as robust as Irish breakfast tea. It was blended to go well with milk and sugar, the style enjoyed with a full English breakfast.

English breakfast tea contains Assam and Ceylon teas, and a fine brand will include Keemun, one of China’s best teas, known for its winey and fruity taste. Supermarket brands tend to drop the Keemun and substitute less expensive Kenyan tea. It is the most often-drunk type of tea in the U.K.

A stout float—ice cream and a bottle of chocolate stout—has become a popular dessert, thanks to Guinness lovers seeking more ways to enjoy their favorite brew..

For St. Patrick’s Day, substitute the chocolate stout for Guinness. Here’s a stout float recipe.

Stout is differentiated from regular ale by its dark, brown-black color and chocolate-coffee flavors and fuller body. This is achieved by brewing with barley that has been dark-roasted to the point of charring (think of espresso beans compared to a medium roast).

Chocolate stout is a sub-category that use different malts, including chocolate malt, a more aromatic malt that has been roasted until it acquires a chocolate color and chocolaty flavor. The beers have a noticeable dark chocolate flavor that comes from the malt. Some stouts have actual cacao beans or chocolate tossed into the brew.

You can add an ounce of Bailey’s Irish Cream to the stout for a more well-rounded celebration.

And if you’re lucky enough to live where Silver Moon ice cream is sold (a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week), you can use their Praline Irish Cream, made with Irish cream liqueur. (Or, order it online for overnight delivery.)
If you want to brew Irish chocolate stout from scratch, we found a recipe!