Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Sector7G]

Okay so in honor of St. Patrick's Day I thought I would celebrate by drinking a nice pint of Guinness or two. The thing is I need to be careful with my funds as I am currently unemployed(I am back in the states). So I decided to buy some from the store and drink it at home instead of drinking at a pub, which was my preference.

Anyway, I ended up buying Murphy's Stout instead because a) I had never tried it before and like trying out new beers, and b)it was almost 3 bucks cheaper than Guinness for a 4-pack of 16oz draught style cans with the widget.

I gotta tell you, I was impressed. It is arguably as good as Guinness, and at least close enough that the cheaper cost makes it an easy decision. What do others think of it?

Anyway, the cans that I bought did not have the word Irish any where on them. But when I went to their website it was everywhere - on the cans, on the glasses, and on the clothes that they sold. Is it some kind of licensing agreement, or is it a different brew?

On another note, although I enjoyed my time in Korea, we all know how tough and/or expensive it is to get a decent beer over there. Now the only tough part is which one to choose. There is a pub near my house called World of Beer which has about every international beer you could think of, including about 25(at least) on tap. Actually two like that come to think of it, with nice places to sit outside and smoke a cigar too.

That is my beer report for the day. Comments on Murphy's (Irish) Stout are welcome. Cheers!

[DorkothyParker]

There was a restaurant (two actually) in my home city that also boasted hundreds of beers and one could procure a free "membership" and was rewarded with goodies for drinking them. (A cozy at 10, a bottle opener at 25, and eventually all the way up to a sweatshirt at 110).

I tried the Murphy's probably about 5 years ago. At the time, I was a huge fan of Guinness and was interested in what this slightly less-expensive Irish stout had to offer in comparison. I actually concluded the opposite of you. I found the texture was too thin and it lacked the richness of Guinness. Maybe it got some of the overtones right, but it still tasted like a watered-down version of the beer I considered my favorite at the time.

At this point, it would probably seem pretty good compared to most of the alternatives in Korea. Still, I have moved away from stouts in general (though I do enjoy them in the Winter) and default to more hoppy, IPAs and Belgian tripels (imitation ok).

[JMO]

In Ireland, I think its just called 'Murphy's'. Its not really popular in my part of Ireland but I hear its quite good. I'd recommend Smithwicks. Not a stout but really good.

[Binch Lover]

Murphy's is very popular in the south of Ireland, around the Cork area. It is actually more popular and prevalent there than Guinness. I've no idea about whether what you bought was the same, but I've found that I prefer Guinness. However, if Murphy's were available in Korea at a cheaper price than Guinness, I'd be lapping it up!

[offtheoche]

Murphys is really good, I prefer it to Guinness. There's also Beamish, which is the cheapest of the three, but imo not as good as the other two.

Stay away from Smithwicks (not a stout), it's truly awful and isn't popular in Ireland nowadays.

[Sinnerman]

I will imbibe the occasional Guinness, but would much rather quaff a Kilkenny. Not a fan of Smithwick's.

[Steelrails]

Although it's not Irish, Mackeson's is a really nice stout.

Yeah, lately I've found myself no longer drawn to Guiness as I once was.

+1 to the Kilkenny. And +1 to "Booo Smithwick's"

[JMO]

well obviously i disagree on which is better but I do like kilkenny also.

Smithwicks not being popular in ireland is irrelevant. It is still on draught in every pub I frequent and was still there when I was back home for xmas. After a quick look at wikipedia for something to back up my argument, I've found that Smithwicks has been

[offtheoche]

Don't really care what Mickey Mouse awards Smithwicks has won, I stand by my point, that it truly is pisswater. Maybe you're a lightweight, so that' s why you enjoy it?

[JMO]

[offtheoche]

[JMO]

[nukeday]

If smithwick's is anything like Kilkenny (which i've only tried in Korea), i'd have to agree. Kinda flavorless. Definitely not worth the premium price in Itaewon.

[eamo]

The debate is kind of a non-starter because to my mind Guinness, Murphy's and Beamish taste anywhere from horrible to heaven depending where you buy a pint.

Many pubs/bartenders get these three drinks so wrong sometimes.......

I default to Guinness purely because it's the most commonly sold around the world.......but when in Ireland I'll happily gulp back Murphy's or Beamish.


I used to really like Smithwicks. It was my beer of choice until I went black (guinness) as we all know, once you go black, you can never go back!!

Kilkenny? I liked the taste.....and it's the strongest beer of the bunch...you really feel it after a few Kilkenny's.......but the slightly creamy texture tends to sicken me a little bit after, say, 3-4 pints. Creamy is fine for Stout, but I'm not so sure for ale.

[morrisonhotel]