The Stout Challenge IV

The one thing Scottie and I always looked forward to in Chicago during the winters was St. Patty's Day.  It was our favorite holiday because people came out of their winter depression/hibernation and drank one of our favorite beers, the stouts.  For one weekend, the city effortlessly lit up with parties, revelry, Irish car bombs, and pure happiness.

In an attempt to recreate the mood here in Birmingham, three years ago, Scottie and I started our very first official "Stout Challenge".  It was born out of sheer curiosity during our trip to Ireland, and Scottie actually recounts the first challenge in his very first and only guest post (I should have him help me back post!).  To summarize, the challenge is a blind taste of Guinness, Murphy's and Beamish.  We each poured 1 can of each beer (see Scottie's commentary on the can size in his post) into a pint glass for the other person.  After tasting each one, we had to guess which was which.

The first year, Scottie scored a 3 out of 3, while I mixed up the Murphy's and Beamish.  The second year, we reenacted the challenge, and sadly even with practice, we both retreated.  I mixed them all up, and Scottie went 1 for 3 mixing up the Guinness and Murphy's.  In 2010, I think we hit rock bottom.  We spent St. Patty's Day in Providence with Coach and AG, whom of all our friends could really appreciate this event; however, on the scheduled night of the challenge (thank to Coach and AG for hosting our Challenge III), I fell ill, but that didn't stop Scottie, Coach, AG, and Coach's parents from hitting for the cycle (or "challenge").  I can't remember too many of the particulars because my head was fuzzy so I'm hoping one of them can fill in the gaps.  I remember it was a rough challenge with very few correct guesses and maybe even AG scoring the best of the team?  Or maybe that was me dreaming?

For Stout Challenge IV, Scottie and I upped our game.  While I was out traveling all week, Scottie took on the "challenge" of hunting for the ceremonial 4-pack cans of Guinness, Murphy's and Beamish; however, this year, he was thrown for a loop when Beamish was nowhere to be found in the Metro area.  Apparently, Heineken decided to stop distribution of Beamish outside Ireland to re-focus on the local market.  Of course, that disrupted our challenge quite a bit, and Scottie settled for a pitch hitter in the Young's Double Chocolate Stout.  While this is another one of our favorite stouts and we could hardly complain about having it join our challenge, we almost didn't even need to taste this stout to pick it out from the crowd.  Oh well, what can you do.   

In addition to the new beer, we also classed up the challenge with our Guinness serving tray, a glass of water (to rinse! afterall, we were serious about this challenge), and a piece of Hershey's chocolate (a kiss) to compliment the Young's, of course.

I am thrilled to report after just one sip (and rinse) of each beer, both Scottie and I aced the challenge (and brought honor back to our challenge).  We could easily pinpoint the Young's with its heavenly chocolate scent and over time (and with much practice) the Guinness has become much easier to pick out with its smooth taste and quick finish.  I found that in comparison to the Guinness, Murphy's has a much more robust flavor and thickness to it with a very distinct aftertaste.  It was really a shame that the Beamish couldn't compete this year because I think that's the one beer that throws off the other two stouts.  Nevertheless, a tasty challenge IV.

One thing I failed to mention in the other challenge posts is that once we finish the "challenge", we dust off the remaining beer poured from the 3 stouts.  Let's just say that the night ended with us slowly passing out on the couch.  Oh yea, and my phone might have taken a bath in the Guinness as well.  Oops.

Happy St. Patty's Day!