GO GUINNESS - Origlio Beverage

The BeerGUYWhy Be IrishJust One Day?by Lew BrysonOn St. Patrick’sDay, they tell us,we’re all Irish!Grab a shamrock,have corned beefand cabbage,wear greenand have a pint ofGuinness! Kiss a lad orlass, sing a rebel song, kickup your heels and danceand have another pint ofGuinness! Then let’s all havea pint of Guinness!You know…there are other Irishdrinks besides Guinness. The goodLord knows, I’ve sunk my share of theblack glass and I’ll have many morefamiliar with, but then there is alsothe bottled Guinness Extra Stout;stronger, and a bit sweeter, and evendarker. If you’re looking for a uniqueGuinness experience, though, theGuinness Foreign Extra Stout is finallyavailable in the U.S., and it is a treat:big and beefy, sweet and bitter atonce and quite a bit stronger. If youhaven’t had it, this is a great time tointroduce it to your regular Guinnessdrinkers as a nice upgrade.Or you can choose another stout,like Murphy’s, the ‘other’ Irish stout,considered a bit more rough-cutthan Guinness and preferred bysome just because it’s different. Ifyou want to go local, you can’t domuch better than the Pennsylvaniastout with the Irish name, O’Reilly’sfrom Sly Fox (named for theirbrewmaster), which has becomewildly popular in the five county area.You can stay in the creamynitro arena with a customerwho’s afraid of the dark byoffering the oft-overlookedWexford Irish Cream Ale in thebig green ‘widget’ can; a gooddrinker with a nice touch of hops to itthat might just surprise some folks.And if your customer just wants alager, they can still go Irish with thefamiliar Harp Lager — “Harps,” theyalways called it when I lived in NewEngland — in a new bright greenpackage.That’s the beer gamut, but we’re notdone. Magners Irish cider makes agreat alternative for customerswho don’t like beer (or justlike cider better), and it’salso an easy choice for theincreasingly aware number ofpeople looking for a beerstrengthdrink that’s gluten-free.“On St. Patrick’s Day, they tell us, we’re all Irish!”in years to come, but if there’s onething I love more than anotherGuinness, it’s variety. I’m sure youhave customers that only drinkGuinness on St. Patrick’s Day and thisis an opportunity to get them to trysomething new and help themunderstand that The Big G is a greatbeer year-round. Let’s look at someoptions.First, why wouldn’t youwant a Guinness anydarned time? So manypeople have the wrongidea about just what thisbeer is, you’re probably better offtelling them what it isn’t. Guinness isnot strong – it’s about 4.1% ABV, lessthan a lot of light beers – it’s not thick– it’s creamy, because of the nitrogenpour – and it’s not ‘a meal in aglass’, either: only 124 calories in a12 oz. bottle. Is it bitter? Well…yeah,that’s what we like about it!The thing is, “Guinness” is actuallythree different beers. There’s thedraught nitro version (on tap, or inbottles or cans) that everyone’sOkay, maybe you just can’t sell theperson a black beer. How aboutsomething much smoother, with agreat caramel touch that pairstremendously with a wide array offoods, from a burger smothered incaramelized onions to roasted chickento a good sharp cheddar…Smithwick’sIrish Ale, a very friendly andaccessible amber beer. You’ll find thatSamuel Adams Irish Red is similar,with more caramel notes (and it’salso a great food-mate).Magners pairs brilliantly with freshIrish soda bread and cheese, too.Finally, folks who might want a nonalcoholicchoice can still go Irish:Kaliber is one of the better NA beerson the market, with plenty of flavor.Take some time and put together anarray of Irish choices with somegood, fresh food ideas (Irish or not)to tempt your customers this St.Patrick’s Day and let them know you’llhave them the following week, too.You might find that the extra ring youget from these special beers can bemore than just a spike in the middleof March; you’ll be seeing moregreen all year long.www.origlio.com HeadyTimes v.63 25