Best Irish Beers: 7 Ranked by a Homebrewer, From Guinness to Red Ale

The best Irish beer is Guinness Draught, the world’s most famous stout and the smooth, roasty, creamy benchmark that Ireland is known for the world over. That is my verdict after buying and tasting the classic Irish beers side by side, every one out of my own pocket, and scoring each on aroma, balance, body and drinkability.

I am Dan, and beer is my life. I have been an active homebrewer for over 10 years and have tasted breweries all over the world. This guide is built from my own tasting notes, with honest scores and a full review behind every pick. You can read more about me or see everything I have reviewed on my author page.

Ireland means stout to most people, but there is more to it than the black stuff. Below is the best Irish beer for every taste, from the world-famous dry stouts through the smooth, malty red ales to a crisp Irish lager. A quick map: the dry stout, led by Guinness, is Ireland’s signature, light and roasty; the Irish red ale is smooth and malt-led with a reddish glow; and the Irish lager is the crisp, easy option for when a stout is too much. I have ranked them together here because that is how you actually drink your way around an Irish pub.

The Best Irish Beers, Ranked

Here is the short version, ranked by how they actually taste. Full reviews are linked under each pick.

Rank	Beer	Style	ABV	Calories	Our score
1	Guinness Draught	Irish dry stout	4.2%	125	4.6/5
2	Guinness Foreign Extra Stout	Foreign extra stout	7.5%	230	4.5/5
3	Smithwick’s Irish Red Ale	Irish red ale	4.5%	150	4.3/5
4	Guinness Extra Stout	Extra stout	5.6%	175	4.2/5
5	Sullivan’s Maltings Irish Red	Irish red ale	5.0%	170	4.2/5
6	Murphy’s Irish Stout	Irish dry stout	4.0%	120	4.0/5
7	Harp Lager	Irish lager	4.5%	150	3.8/5

The Best Irish Beers at a Glance

Swipe through the top picks and tap any card to jump straight to the full write-up.

Best Irish Beer Overall: Guinness Draught

There was only ever going to be one winner. Guinness is the definitive Irish beer, the smooth, creamy, roasty nitro stout that the whole world knows. It is not the strongest or richest beer on this list, but as the everyday Irish pint it is an icon, and it is still the benchmark for the dry stout style.

The iconic Irish dry stout and the benchmark for the whole style, a smooth, creamy, roasty nitro pint famous the world over.

Serve it right: A classic dry or milk stout is made for a proper pint glass, poured to build a thick, creamy head. This is a best-reviewed everyday set.

• Also worth trying: Murphy’s Irish Stout

Pairing it with food? Try our beer and food pairing guide. More like this in our Guinness Extra Stout review.

Best Strong Irish Stout: Guinness Foreign Extra

For Guinness with real intensity, Foreign Extra Stout is the one. At 7.5% it is far stronger, roastier and more bitter than the Draught, with a distinctive tang from aged beer in the blend. It is the most characterful thing Guinness makes and a world away from the everyday pint.

Foreign Extra Stout is the biggest, boldest Guinness of all, a 7.5% stout with an intense roast, tang and bitterness that leaves the smooth Draught pint far behind.

Serve it right: A big, rich stout shows best in a stemmed tulip or snifter that traps the aroma and lets you swirl it. This is the glass for imperial and barrel-aged stouts you want to sip slowly.

• Also worth trying: Murphy’s Irish Stout

Pairing it with food? Try our beer and food pairing guide. More like this in our best stouts guide.

Best Irish Red Ale: Smithwick’s

If Guinness is Ireland’s black beer, Smithwick’s is its red one. It is the definitive Irish red ale, smooth and malt-led with a gentle roast and an easy 4.5% drinkability. It is the perfect step off the stout path for anyone who wants an Irish pint with character but not the intensity of a stout.

Smithwick’s is the definitive Irish red ale, a smooth, malty, easy-drinking beer with a gentle roast that is the perfect step off the stout path.

Serve it right: A classic dry or milk stout is made for a proper pint glass, poured to build a thick, creamy head. This is a best-reviewed everyday set.

• Also worth trying: Sullivan’s Maltings Irish Red

Pairing it with food? Try our beer and food pairing guide. More like this in our Sullivan’s Maltings review.

Best Craft Irish Red: Sullivan’s Maltings

For a red ale with more to it, Sullivan’s Maltings from Kilkenny is the craft upgrade. It keeps the smooth drinkability of the style but adds real malt depth, biscuit and toffee and a fuller body. If you like Smithwick’s but want more flavour, this is the one.

Sullivan’s Maltings is a craft Irish red ale from Kilkenny with more depth and body than the classics, all toasted malt, caramel and a smooth, rounded finish.

Serve it right: A classic dry or milk stout is made for a proper pint glass, poured to build a thick, creamy head. This is a best-reviewed everyday set.

• Also worth trying: Smithwick’s Irish Red Ale

Pairing it with food? Try our beer and food pairing guide. More like this in our Smithwick’s review.

Best Irish Lager: Harp

Not everyone in the pub wants a stout, and Harp is the answer. Brewed in Dundalk by the makers of Guinness, it is Ireland’s classic pale lager: crisp, clean and refreshing. It will not win awards for complexity, but as the light, easy alternative to a stout it does exactly what it should.

Harp is Ireland’s classic pale lager, a crisp, clean, easy-drinking beer from the makers of Guinness that is the go-to when a stout is too heavy.

Serve it right: A classic dry or milk stout is made for a proper pint glass, poured to build a thick, creamy head. This is a best-reviewed everyday set.

• Also worth trying: Guinness Draught

Pairing it with food? Try our beer and food pairing guide. More like this in our best lager beers guide.

Explore More Beer Guides

Want to go wider? These guides cover the rest of the beer world:

• Best beers (all our guides)
• Best stouts
• Best lager beers
• Best Belgian beers
• Is Guinness Really Better in Ireland? What the Evidence Shows

Irish Beer FAQs

What is the most popular beer in Ireland?

Guinness is the most popular and famous beer in Ireland, and one of the most recognised beers in the world. But Ireland also has a strong tradition of red ales like Smithwick’s and lagers like Harp, and a growing craft scene.

What is an Irish red ale?

An Irish red ale is a malt-focused ale that gets its reddish colour and a gentle toasty character from a small amount of roasted barley. It is smooth, easy drinking and low in bitterness. Smithwick’s is the classic example.

Is Guinness Irish?

Yes. Guinness has been brewed at St. James’s Gate in Dublin since 1759 and is the definitive Irish beer. It is now brewed and sold worldwide, but its home is Dublin.

What is the difference between Irish stout and lager?

An Irish dry stout like Guinness is a dark, roasty, top-fermented beer made with roasted barley, usually served smooth on nitro. An Irish lager like Harp is a pale, crisp, bottom-fermented beer built for light refreshment. They are almost opposite styles.

How We Test and Score

Every beer here was bought with my own money and tasted properly, not skimmed from a spec sheet. I score each on aroma, balance, body, drinkability and how well it does the job it is built for. Simple beers are not marked down for being simple, but the ones with real character and balance score higher. You can see every score on the individual beer reviews.