9 Popular Irish Beer Brands, Ranked

Likely as far back as the Bronze Age, Ireland has been brewing beer. Over the last few centuries, the beers that have developed the country's modern beer culture were brewed in monasteries by monks — later crafted by local brewers known as alewives. No longer limited to alehouses or monasteries, the modern pursuer of the best Irish beers must turn to its brands.

Irish brewing has had a tremendous impact on beer culture around the world. Globally, it's usually not hard to find an Irish stout or red ale to sip on, and for good reason. Some of the most popular Irish beer brands are rich, satisfying, and reliably tasty. Not all brands, however, are created equal. With the boom of modern Irish craft beer, and historically significant commercial brews, which brands actually come out on top?

Having worked in marketing, sales, retail, and training in beer for many years, including in the offices of New Zeland's branch of Heineken, I know that popularity has a lot to do with what's in the glass, but even more to do with what that beer means to the drinker. This list is a compilation of the brands that rule the world of Irish beer, ranked worst to best –  whether they have exceptional quality, a popular reputation, or an unbeatable legacy.

The history of Beamish is a tale of two Richards. In 1792, one Richard with the last name Beamish, and another with the last name Crawford, started the Beamish & Crawford Brewery in the grand city of Cork. The brewery's longest-lived legacy, Beamish Irish Stout is still a popular pour on taps in Ireland — although competition with Guinness and Murphy's is tough.

Today, Beamish is owned by Heineken, which has pulled the brand back to focus on Ireland's domestic market, leaving fans of the beer dry in the USA. Beamish has been fostered by many international parents over the years, including Canadian Carling O'Keefe, Australian Fosters, and Britain's Scottish & Newcastle, which was eventually purchased by Heineken in 2008. Luckily for this list, Beamish is still brewed in Cork at Heineken Ireland's brewery.

Beamish has its fans in Ireland, and indeed in the city of Cork, where the beer still represents its heritage. Known as a Cork-style stout, Beamish delivers a heavier dose of its rich chocolate malt flavor, which also layers some dark coffee notes. In the domestic market, Beamish aims to undercut the price of competing Irish stouts, which is a plus for those who prefer the Cork style of stout over Guinness' toasted barley-driven Dublin style. This also makes it a more affordable option for those looking to add an intense flavor to Irish stew.

The name "McGargles" represents one of Ireland's proudest craft beer brands. That is, it did until 2022 when the brand was folded into the newly streamlined marketing of its mother brand, Rye River Brewing Co. But what's in a name anyway? Lovers of McGargles brews had nothing to fear as its recipes remain intact after the rebrand.

Rye River Brewing has a reputation for brewing beers of exceptional caliber. In 2021, Rye River announced that it was the world's winningest brewery for the second year in a row, based on its results at that year's World Beer Awards. McGargles' Dan's Double IPA was a country winner for the style that year and was also Ireland's most popular craft beer of 2021. The good news for hopheads is that this beer is still going strong under its new Rye River Brewing Co. name, Dam Buster Double IPA.

Rye River Brewing Co. has brew styles for all preferences with a solid core range including lagers, stouts, ales, and wheat beers, as well as a steady supply of seasonal and experimental beers. So why is this brand not sitting pretty in the number one spot? Well, the brand is popular, but that's among the crafty-minded drinkers. It's clear that Rye River's beers are exceptional, but this is a popularity contest at the end of the day, and not just among a single (if delicious) segment of the Irish beer industry.

Wicklow Wolf is one of Ireland's craft offerings with its eyes to the future. Innovation and experimentation are drivers of this brand's beer range, as well as its ethos. Beer can be refreshing, but so is sustainability. Wicklow Wolf uses solar panels covering the brewery's entire roof, is mindful of waste management, and has its own hop farm to reduce emissions and the brewery's environmental impact.

But what about the actual beer? Well craft is as craft does, and Wicklow Wolf pours a lot of love into its brews. The brewery produces a range of common styles with the craft dial cranked up, including several styles of IPA and pale ale, with gluten-free and non-alcoholic beers for extra points. Sour beers also have a place in Wicklow Wolf's core pack, as does an oatmeal stout and a hoppy red ale to keep it Irish. The brewery's "Locavore Project" generates new seasonal brews that draw inspiration and indeed flavor from surrounding Wicklow.

So what does this all mean in terms of popularity among Irish beer brands? Well, all of these attractive features and the quality and innovation of the brews seem to satisfy and delight many lovers of Irish craft brews. In particular, the dedication that the brewery shows to representing its regional Irish home also goes a long way toward Wicklow Wolf's position on this list.

O'Hara's beers, brewed at the Carlow Brewing Company, are another independent commercial player that takes the spirit of craft beer and focuses it on perfecting traditional styles of beer. O'Hara's doesn't just limit itself to the stouts and ales, however, not by a long shot.

This brewery also flaunts a substantial range of popular beers in more contemporary styles. Double, tropical, session, West Coast, hazy, the list of IPA types will surely take over the rest of this article if we include them all. For the truest connoisseurs, O'Hara's produces an ultra-premium whiskey barrel-aged series, artfully crafted and kept under cork (the bottle stopper, not the county).

But that's just the crafty end of the line. What earns O'Hara's a place in the hearts of Irish beer fans, and indeed on this list, is how this translates to its craft-minded execution of traditional style beers. The iconic creamy-headed stout of Ireland is represented proudly in O'Hara's core range, as is its Irish red ale and a lager, wheat, extra stout, and pale ale.

These are the beers you want to settle into — that reward you with the first sip and keep on going with more. O'Hara's traditional beers are robust and kissed with just enough hop to perk up the characteristics of its malt base. As a beer brand, O'Hara's does it all, and it does it well.

There is one contender for Guinness' title as the world's favorite Irish stout, and that beer is Murphy's. Whether domestically, or in pubs around the world, the popularity battle between Murphy's Irish stout and Guinness rages on as the brand's merchandise manifests in Heineken-contracted pubs every year on St. Patrick's Day. In 1856, James J. Murphy and his brothers founded the Lady's Well Brewery in the city of Cork and would go on to release Murphy's Stout. In 1983, Murphy's was purchased in its entirety by Heineken. Today, Heineken's Irish headquarters still operate from Lady's Well Brewery's Malthouse.

Staying true to the Cork style of Irish stout, Murphy's offers up stronger coffee and chocolate notes than its Dublin rival Guinness. It's also notably sweeter and a touch more approachable to those with aversions to hops. In the glass, Murphy's looks just how we like an Irish stout to — pitch black with a creamy white nitrogenated head. Murphy's also produces an Irish red ale, again giving Guinness a run for its money by competing with Kilkenny. Murphy's Irish Red rivals Kilkenny aptly with its smooth texture and full-bodied creamy mouthfeel with a sweet and toasty malt base, but with bright and fruity hops to balance the brew with a touch of bitterness.

Finally, the top spot. We'd like to say it was a surprise who'd claim the title of most popular brand, but in this case, the winner is black and white. No other Irish beer brand can come close (and many have tried) to matching the cachet, global appreciation, and iconic status of Guinness. Forgetting the beer category for a second, in 2023 Guinness was the world's highest-valued Irish brand, with no other beer brands appearing in the top ten, per Brand Finance's report.

The beer itself showcases what a Dublin-style stout is all about with its quintessential roasted barley flavor and a touch more bitterness than the likes of Cork cousin Murphy's. There are distinct notes of coffee and dark chocolate, but these manifest as less sweet than Murphy's more milk chocolate notes. Guinness brewers use flaked barley to enhance the beer's mouthfeel, texture, and the pint's famous foamy head. Despite the stout's richness, it still drinks smoothly without a heavy viscosity that might otherwise hinder its sessionability. It starts delectable and stays that way, pint after pint.

Guinness has even released a zero alcohol version, as well as lager, blonde, and special edition stouts such as Foreign Extra Stout, Nitro Cold Brew Coffee Beer, Guinness Smooth, and others. While these additions are intriguing and push the brand further, the popularity of a pint of traditional Guinness remains unmatched.