the creamy stou
Spectacular increase in
rphy's Irish
The black beer from Murphy's
Brewery in the south of Ireland
is finding ever-wider appre
ciation in more and more parts of the
world and the brewery personnel take
pride in the fact that the regional
stout brand is steadily expanding to
become a global brand in the niche
speciality markets.
Murphy's Irish Stout: a creamy head of foam and a
smooth flavour. Regular lager fans are increasing
ly discovering that the taste of Murphy's Irish
Stout is irresistible.
For the Irish consumer stout is a 'way
of life'. That's the chief reason why
one-quarter of world stout output is
consumed in Ireland and why stout
also accounts for one-half of the Irish
beer market. Anyone who visits an
Irish pub is sure to hear lengthy
debates about the right serving tem
perature for a pint, about the prod
uct's flavour or about the height and
texture of its head. A pub's popularity
is in fact determined more by the way
in which it serves a pint of stout than
by any fancy fixtures and fittings.
Stout has the reputation of being a
'strong-flavoured' drink. For confirm
ed lager drinkers the distinctive taste
of stout certainly takes 'a bit of getting
used to'. But, thanks to its remarkably
smooth flavour based on a 130-year-
old recipe, Murphy's Irish Stout
smoothly paves the way for the
change-over from lager to stout. And
yet Murphy's Irish Stout is a genuine
stout. A real Irish Stout developed by
the four Murphy brothers using spe
cially selected roasted barley, pale
malt, hops, yeast and water.
Foundlings
James, William, Jerome and Francis
Murphy established James J. Murphy
Co. in the year 1856 and built the
Lady's Well Brewery in a former
foundling hospital, making grateful
use of the spacious buildings. In the
nineteenth century the brewery
expanded to become the biggest in
Cork. In the initial period they brew
ed porter, a dark-brown beer that is
today regarded as an inferior sort of
stout. A few years later the four broth
ers started brewing stout and deve
loped the brew known as Murphy's
Irish Stout.
In 1983 Heineken acquired the
assets of James Murphy Co. The
brewery was renamed Murphy
Brewery Ireland Limited and conti
nued its operations as a
wholly owned Heineken
subsidiary. In the first
five years after the
acquisition the brewery
was completely dismant
led in phases and rebuilt
from scratch on the
same site. Tens of mil
lions were invested in new brewing
equipment and in a high degree of
automation.
These adaptations were necessary
to guarantee a more consistent qual
ity for Murphy's Irish Stout. The qual
ity of the Cork-brewed stout was not
of a consistently high standard and
that lack of constant quality was
slowing down the growth of the
brand. Since 1983 the quality of
Murphy's Irish Stout has increased
substantially. Today, in 1993, the qual
ity and consistency of Murphy's Irish
Stout are even rated as 'absolutely
fabulous' by David Forde, Brand
Manager Domestic of Murphy's Irish
Stout.
High standards
The average Irishman takes his beer
drinking very seriously. For stout in
particular the standards he sets are
high. The Irish drinker considers
himself a stout connoisseur, just like
a Frenchman appreciates and savours
his local wines. A perfect pint of stout
(right temperature, good head, fresh
taste) is almost an art form for the
Irish. The remarkable fact, however,
is that many confirmed Guinness
drinkers (Guinness virtually holds a
monopoly position in the Irish stout
market) prefer Murphy's Irish Stout in
a blind taste test, as was revealed by a
major tasting campaign held by
Murphy's brewery.
The Irish are particularly outgoing
and fond of a night out; 96% of all
beer in Ireland is consumed in the
tSj.VH ST(
THE WORLD OF HEINEKEN
