7 Best Beers Like Guinness (2023 Guide)

There are several beers like Guinness for those of you looking to branch out.

Now, don’t get us wrong – Guinness is hard to beat, but there are plenty of great Irish stouts and Irish beer like Guinness worth sipping.

Below, you’ll find everything from Murphy’s and Beamish to beer similar to Guinness from across the pond.

Our favourite beers like Guinness

Now, it’s worth saying that, while many of the below drinks are similar to Guinness, only the top spot is, in our opinion, close to the taste.

Also, keep in mind that some of these drinks won’t be available in every country in the world.

1. Murphy’s

Murphy’s is a 4% Irish Dry Stout beer brewed in the Murphy’s Brewery in Cork. The brewery was founded in 1856 by James Jeremiah Murphy, although it was known as Lady’s Well Brewery.

In 1983, it was acquired by Heineken International, and its name changed to Murphy Brewery Ireland Ltd. 

Although it’s the most notable of the many beers like Guinness, Murphy’s is brewed to have a lighter and less bitter taste.

It’s been described as “a distant relative of chocolate milk” with toffee and coffee undertones. Murphy’s has a creamy, silky smooth finish as it’s free from carbonation. 

2. Beamish 

Another beer similar to Guinness in its appearance is Beamish – a 4.1% Irish Stout that dates back to 1792.

It was originally brewed in the Beamish and Crawford brewery in Cork, owned by William Beamish and William Crawford, operating on the site of a porter brewery. 

The brewery operated until 2009 when it closed. Today, Beamish Stout is brewed in a nearby facility operated by Heineken. 

Beamish has a dry finish and a smooth and creamy taste. It has a slight bitterness, with roasted malt, subtle dark chocolate, and coffee flavours. Some say it’s a tad more bitter than Guinness. 

3. Kilkenny Irish Cream Ale

Kilkenny Irish Cream Ale looks very different to the other beers similar to Guinness in this guide, but bear with me.

This is a 4.3% Irish Red Ale. Today, it’s managed by Diageo and brewed in St. James’s Gate Brewery alongside Guinness. 

However, the beer originated in Kilkenny and was brewed in St. Francis Abbey Brewery in Kilkenny until the brewery’s closure in 2013.

Up until then, St. Francis Abbey had been Ireland’s oldest operating brewery. 

Kilkenny Irish Cream Ale has a slightly more subtle flavour than Irish Stout beers like Guinness, with notes of caramel and floral hops. It has a thick head of foam, although, unlike Guinness, it has a copper-red body. 

4. O’Hara’s Irish Stout

O’Hara’s Irish Stout is a 4.3% Irish Dry Stout brewed by the Carlow Brewing Company in Carlow. First brewed in 1999, O’Hara’s Irish Stout is the company’s flagship beer.

The award-winning stout uses a mixture of five malt and wheat varieties to give the beer its robust flavour. 

The stout has a full-bodied flavour, with a smooth finish. On the nose, there’s a rich coffee aroma and subtle liquorice notes.

There’s a tart bitterness due to a high number of Fuggles hops and a roast espresso-like finish. 

5. Milk Stout Nitro

Veering away from tradition, Milk Stout Nitro is a 6% American Stout, brewed by the Left Hand Brewing Co. in Colorado. The company has been brewing beer since 1993, and they have a range of beers available. 

On the nose, Milk Stout Nitro has vanilla cream, milk chocolate, and brown sugar notes, with a subtle roasted coffee aroma. It has a slightly hoppy and bitter finish, with a chocolate sweetness and subtle dark fruit notes. 

Since it’s a nitro beer like Guinness, you’ll experience a soft pillowy foam, created by tiny nitrogen bubbles.

This is a popular beer similar to Guinness that is widely found across the States and, by all accounts, is well worth sampling!

6. Modern Times Black House Coffee Stout

Modern Times Black House Coffee Stout is a 5.8% Oatmeal Coffee Stout brewed by Modern Times Beer in California. 

Oatmeal Coffee Stout is dark brown to black in colour, and the use of oatmeal gives the beer a smooth, rich body. The addition of coffee gives it a distinct coffee flavour and aroma. 

Modern Times Black House Coffee Stout has a coffee aroma and taste, with an almost coffee-covered espresso bean flavour. It is made using a blend of 75% Ethiopian and 25% Sumatran coffee varieties that are roasted on-site.

7. Young’s Double Chocolate Stout

Young’s Double Chocolate Stout is a 5.2% Sweet/Milk Stout owned by Young’s & Co.’s Brewery Plc and brewed in Bedford.

Young’s was founded in 1831 when the owner’s purchased the Ram Brewery in Wandsworth which was later closed in 2006. 

Brewed using chocolate malt and real dark chocolate, Young’s Double Chocolate Stout has a rich dark chocolate taste coupled with the signature bitterness of stout.

It has a creamy texture, a smooth taste, and a thick pillowy foam on top. 

FAQs about beers similar to Guinness

We’ve had a lot of questions over the years asking about everything from ‘Which is the easiest to drink?’ to ‘What type of beer is Guinness?’.

In the section below, we’ve popped in the most FAQs that we’ve received. If you have a question that we haven’t tackled, ask away in the comments section below.