What Foods Pair Well With Guinness Beer on St. Patrick’s Day?

Guinness, with its rich, creamy texture and roasted malt flavors, pairs well with a variety of foods, especially on St. Patrick’s Day. The beverage is wildly popular all year long, but particularly on this festive holiday.

FOX News Digital spoke to Colm O’Connor, a brewery ambassador for the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, who shared his thoughts regarding the foods that pair best with this iconic brew.

“You can’t beat a Guinness stew, to be honest with you,” O’Connor said. Other beverage and food pairings include the iconic corned beef and cabbage that is prevalent on the holiday, along with Irish Soda Bread, Fish and Chips, and Bangers and Mash.

O’Connor added that the stout can be used as a base to marinate beef or lamb, “but mainly beef.” He also said another common pairing is Guinness and oysters, cheese, and most meats. “People are not surprised when they hear that, but they’re always curious to know why,” O’Connor said. “Because of the use of unmalted roasted barley, you’ll get the three core flavors — the sweetness, the roasts, the coffee — and you’ll get the hops.”

“Essentially, it renews your palate,” O’Connor added. “It’s basically the same reason people would pair dry champagne with oysters or dry wine with oysters. It’s the exact same means to that end. But this is more like a beer equivalent of that.”

Why Is Guinness Such an Iconic Irish Beer?

Guinness is an iconic Irish beer for several reasons, deeply rooted in its history, cultural significance, and unique brewing process. The blend was founded in 1759 by Arthur Guinness. On Dec. 31, 1759, the man signed a 9,000-year lease on St. James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin where the brewery remains today.

Guinness is known for its distinctive dark color, creamy head, and roasted malt flavor. This comes from the use of roasted barley, which gives it a deep, slightly bitter taste as well as nitrogenation, which creates its signature smooth and velvety texture.

Guinness offers several varieties, each with unique flavors and characteristics. These include the name brand’s Draught, Extra Stout, Foreign Extra Stout, Nitro Cold Brew Coffee, Non-Alcoholic 0, Special Export, Antwerpen Stout, Over the Moon Milk Stout, and finally, Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stout.

Guinness has experienced notable growth in recent years. In the fiscal year ending June 2024, the brand reported a 5% net growth in global sales volume compared to the prior year, per Statista. Additionally, the brand achieved a 15% increase in organic net sales globally during the same period.

CBS News reported that Guinness is celebrating an unprecedented renaissance in the U.S., becoming the fastest-growing imported beer in the last year and seeing record sales in 2024, marking a record year for sales.

“People are finding this beer for the first time, or, in some cases, rediscovering it,” said Ryan Wagner, Guinness National Ambassador. “You’re not just finding it in Irish pubs. Now it’s in sports bars, at the beach, in coolers being taken to tailgates.”