5 Guinness Alternatives for St. Patrick's Day and Beyond

Following a brief post-COVID downturn, sales of the iconic Irish beer Guinness had been on the rise for two-plus years when, in the fall of 2024, they really took off. Driven by the resurgence of the viral “split the G” trend and a newfound popularity among Gen Z drinkers, we’ve gotten to the point where bars and retail shops in the U.S. and U.K. are worried about shortages come St. Patrick’s Day.

While I have yet to experience any problems getting my hands on Guinness here in New York where I live, I decided a few weeks back to try procuring as many Guinness alternatives as possible just in case. Meaning what, exactly?

Guinness is classified as an Irish Dry Stout, about which the website Beer Advocate has this to say: “Irish Dry Stout is black beer with a dry-roasted character thanks to the use of roasted barley. The emphasis on coffee-like roasted barley and a moderate degree of roasted malt aromas define much of the character.”

There are tons of Irish Dry Stouts on the market, but Guinness belongs to a very specific subcategory of them that are served most commonly with the addition of nitrogen, which gives the beer its famously smooth, creamy texture. Served on tap at your local bar, it’s not unlike the nitro cold brew on tap at a fancy coffee shop. If you buy one of them at a store, though, you’ll want to go for one of the canned options, which feature a floating “widget” inside. When opened, the widget distributes nitrogen throughout the liquid, creating the desired texture when poured aggressively into a glass.

So that’s what we’re looking at today: readily available Irish Dry Stouts sold in nitro-equipped cans. The differences between them are minor for the most part, so on the off chance your town is wiped clean of the real stuff, you should have no issues finding a suitable replacement.

Lawson’s Finest Liquids Nitro Stout

One of the things non-beer nerds always get wrong about Guinness is that they assume it’s really heavy, in both alcohol and calories. It is not. It comes in at a totally “sessionable” 4.1% ABV and has about as many calories by volume as a shitty light beer. This version from Vermont-based Lawson’s Finest Liquids, though, turns up the intensity levels in a few key areas. First of all, it ups the ante to (a still pretty reasonable) 5.4% ABV, and with that you get some more pronounced tasting notes — I get an especially noticeable blast of chocolate and some added bitterness. It’s exactly what you would expect from a nitro stout made by an American craft brewery known for its aggressively flavorful IPAs. Very much worth seeking out.

Murphy’s Irish Stout

Murphy’s is probably the most widely available Guinness alternative on this list, and though I have not done an actual blind taste test, I think there’s a pretty good chance I would not be able to tell the difference if they were placed alongside one another. I had a few of these over the past couple weeks, and each time I took my first sip, I noted a little more coffee than I was expecting, which I very much enjoy. But in all honesty, you kinda stop noticing after that initial taste. Would happily drink at any time.

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Forged Irish Stout

I had not heard of this brewery or this beer until I went out in search of as many examples of the style as I could get my hands on, and it tasted…fine, as I recall? Something about the packaging struck me as a little bit douchey, though, in like an extreme sports kind of way, and, lo and behold, I’ve come to find out the brand was founded by noted idiot Conor McGregor. So that all checks out. On their website, they claim “Forged Irish Stout is the Worlds Creamiest Stout” — Trumpian capitalization (and missing apostrophe) very much theirs, not mine. You can, and should, do better.

O’Hara’s Irish Stout

This is another pretty widely available one, but of all the versions I tried, this is the one where each and every time, I found myself thinking, “This literally does not taste like anything.” The way I said the Lawson’s one amplifies all the things we already know and love about Guinness, O’Hara’s seems to tamp them down. It’s not unpleasant in any way, but it’s definitely lacking in the richness department.

Guinness 0

There was a brief period of time when I was replacing my occasional train beer with this non-alcoholic version of Guinness, and I noted at the time that it was the closest to the real thing I’ve ever had an N/A beer come. And then, cut to just a few weeks ago, I accidentally bought a four-pack of the stuff and will once again confirm that it’s an extraordinarily impressive and faithful recreation of the original. So if you’re looking to take it easy but still want to keep the vibes in check, this is a no-brainer.