My eyes aren't Irish, but they're smiling

I hit the road after work today for the beautiful white beaches of the Gulf Coast. Made it to the shore in time to have dinner in Pensacola at McGuire's Irish Pub & Brewery. Way back in the day when I was stationed at Eglin AFB, I was a regular visitor to McGuire's Destin location. Since the Mrs. and I were just as far from P'cola as Destin on this trip, we decided to head for the original and less familiar location.

I wasn't disappointed. McGuires was one of the places I learned to enjoy hand-crafted beer, and it's just as good drinking on Pensacola Bay as it is on Choctawhachee Bay. This location gets just as much business as Destin's: too much. The place is always packed. This is the first time I've been back to McGuire's since I started the column, so I'm glad to get the chance to share a few words about their brews.

I started with one I'd not tried before, the Old Fashioned Ale. The menu listed it as something found in every pub in Ireland, but I don't know about that. It's a very light-bodied, pale-colored ale. This one certainly doesn't jump out of the glass at you. The flavor is nice and balanced, with just a hint of ale fruitiness and a hint of hops to remind you you're not drinking a mass-market American lager. Not bad, but not why I came.

After that I had a porter. The sweet maltiness was very welcome after the Old Fashioned. Very smooth, and it went well with the massive steak I ordered.

Then came the stout. This is the beer I come to McQuire's for. Pitch-black, creamy, smooth, dry and coffee-ish. Perfect for desert. That's it pictured at right.

White-sand beaches and the green hills of Ireland don't have much to do with eachother, but if you're ever down here on the coast, you'd be doing yourself a disservice to skip a trip to McGuire's.