Take a beer break with Guinness brewer Fergal Murray

Fergal Murray, the brew master for Ireland's famed Guinness, came into Ri Ra in uptown Charlotte at 3 p.m. on Thursday tossing back a Starbucks espresso as dark as one of his company's stouts.

The man admitted he was a wee bit tired: During March, "your Guinness month," he makes repeated trips across the Atlantic to America to talk about the brand. In Charlotte in one day, he was meeting with two corporate clients (Harris Teeter and Delhaize), visiting Ri Ra and the Galway Hooker in Cornelius, and attending a five-course beer lunch at Dandelion Market.

Next week, he'll be in Washington to preside over a Perfect Pint competition with members of Congress (last time he did it during the Bush administration, the Democrats were in power; now it's the Republicans. He admits he's curious whether their beer skills will be different.)

For St. Patrick's Day, he'll be in New York to ring the bell for the New York Stock Exchange and answer the usual questions about green beer and how the Irish celebrate St. Patrick's (they don't -- like Cinco de Mayo, it's really just an American bar event).

After Murray downed some well-earned caffeine, we grabbed a table and a pint of the new Guinness Black (a half-pint for me -- I had a deadline). He jumped right into talking about Guinness Black: Despite the name and the dark color, it's not a stout, it's a lager. It's lighter, with a creamy mouthfeel. It's part of Guinness' push to improve summer sales, which tend to drop off.

Before we moved on to the craft beer movement, I stopped him and insisted he take a minute to drink his beer and rest. He took me up on it gratefully: "You're all right, girl."

OK, on to craft beer: Has the explosion of American microbrews and craft brews been tough on Guinness? They used to have that market almost to themselves here.

"We're not a craft beer, we're a global brand. But you're right, we've been perceived as higher quality. We've been on the pedestal." Still, the change in the American beer market is good for Guinness, he says.

"Craft is brilliant here. It's waking up the beer industry in America." He thinks American consumers always knew there was something better and now they have a chance to get it. And as they read up and get educated about beer, they appreciate Guinness even more.

The only drawback to his trips to American every March is that he's so busy talking about Guinness, he doesn't get to explore American beers. He admires Sierra Nevada, New Belgium and Anchor Steam, he says. "Worthy lads, established guys."

His advice for craft brewers: "Focus on trying to improve your quality, don't just throw out new things because they're trendy."

His advice to Americans with St. Patrick's Day coming up (besides skipping that whole green beer thing):

"Drink responsibly, take it easy. Savor the pint in a nice way, please."

Heads up on beer news in Charlotte and beyond

Keep an eye out for the man on the left. That would be Guiness master brewer Fergal Murray, and he will be making the rounds of pubs in Charlotte on March 1, as part of his nationwide tour in advance of St. Patrick's Day on March 17. His representative can't reveal which pubs he will be visiting, but he should be easy to spot: Listen for an Irish accent and watch for the Guiness glass in his hand. The plan is for him to "mingle," according to his representative.

Elsewhere in beer news: Watch for May 14-20, American Craft Beer Week. The Brewers Association is hoping to repeat last year's feat of having brewing events in all 50 states, including brewery tours, special beer releases and food and beer pairing dinners. So far, the calendar doesn't show anything yet for North Carolina, but with all the brewheads around here, surely something will come up. Keep an eye on the calendar at www.craftbeer.com.

It's not just craft beers, but there is one event already on the books that week: The Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival is 2-6 p.m. May 12 at Symphony Park in SouthPark. Tickets range from $25 to $45 and include samples, tastings and music. Details: www.beerandbourbon.com.

Need something sooner than May? The 2012 edition of the Beertopia Beer Festival is on for 2-6 p.m. March 10 in the parking lot behind the Grapevine, 1012 Market St. in Fort Mill. That's 5 miles south of Charlotte off I-77, exit 85 (Baxter Village). VIP tickets have already sold out, and regular admission has sold out early in the past. To get a ticket now, go to www.mygrapevine.com. $1 from each ticket is donated to Pints for Prostates.

And finally, Charlotte Craft Beer Week is March 16-25 (yes, that's more than a week, but we won't quibble -- they're already hard enough to find through Google, so changing the name to Charlotte Craft Beer Fortnight would just make it worse). It starts March 16 at the Visulite, with the Brawley's Beverage Black & Blue Show and continues all over town, including Freak Fest at Common Market SouthEnd on March 22. Details: Charlottecraftbeerweek.org.

Full Steam ahead

Sean Wilson of Durham does a lot of interesting things with beer in North Carolina. Besides the ingredients he's using at his Fullsteam Brewery -- picture sweet potato and scuppernong -- he was the co-founder of Pop the Cap, the group that successfully campaigned to to raise the alcohol limit on beer, allowing better craft beers into the state. (Say "thank you, Sean." Thank you, Sean.)

The Web site Serious Eats gives Sean a little attention in this interview, posted today. It's worth a read if you don't know what Fullsteam has been up to -- and even more worth it if you do.

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