As the title suggests: Why Is harp lager considered absolute piss here. My nephew came over from the States and he told me when he went into a pub and asked a local what to get, the first thing they said was to stay away from the Harp. Curiosity got the better of him and he ordered a pint and decided it wasn't bad.
I have heard this repeated for at least the last 30 years.

Serious opinions only please..

by Mr_Miyagis_Chamois

45 comments

  3. In Belfast I think it’s pretty popular when it comes to lager maybe not so much with younger people. But people have too much choice now, a lot of places do things like Madri, Peronin or Coors on draught and you can get all sorts in supermarkets.

    I’d say it probably seen a bit like the Tennents of the North by some people. Like it’s some cheap lager that aul boys drink. I think it’s actually decent, though it wouldn’t be my first choice

  5. Harp is the epitome of grand

    It is a 7/10 pint

    It’s no where near as bad as Carling or Coors

  6. Tried it a few times when I started drinking and lets face it most drinks don’t taste great back then. So I thought I would give it a go years later and all I could taste was chemicals, not great.

  7. Visited Belfast last year, they didn’t have Carling or Stella at the pub I went to, so got offered Harp.

    Tasted alright and got me drunk so it’s a 10/10 for me.

  8. Had my first pint in 1998/99 and harp on tap was what I started on and loved it. Got taken off draft over the years and wouldn’t bother with the cans really. Grand pint back in the day.

  9. Brewed in Poleglass offering a bold burnt pallet and an extremely orange flavour. (This is all bollocks I’m just talking shite) It’s alright in bottles.

  10. As Fergal Sharkey said , a good Harp these days is hard to find!

  11. In defence of Harp, it doesn’t have any added glucose syrup. Lagers like 1664, Redstripe, Madri add glucose syrup to their lagers to help speed up their fermentation. Its cheaper and faster (and Lazy)

    Harp only has four ingredients, same as those fancy german Pilsners.

    It is rather tasteless, but I’d prefer that than tasteless with extra sugar water.

  12. It’s just a standard mass produced lager. It’s fine in that respect. Honestly I can’t tell the difference between harp and Carlsberg and Heineken. It’s only when you drink the German stuff you realise what great lager can taste like

  13. It’s fairly bland, watery pish that goes flat in minutes.  Exact same as Tennents, but somehow even more tasteless.

    It’s the sort of drink you’d have at the end of a night if you’re still doing rounds, but you’d never start on them.

  14. Used to taste like real bad to
    Me. But when I first tried it I was 13 but now being 45 it’s like water lol

  15. My favourite. Nothing quenches my thirst on a warm summer’s day like an ice cold, crisp pint of Harp.

  17. because in the 80’s it was loaded with more chemicals than ICI so it was avoided?

  20. It the usual beer snobs who look down on it because it wasn’t brewed in someone’s bath and doesn’t taste of dingleberries and freshly mown grass.

  21. It’s not the best, but it’s certainly not the worst either. Just NI Tennants.

  22. As someone from England, you lot really can’t do good beer. Every pub has the same shite on tap, and cask is rarer than hens teeth.

    That said, Harp is a perfectly acceptable average lager. A 6/10. You’re not getting excited about it but it isn’t as offensive as Coors, Carling, Carlsberg etc. It is a football beer for me.

  23. Go abroad to mainland Europe and see how superior the beer is. I can’t drink the piss they serve here.

  24. It’s not the worst but tinny tasting from cans, best of a bad bunch, German style beer concocted be a couple of German lads. Big bottles are decent but hard to come by.

    Better than Madri, tennents, rockshore, carling and most of the British brewed ‘continental’ beers that people love to drink thinking they are cultured 🤦

  25. Its just bland, its like any other of the 5 beers we have on the island. A lot of people are okay with that but my thinking is if im going to be consuming something bad for me im at least going to go for something tasty

  26. Tastes change imo….i grew up with the standard Harp, Tennents and carlsberg.

    In my 40s now and wouldn’t touch any of that. It’s Guinness or a good ipa.

  27. The problem is that it doesn’t seem to stay sharp to the bottom of the glass.

  29. People who drink Rockshore and complain that Harp is shite probably order well done steak with a side of ketchup

  30. Because it’s your average, boring Euro-style lager. It’s pretty much interchangeable with a hundred of different brands. It’s got little flavour and because of that it needs to be consumed in larger amounts. The aftertaste is gone 5 seconds after you’ve had a sip.

  31. Lies and heresy, a good pint of Harp is top stuff.

  32. I hate the fake “it’s our thing” as if it’s a specific Nordie thing, it was brewed in Dundalk for a century and sponsor Dundalk FC for 20 years.

    It is horrible stuff and it’s not a norn iron thing.

  34. It tastes like both nothing and something unpleasant at the same time.

  35. It’s too bitter without having the flavour to balance it out, or the alcohol volume to justify it.

    Honestly, it’s sad that some folks outside the island think that Harp is the go-to “Irish lager”. Smithwicks is better in every way, but it isn’t a northern beer so I suppose I get why Harp is a thing in the north.

  36. Would burn the stomach out of you amd your ahole the next day.

  37. It’s nostalgia, those who no longer live in NI think it tastes amazing as they can’t get it anymore. Those who have it on tap think it tastes shite.

  38. When it had more market share it was apparentley better. Somewhere in my head, i can remember that Guinness got a masterbrewer in from Germany to do a proper Pilsner but with the market flooded with cheaper alternatives the quality dropped

  39. Because it is stinking compared to every other lager.

  40. It was shite, and is shite. What’s in it? If it was brewed in Germany or using only traditional methods here I might be tempted. Otherwise, not a chance.

  41. Coming of age in the late 90s, Harp was the ‘go-to’ drink. It’s not the easiest lager to drink. I think that might actually be a good sign. If it goes down to easy it’s probably processed to the hilt with God knows what chemicals.

  42. Today I stood in a group of friends, while one of us drank this with a great big smile upon his face in the greatly overpriced cathedral quarter. I took a sip of his pint to be welcomed by the taste of bog water. 4/10 wouldn’t drink again

  45. It’s not shite shite but there are better Irish lagers. I just don’t know what they are. Like most beer connoisseurs. I just like to smell my own shite. Mmm shite, na shite hai.

Comments are closed.