Years ago I was with some people in a bar, and there was a special on Guinness Extra Stout. I figured what the hell, and ordered a glass–how bad could it be?
Bloody awful, that’s how bad–it tasted like liquid charcoal. I had to order a bottle of Bud, which I used to cut the stuff so I could get it down. (I figured I paid for it, so I was gonna drink it one way or the other.) I’ve never tried another Guinness of any sort. To get me to do so, the bubbles in the stuff would have to do more than go down–they’d have to spell out state capitals or something.
I post this mainly because the forum is so empty–I just thought I’d give it a little business.
There was an article in the May 6 Science News about the Physics of Fizz. They discussed several different phenomena, including why Guiness bubbles go down. For that, they talked to the same guy Cecil did. Unfortunately, Science News only puts a few of their articles on the web and this wasn’t one of them.
That’d be Guinness extra stout as opposed to milk stout. It is a much stronger and more bitter drink. I don’t know where you’re from, but in Australia, this was what passed for Guinness before rapid transport (and is still labelled “Guinness Original” here).
On the sea journey, Guinness bottled at low alcohol spoiled, and a product of about 7% alcohol was sent instead. Many stouts are of this type: I drink Coopers Extra, which has an even more pronounced “burnt” taste. Extra stouts are good, but they’re nothing like Guinness.
Hmm. I’m an American, and as I understand it we have weak beer compared to most other countries–I may have just been unprepared for something that strong and bitter. Also, I was a 20-year-old undergrad at the time (this was in 1984, before the feds forced everyone to raise the drinking age), and I was known to drink such el cheapo stuff as Red, White, and Blue Beer. (I’m not making that name up), so I couldn’t have exactly been said to have a refined pallet for the stuff.
Maybe one of these days I’ll feel adventurous and give Guinness (the non-extra-stout) another try.
The other aspect of drinking Guinness unprepared is that it is often served as cold as a lager. Drinking it that cold is a sure way to discover what the word bitter truly means.
Guinness (and the vast majority of darker stouts, porters, ales, and “dark” stuff) really need to be a bit warmer than your 35° F refrigerator. I’m not talking 72°/room temperature, but definitely much warmer than ice. If they serve it cold, let it sit for a few minutes while it warms up. Don’t worry. It’s not carbonated Bud that will go flat in 4 minutes if not sent directly to your stomach. The quality of the darker brews is not in their fizzy nature, but in their taste. Lagers and pilsners should be drunk cold, usually, and the bubbles are part of the experience. (Think of the temperatures at which you serve white or red wines: temperature changes the taste.)
The problem tom mentioned is in a way part of the charm of Guinness. Waiting for the drink to settle is part of the deal; you need to let it sit a while.
This is particularly so with “towers of power” (the cans with the widget). They need to be cold to get the surge to work, but they are best drunk a little warmer. At the right temperature it is a soft, subtle drink. You really need to pour it 15 minutes before you want it.
In the US, the Guinness that comes in cans with the widget is stout, the Guinness that comes in bottles is extra stout. I’m pretty sure all draught Guinness in the US is the stout.
3-5 years ago I was brought Guinness from Canada and Ireland, and I believe that one of them was the Extra Stout in cans. However, they were steel cans, not aluminum, and with no widget (not sure if that’s because the widget became popular since then, or if it’s because extra stout isn’t widgetized…)
Also, regarding the strengths of US beers vs. beers from other countries, the confusion stems from the fact that alcohol in US beers is measured by weight, but in other countries it’s measured by volume. Because alcohol weighs about 20% less than water, the numbers for European/Canadian beers appear higher (a 5% Canadian beer is about the same as a 4% US beer). Of course there are beers that have higher alcohol percentages than others, but that’s not the source of the major alcohol % discrepancy between US and international beers.
I was just about to ask Cecil about this, and here he’s already written a column about it. What timing. I have seen regular Guiness in a bottle- only 23oz singles, not in six packs like the extra stout. It definitely has a different taste than the can, which is closer to draught. I started on the bottle, so I prefer that. Murphy’s also comes in a bottle, with some sort of widget that makes it pour like a draught. I’ve heard that when pouring stouts from a tap, one waits and then tops if off. Is this recommended with cans and bottles?
The key to drinking Guinness extra stout (if you are a poor tongue-sullied American) is to think of cold black coffee. As an odd side effect, I find that I get a psychosomatic caffeine buzz from the stuff, very different than any other beer or alcohol. [Experiments conducted when I bought some 4-packs a year or two ago, to experiment with the widget concept. It never seemed to work for me, cold or not.]
I suppose this works better, if like me, you’ve downed lots of cold black coffee since you were a child. And if, like me, you don’t like beer in the first place.
I’ve frequented a couple of Irish pubs (in Baltimore, but what the hell) and my preferred way of drinking Guinness is as a half & half, with half a pint of Harp. The two go together like chocolate and peanut butter.
And the nice thing about doing it that was is that you can order your beers two at a time, and if anyone accuses you of gluttony, you can look hurt and explain that you’re making half-and-halfs.
I was disappointed that there was no R-rated Slug cartoon to go with the online column. I saw this art in last week’s NY PRESS, assumed it was the usual PG version, and looked forward to a depiction of Guinness Stout pumping fountain-like from a big lumpy woman’s vagina, or something like that.
If people are going to talk about the quality or taste of Guinness it should be mentioned that Guinness does not travel very well and for some reason the Guinness brewed around the world does not taste anywhere near as good as the Guinness brewed here in Ireland .
If tried Guinness (draught) in the U.S. , Canada , France , Britain ( not bad at all in the right pub ) and Malaysia and always noticed a difference .
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I really hope that Cecil was joking about Irish / English be the same thing .
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I was in England a few years ago and tried some of the local beers. None were all that great, so I tried Guiness. Even it wasn’t as good as the Guiness I can get here in the States. My hosts said this was because Guiness has a brewery in the London area that supplies England, while they ship it from Ireland to the US.
Lest anyone think I am comparing the British beers to Bud or something, I haven’t had a macrobrew in many years. But here in Oregon, we like a couple more hops in our beer than the British do. Like Guiness, Oregon beer also tastes better if you let it warm up a bit.
While I’ve had some decent Guinness in the States, I’ve only very rarely had a decent glass of Harp. It might just be that I prefer draught whenever possible and the demand for Harp is low enough that the kegs go off before they’re emptied. Or perhaps Harp just travels poorly (not just over the pond but across North America as well). But just once I’d like a G&H because it tastes good, not because the Guinness cuts the skunk of the Harp . . .