Beer Review – Draught Guinness
March 17, 2009
St Patrick’s Day… only one thing for it, a pint of the black stuff. The real thing – no not Coke! Draught Guinness!
Legend has it that Arthur Guinness was a trainee at Samuel Whitbread’s brewery at Chiswell Street in the City of London, brewing London Porter before returning to Ireland after inheriting a sum of money from Archbishop Price. Having practiced the craft of brewing in County Kildare, he opened his brewery on the banks of the river Liffey in Dublin in 1759. Guinness Extra Stout can be traced back to the West Indies Porter first brewed in 1801.
Today, Guinness is brewed in 50 countries globally, Including Nigeria, Malaysia, Cameroon, Hong Kong and Ghana, but the brew served in England is now brewed back at St James’s Gate in Dublin.
Tradition has it that it takes two minutes to pour the perfect pint of Guinness… well 119.5 seconds. First, the glass is filled to about two thirds full, then left to stand until the head has subsided, then gently topped up to leave about three quarters of an inch of foam. Some barmen finish by dribbling a shamrock in the top of the head. This is of course purely decorative, and any suggestion that it’s designed to dissuade drinkers from offering a top up would be strenuously denied by most barmen.
The head is a pale tan colour and rich and creamy, worth that two minute wait.
It’s still a classic Stout, rich, bitter with roasted malts, full bodied and with a slightly sweet finish.
The Dublin Guinness is slightly lighter than the brew that was produced in London, so despite its 4.8% ABV it’s scarily quaffable. Nigerian Guinness, if you can find it, comes in at a whopping 7% ABV, closer to the original London Porters.
For the purposes of this tasting I ventured to my local Real Ale pub, the Prince of Wales . Writing these beer reviews for The Brew Club can be a dirty job, but someone has to do it!
Rating: 
a classic in every sense.
Posted in 4 Star Reviews, Ales, All Brews Reviewed, Bocks, Porters and Stouts, European Beers, Views from a Brit
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March 17th, 2009 at 10:40 am
I honestly believe this to be the worst stout brewed in Ireland. Compared to bottled O’Hara’s or even nitrokegged Wrassler’s XXXX it’s a thin imitation of proper stout.
Where did you get the 4.8% ABV from? Draught Guinness is 4.2% — though it’s high-gravity brewed so they can dilute it to any strength they want.
There is an Irish-brewed version of the Nigerian Foreign Extra, brewed to 7.5% ABV, and St James’s Gate also produces the 8% Special Export for John Martin’s of Belgium. Both are much better than ordinary Guinness, IMO.
Drinking cold nitrokeg in a pub which, by the looks of things, serves Adnam’s beer on cask seems sinful to me.
The Beer Nut’s last blog post..Interlude
March 17th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
After reading Bob’s post, I decided to have a Guinness myself in honor of the day and whatnot. Mine was from one of those wigitized cans to simulate the pulled pint experience. Anyway, while I enjoyed the taste, I found the beer itself to be thin,watery and very flat.
Maybe I just had a dud, although its been a long while since I’ve had a Guinness Draught so maybe my taste in beers have evolved. Bob the Brit says ‘classic’ and The Beer Nut says its the opposite! I suppose I fall somewhere in between, but based on the sample I had last night I’m closer to The Beer Nut’s take and would have given it 2.5 stars.
Scott – The Brew Club’s last blog post..Beer Review – Smithwick’s Irish Ale
March 17th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
I concede the Beer Nut’s point, I credited the Guinness with an extra 0.6% ABV.
I would never describe myself as an afficionado of Stout, but figure that this should be the yardstick against others should be measured, if only because it provides a reference point that most of the world can relate to.
I managed to find a bottle of the Foreign Extra this evening so will try that soon.
But I respectfully thank The Beer Nut for his input and will certainly try and seek out the stouts he recommends.
And no, the Adnams was off that lunchtime, after the Guinness I moved on to Dark Budvar which was a guest beer.
Bob the Brit’s last blog post..Cottage Pie
March 17th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
Scott,
I’m with you on the widget cans and bottles. If I drink Guinness from the bottle it’s the Extra Stout. This beer is far superior on tap vs. the bottle, so can’t disagree that it’s terrible in can or bottle. I would give it 2 to 2.5 bottle and the 4 that Bob gave it…if on tap. I’m of the belief that it’s certainly not nearly the best stout that I’ve had, but the excoriation that it received from the beer nut seems a little unwarranted. And Bob is right to say that it is the yardstick (yardstick meaning the starting point)…after all, it was the world’s first Stout Porter, which is really what Stout is.
Michael Reinhardt’s last blog post..Virtual Line Waiting: The virtual diary of someone trying to score some Dark Lord
March 17th, 2009 at 9:52 pm
Interesting give and take on this one! Bob made another interesting point that this Guinness is a good reference to judge other beers of the style simply because its so well known. Guinness is arguably synonymous with ‘Irish Beer’.
Scott – TheBrewClub’s last blog post..Beer Review – Lancaster Brewing Milk Stout
March 18th, 2009 at 7:11 am
Budweiser provides a reference point for American beer that most of the world relates to. Yet it’s pretty far from being a suitable yardstick.
The 4.2% ABV nitrokeg draught Guinness was most certainly not the world’s first Stout Porter. Its roots don’t really go back any further than the late 1950’s, and it doesn’t seem to have reached its current ABV until the 1970s. The nearest thing to pre-1917 Guinness around is the 7.5% ABV Foreign Extra Stout, a recipe seemingly almost unchanged since the 1820s. It offers a much better yardstick to measure all stout by, and tastes quite nice too.
The notion that modern-day Draught Guinness has any historical credibility is a myth encouraged by Diageo’s huge marketing divisions.
The Beer Nut’s last blog post..Of lions and lambs
March 18th, 2009 at 7:13 am
“Guinness is arguably synonymous with ‘Irish Beer’.”
Only because Diageo keep telling people this. It’s not an observation born of any facts.
63% of all beer sold in Ireland is lager, with virtually all of it made in Ireland.
The Beer Nut’s last blog post..Of lions and lambs
March 18th, 2009 at 7:33 am
It may be that I was being generous, and that in retrospect I might drop that rating to a 3 or 3.5 (particularly after I taste the 7% export) but it is the standard.
I should add in my defence that, that lunchtime we had a couple of Draught Guinness which went down VERY well, and then followed them with a couple of Dark Budvar. Somebody else was driving – I should add.
At the end of the day it’s down to personal taste, and having a good time.
Bob the Brit’s last blog post..Cottage Pie
March 19th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
As far as I’m concerned, Guinness remains a very quaffable and most importantly, a refreshing beer even if it may have strayed from its original formula, which is practically a given. I like extreme beers too…but also appreciate the one thing that is lacking n so much of the “craft” beer made today…BALANCE.
I have been a fan and supporter of the microbrew movement since its beginnings, and a lover of non-mainstream beer for years before that (and there was plenty to be had if you knew where to look). While there are many outstanding micro beers out there I certainly don’t feel that the micro movement can do no wrong, and this idea that has been fostered lately which suggests that if it is not extreme in every way, it is not “real” beer.
Hogwash.
It seems as though it has become fashionable to berate a beer simply because it is the product of a large company, or because it does not slam you over the head with overdone flavors, or because it doesn’t pack a massive alcohol wallop. Beers like that have become just as common (and just as boring) as the megabrew yellow fizzwater beers.
Sometimes, a pint of Guinness is a real relief.