Guinness the Good and Bad

I am not a huge fan of Guinness. Blasphemer, blasphemer on St. James's Gate. Yes I said it. This beer lover most often passes on Dublin's beloved drink. However, that wasn't always the case. When I first started to appreciate imported beer Guinness along with Beck's, Bass, St. Pauli Girl and Double Diamond were our go to beers. In those early days time spent in smoky Pittsburgh bars downing imports, pints of Guinness Draught and Black and Tans was the norm. Just mentioning Harp and Fiddle, Jack's and Hemingway's brings back fond memories. As time moved on and the desire for other imports faded my love of the Guinness mystique stayed.

Guinness always seemed cool. Dark, bitter, the history, the special pour, a hypnotic cascade, a real man's beer. I figured you weren't a true beer drinker if you didn't enjoy Guinness. No wimpy, fizzy, thin, weak yellow beer in my pint glass. "Guinness for strength!!!" Over time I studied (drank) more styles of stouts and soon my old Irish friend wasn't as interesting. Imperial Stouts, Milk Stouts, Coffee Stouts, Chocolate Stouts, Oatmeal Stouts and so forth all offered more of what I wanted. Most had a bigger taste profile and pumped up abv. Along with the great variety of stouts other craft beer styles were blowing up and pushing the Irish Stout out of my beer picture. Guinness didn't change, my beer taste had.

Although I had long ago turned my back on Guinness the limited beer selection on a recent cruise to the Caribbean allowed me to reconnect with two versions of an old friend. Guinness was a savior (along with Boston Lager) in a sea of tasteless macros. This time I wasn't drinking it for image or under the spell of marketing. It was all about the taste.

Guinness Draught (can) step by step: pop the top, widget engaged, pour and watch the cascade. That's how it started. That thick creamy stark white head capping a glass of liquid darkness. Not much of an aroma. If anything the smallest hint of roasted grain. As great as it looked in the glass the taste was disappointing. Watery, flat, burnt bread with old roasted coffee bitterness. Not much else. It's remarkable how bland the taste really was. I know it's not a true draft pour (I remember that being better) but wow this isn't close to what I use to drink. Truly lackluster. Overall, no Irish Stout (so far) has me doing back flips. It's just one of those styles that I no longer love. When the time comes and I do get a taste for an Irish Stout make mine O'hara's.

Brewed in Nassau, Guinness Foreign Extra Stout is a better canned option. No pretty nitro pour with the Foreign Extra. The other noticeable difference is the beer's ultra dark brown color and tan head instead of the jet black hue of it's Draught can cousin. The aroma is full of roasted gains, a bit of chocolate and a touch of sweet and sour. The roasted flavor and burnt chocolate continue in the taste. The malty sweetness upfront fades to a moderately bitter end. The twist is the faint fruity character. A taste that some Guinness draught drinkers may find a bit off putting. At 7.5% abv it's no session brew. Although, it still remains easy to drink with no harsh alcohol bite.

Like many Guinness products this particular finished version has never seen St. James Gate Brewery. Guinness Foreign Extra Stout is different from country to country and brewed at various locations. The recipe and ingredients change slightly from the Caribbean, to Africa and Asia. In Nassau, Bahamas it's brewed under licence by Commonwealth Brewery LTD. Unfortunately if you want easy access to any versions of Foreign Extra Stout a trip is in order. They're not imported to the United States.