Guinness Draught in the Bottle

[jhlurie]

Guinness is promoting it's new Draught in the Bottle product with a series of humorous ads:

http://www.guinness.com/guinness/en_US/see..._125875,00.html (after an age verification)

Also, general info on the product:

http://www.guinness.com/guinness/en_US/kno...7451262,00.html

The Guinness cans have been around for a while--with the little ball (or widget or whatever they call it) inside--and apparently the bottles have a similar kind of device inside.

Unlike the cans, which require pouring to form the proper head, the "Draught in the Bottle" product claims that you can drink it "properly" straight out the bottle. I'm skeptical, but then again I haven't tried it yet.

[jhlurie]

Actually, while poking around the Guinness site, I also noticed the ad archive--ads for campaigns all the way back to 1929. There's some neat stuff there:

http://www.guinness.com/guinness/en_US/see..._125902,00.html

[beerguyjim]

Unlike the cans, which require pouring to form the proper head, the "Draught in the Bottle" product claims that you can drink it "properly" straight out the bottle. I'm skeptical, but then again I haven't tried it yet.

Please tell me how one can drink straight from the bottle and taste the beer. Taste is perceived through the sense of smell.

[jhlurie]

I did say I was skeptical.

Actually most of my skepticism was formed around my disbelief that the head could be done right in such a closed space. I'm not prepared to argue the pros and cons of all bottled beers right at this moment.

[beerguyjim]

Actually most of my skepticism was formed around my disbelief that the head could be done right in such a closed space.

That's an interesting question, and the short answer would have to be that the head doesn't exist. Presumably the sensory experience (tactile, at least) is similar to drinking from a glass, but I haven't tried it. Of course, the primary market for this package is people who drink from the bottle in bars, i.e., people who are concerned about how cool they look to others, but really aren't concerned about the taste of the beer they're drinking.

[tommy]

i.e., people who are concerned about how cool they look to others, but really aren't concerned about the taste of the beer they're drinking.

that's a pretty extreme generalization. and in my experience, not all that accurate.

[jhlurie]

I suppose that one could argue that bottled beer caters to moments when convenience outweighs taste. That doesn't necessarily mean that the taste becomes irrelevent though. It just means that the convenience temporarily means more.

Really we need a scientific study. A draught glass of Guinness right out of the tap, one poured into a glass from one of those cans, one poured into a glass from out of the bottle, and one drunk from right in the bottle. It's actually possible that the second best option, after the tap, might be the bottle, as long as it's actually poured into a glass. Keeping it IN the bottle might be the crime.

Then again I actually HAVE had the cans, and the head formed with them does seem pretty good. Another problem with the bottle, even if you pour into a glass, may be that the bottles are too thin, and that pouring out of them might kill the head.

[babyluck]

I suppose that one could argue that bottled beer caters to moments when convenience outweighs taste.  That doesn't necessarily mean that the taste becomes irrelevent though.  It just means that the convenience temporarily means more.

Really we need a scientific study.  A draught glass of Guinness right out of the tap, one poured into a glass from one of those cans, one poured into a glass from out of the bottle, and one drunk from right in the bottle.  It's actually possible that the second best option, after the tap, might be the bottle, as long as it's actually poured into a glass.  Keeping it IN the bottle might be the crime.

Well said.

The taste right out of the bottle is definitely closer to a good pub pour than the draught can poured into a glass. Milder, yeastier & broader. I seem to recall that a mini-head would be formed each time the bottle was tipped. More research is clearly needed. I volunteer my services!

[beerguyjim]

i.e., people who are concerned about how cool they look to others, but really aren't concerned about the taste of the beer they're drinking.

that's a pretty extreme generalization. and in my experience, not all that accurate.

How else do you explain drinking from the bottle when glasses are readily available?

[tommy]

i.e., people who are concerned about how cool they look to others, but really aren't concerned about the taste of the beer they're drinking.

that's a pretty extreme generalization. and in my experience, not all that accurate.

How else do you explain drinking from the bottle when glasses are readily available?

gee, preference for one. i've never come across anyone who thought it looked "cool" "to others" to drink from a bottle. that strikes me as absurd. i find it odd that it's the only rationale that you can come up with to explain behavior that has clearly been shared by many people for many years.

Edited January 26, 2004 by tommy (log)

[stephenc]

How else do you explain drinking from the bottle when glasses are readily available?

Price, availability of a certain beer on tap, spillage from glasses when moving around a bar. There are lots of good reasons people drink from bottles.

[beerguyjim]

Keeping it IN the bottle might be the crime.

Agreed, and ironically, the brewer is the one making the crime possible.