Guinness

[chef koo]

i tried it and it tasted completely bland. almost like water and a touch of bitterness. what gives?

[Grub]

You're a sensible person, that's what gives. Guinness doesn't taste right, outside of Ireland. It's a marketing thing -- the stuff isn't brewed by the same folks, or by the same methods, in the US.

[BrentKulman]

i tried it and it tasted completely bland. almost like water and a touch of bitterness. what gives?

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You are absolutely on target, here.

Guiness has dumbed down its taste for the US market which, by and large, prefers tasteless beers (despite some of the clever ads which might suggest the contrary).

Samuel Smith's, Young's and St. Peter's are three brewers from the British Isles that make far superior stouts to Guiness, in my opinion.

[Jenny McClure]

This is so true. Guiness does not travel at all. Even my Guiness drinking friends will say that even in Scotland and England, Guiness from the tap does not compare to Guiness in Ireland. From a can....forget about it. I can't imagine what their opinion of canned guiness in the States would be.

[carswell]

You're a sensible person, that's what gives. Guinness doesn't taste right, outside of Ireland. It's a marketing thing -- the stuff isn't brewed by the same folks, or by the same methods, in the US.

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You mean even the Guinness on tap in the US is locally brewed? Kegs and cans in Canada are imported from Ireland; only the bottled Guinness is locally brewed and is it ever nasty.

Though distribution is limited, St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout from McAuslan Brewing is worth seeking out. "Kicks Guinness's ass all the way to St. James' Gate," to quote a beer judge of my acquaintance.

And thanks for being the only person in this thread to spell Guinness right.

[Jenny McClure]

Shame on me for spelling Guinness wrong. I didn't even realise until I saw your thread.

[Mayhaw Man]

The Guinness draft available in North America comes from Dublin. The other packages, widget cans, bottles, etc. all come from different places (including Ireland, but not always). I don't believe that any of it is domestically brewed under license in the US, though Guinness does brew under license all over the world. The bottled Guinness that used to be available here as the only package, occasionally came from the Carribean (seems like it was Trinidad or Jamaica, but I can't really remember) and it was not very good, to say the least.

Guinness does own a brewery in the US, but I don't believe that they produce any Guinness domestically at their Lehigh Valley brewery.

The issue with Guinness draft in the US comes down to two things really-the way that the beer is handled during shipping and the way that it is handled at the retail level. Rarely do you find a good situation all the way through the pipeline. In fact, though I live in a town where Guinness is widely available and there are not a few "Irish bars", the only one that does what I consider to be a beautiful job with it is a small bar on Decatur Street (ironically across the street from the old and now defunct Jax Brewery), The Kerry. It is manned by Irish expats, it's stools are generally populated by Irish expats, and there is a firehouse next door. These things, combined, seem to keep the black stuff coming with the style and respect that it deserves. They can't help it that many times the beer coming out of the keg isn't perfect, because they are only responsible for it from the time that it comes through the door. Nitrogen, high pressure pouring is not easy and these days few people take the time to learn the ins and outs of the system, and the distributors rarely take the time to show publicans how to deal with it.

I can tell you though, with some authority (I lived in Enfield, Ireland (building a brewery) in the late 90's) that the quality of the Guinness from pub to pub varies greatly with both the skill of the barman and the quality of the equipment that it is being poured from. At the time I was there, lagers were becoming more and more popular and this is an issue for Irish beer wholesalers and pub owners because lagers are typically free poured through a tap, not pressured out by a beer engine or nitrogen (alagal). So what ended up happening is that the wholesalers (in many cases, due to the distribution system there, Guinness itself) began selling the pubs cold plates that chilled the lager beers on the way to the tap, where it was poured through what was essentially a Guinness style tap with nitrogen pushing it. It was pretty bizarre-think about a creamy Budweiser with a Guiness type head on it. Very strange.

The result of this situation was that, for various reasons, the Guinness in these very same pubs began to be poured through the cold plates for the Budweiser. This resulted in Guinness that was WWWAAAAYYYY too cold to be enjoyed and basically a small riot of old men in every pub in Ireland who wanted their Liffey water served the way that a proper pint, in their opinion, should be served. I listened to endless discussions about who had the best pint in a given geographic area and how "Guinness wasn't what it used to be" etc. It was pretty good craic, as the Irish say.

All this being said, while I was there I would drink a Beamish before anything else. I love that stuff. Much richer than Guinness, a much more enjoyable pint, imho.

So the point here is that no one, anywhere, is really ever truly happy with their pint unless they happend to be within spitting distance of the Liffey.

[chef koo]

so unless i go to ireland and have a pint there i'm helpless... that sucks.

is there absolutley no way to get the real thing in canada?

[AzianBrewer]

i tried it and it tasted completely bland. almost like water and a touch of bitterness. what gives?

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You are absolutely on target, here.

Guiness has dumbed down its taste for the US market which, by and large, prefers tasteless beers (despite some of the clever ads which might suggest the contrary).

Samuel Smith's, Young's and St. Peter's are three brewers from the British Isles that make far superior stouts to Guiness, in my opinion.

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Right on!!!! Guinness sucks in the States. It can be worst if you go to a bar that doesn't not move their Guinness on tap-it smells very pissy.

[Grub]

I spent half a year in Dublin, and had quote a few pints of the black stuff -- but I perfered both Beamish and Murphy's over Guiness. I've tasted all three in the US, and the only time I found a half decent pint of this, it was Murphy's. But then again, there are many microbreweries here that can produce a better pint of stout, than that (not better than anything served in Ireland, mind you).

All that being said, the best pint of anything, that I had in Ireland was the stuff at the Dublin Microbrewery named "The Porter House." Absolutely fantastic.

[Jenny McClure]

The Porter House is the best. I went to University in Dublin and spent many a Friday night there. Great beer, but lethal !!!!

[Mayhaw Man]

The Porter House is the best.  I went to University in Dublin and spent many a Friday night there.  Great beer, but lethal !!!!

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Nothing like a few "brainblasta's" to top off a long week. I used to hate that drive back to Enfield on the weekends. But I did love the Porterhouse. A great place.

[gtidan]

i tried it and it tasted completely bland. almost like water and a touch of bitterness. what gives?

←

You are absolutely on target, here.

Guiness has dumbed down its taste for the US market which, by and large, prefers tasteless beers (despite some of the clever ads which might suggest the contrary).

Samuel Smith's, Young's and St. Peter's are three brewers from the British Isles that make far superior stouts to Guiness, in my opinion.

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And your just dumber than a box of rocks for saying that Guiness has dumbed down it's taste for the US Market.

I'm holding a can in my hand that says: brewed at St. James Gate, Dublin, Ireland. With the widget in the can it tastes the same as from the tap. If I blindfolded you you would not be able to tell the difference for sure. I have been drinking Guiness for more than twenty years and I have tried the tap and can side by side and they taste the same......period.

If the brew tastes bland to you OK....... I also like Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout and other English brews but there is only one Guiness. You like Murphy's that's great. But just because YOU don't like the Guieness tastes does not make it a bad brew.

[jamiemaw]

i tried it and it tasted completely bland. almost like water and a touch of bitterness. what gives?

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Get thee to the Irish Heather.

[CharityCase]

Guinness does seem to vary greatly but if you're getting it where plenty of others are getting it, it's fine. I'm not a can fan but chances are I wouldn't notice much difference between that and a draught pint.

the pints I've had in London vs. Canada were much much better and cleaner in taste. And yet the Guiness Extra Cold that I guess Mayhaw man is talking about w.r.t cold plates apparently sells like wildfire in the city? Weird trends.

The St.Ambroise Oatmeal Stout is a delicious beer but I find it too thin and watery to enjoy more than one of.