What happed to Guinness?

Yuri_Rage said:

I'm going to coin the term now: BMCG

Click to expand...

PROST!!

strat_thru_marshall said:

man...i dont know if i'd go THAT far...

While Guinness on draft might not be as big and tasty as the stouts some of ya'll might make at home, it is a pretty classic example of a dry stout and great to drink by the pint when the bar doesn't have a craft beer selection.

Click to expand...

It makes me puke from the bottle, not much better on tap. Unfermented charcoal and milk, carbed with nitro is all I get.

I haven't had a Guinness in a while as well, but I can tell my palate has changed. But, I am currently having one, and will have 2 more since it's St Pattys day, and Guinness is the only Irish beer available at this forward deployed location. I'm just glad I can drink here.

edmanster said:

extra or foreign stout guinness is the only kind i get.... its what guinness should taste like..

Click to expand...

Agree with the Extra Stout, Foreign Extra doesn't do it for me.

strat_thru_marshall said:

man...i dont know if i'd go THAT far...

While Guinness on draft might not be as big and tasty as the stouts some of ya'll might make at home, it is a pretty classic example of a dry stout and great to drink by the pint when the bar doesn't have a craft beer selection.

Click to expand...

Yep, I still love it. It's my go-to when there's nothing special.

So, I opened this thread as a curiosity if others were having similar experiences with Guinness, and looks like many did... But today is St Patricks and I will have just 2 options later on in the pub... Green beer or Guinness... Not really looking forward to drink beer with artificial colors on it, so might just have a Guinness again after all...

Guinness is not an option for me. Only because I have enough options as it is. Bailey's, Jameson, Irish Coffee, Homebrewed Stout, Irish Red, and Blonde....or Red (Green) Dog. We'll see if I remember which I choose.

Are the Extra Stout and Foreign 2 different products? Just went into beer store and saw Draft in a can, Extra Stout in bottles. Those are the only 2 I ever remember seeing.

I still like actual Guiness draught but I had a bottle yesterday and it was horrible. It had barely any head and was way over carbed for Guiness.

Man not to complain but I'm not sure I like this BMCG thing. I don't think guinness is great or anything but its not even in the same ballpark as BMC. On the same note it isn't on the same level as the more artisan craft beers. I'm kinda thinking there's 3 tiers of beer as far as flavor goes. BMC on the bottom which I consider the beer who drink solely to get drunk. Mass produced craft beers that are popular because they have enough flavor to appeal to craft beer drinkers but also flavorless enough to appeal to the uninitiated masses (Guinness, Sam Addams, Leinenkugels etc). Finally the top tier stuff that's brewed because the brewer wants to make something that appeals to him and just hopes that enough people will buy it that he can turn a profit. That third kind of beer can be both good and bad because it appeals to specific tastes but when you like one out of this group you love it. I think a lot of us have had beers we love which kind of ruined our pallets for the mass produced craft beers. MPCB? I'd say that's where Guinness goes though since I'd never dream of lumping it in with BMC

i'm still surprised bud or miller or anyone still hasnt produced a cheap 30pack basic stout, in the same price range as their other beers ($20 or so). Use the same recipe but throw in some roasted barley

Love Guinness, will always love Guinness. I've noticed, that here in Philly, it all depends on what bar you're at determines the quality of the pint.

Some places have it on tap, but have no idea how to pour a proper pint and it's just not very good. I'll still drink it, but it's just not the same.

jaginger said:

Are the Extra Stout and Foreign 2 different products? Just went into beer store and saw Draft in a can, Extra Stout in bottles. Those are the only 2 I ever remember seeing.

Click to expand...

Yes.. FES was just released to the US market last year I believe.. It has a nutty flavor apposed to just extra stout that is more bitter chocolate coffee flavor..

Part of the problem is that every bar in America hauls out the nitro tap and gets a couple of kegs of Guiness from their local AB distributor around St Pat's Day. They throw it into the cooler with all of the BMC products and serve it ice cold.

It's amazing that someone can make a few home brews, find them enjoyable, then find themselves to have the authority to hogmouth the finest beer in the world.

Northcalais40 said:

It's amazing that someone can make a few home brews, find them enjoyable, then find themselves to have the authority to hogmouth the finest beer in the world.

Click to expand...

lmao......come on now, we all know that's not even close to being true

why bash Guinness? Overall it is a lite beer... low in alcohol, calories, and very drinkable. I have been across some crap bars with dirty tap lines that made guinness taste like crud... but c'mon, guinness it a crap beer?

In the spirit of the original question, I don't think anything happened to Guinness. Guinness changing any part of their recipe is less likely than Budweiser changing theirs. I think most of us have altered our palates with Imperial this-and-that, Barleywines, Douple IPAs, etc. Now the beers we used to think were pretty full-flavored like Guinness, Boston Lager, Fat Tire (these are my personal examples), have been left in the dust. The beers aren't bad and they likely haven't changed. They're just not as interesting to those of us that have gone all the way into beer obsession.

I still like Guinness, but I only buy a pint at a bar every now and then if they don't have any more intriguing offerings. I had two pints of Guinness last night and they were everything I was expecting and nothing more. I had a pint of my homebrewed stout when I got home and I like it better because I brewed it to my tastes.

Northcalais40 said:

It's amazing that someone can make a few home brews, find them enjoyable, then find themselves to have the authority to hogmouth the finest beer in the world.

Click to expand...

Yeah, all of us here , like Yuri, have only had a few homebrews, and have an irrational hatred of the most WONDERFUL beer ever created.

If none of you homebrew was better than guinness, give up now and just drink guinness.

Way to go Doog. Summed it up.

I guess what I'm saying is that perhaps the head brewer at Guinness has a bit more spin on the ball than maybe, like, anyone here. I think it tastes the way it is supposed to taste as per the decision making of some fairly experienced folks.

I agree it is no 1.100 og rye, wheat, spice and fruit laced ooh-wow, like 300IBU bad boy.

To paraphrase: 10 million smiling knuckles can't be wrong.

I wonder what the Guinness man would say about your best effort? Probably he'd be fairly positive.

Northcalais40 said:

I guess what I'm saying is that perhaps the head brewer at Guinness has a bit more spin on the ball than maybe, like, anyone here. I think it tastes the way it is supposed to taste as per the decision making of some fairly experienced folks.

I agree it is no 1.100 og rye, wheat, spice and fruit laced ooh-wow, like 300IBU bad boy.

To paraphrase: 10 million smiling knuckles can't be wrong.

I wonder what the Guinness man would say about your best effort? Probably he'd be fairly positive.

Click to expand...

So the millions drinking Keystone Light have also the best palate in the world ? Guinness isn't the FINEST BEER EVER CREATED: it's just another beer with its faults and strenghts. It's certainly cool around these parts to diss it as "inferior" to other examples, though.

For the record, I like me some Guinness, for what it is, but you don't have to be the headbrewer at a major company to critique a beer. That's simply nonsense.

The Irish in me is crying over this thread.

Guinness Black Lager, on the other, is an absolute disgrace and what I thought this thread may have been about before reading through it.

Kieran said:

Guinness Black Lager, on the other, is an absolute disgrace and what I thought this thread may have been about before reading through it.

Click to expand...

Wow.... I hadn't heard about Guinness Black Lager before. Just did a Google search for it. Maybe BMCG isn't so far off after all...

I remember back in 06 when they started releasing all the special "Guinness Brewhouse Series" crap. None of it was particularly good, not that I find regular Guinness much better.

Anyone else have a pint of Toucan, North Star, or Brew 39?

Don't know if anyone here had the 250th Anniversary Guinness, but it was noteworthy

McMalty said:

Don't know if anyone here had the 250th Anniversary Guinness, but it was noteworthy

Click to expand...

i wanted to try that. i never saw it anywhere. can it still be found?

Bought a big bottle of Guinness -probably 22 oz- last week, specifically for cooking. Cooked with some, drank the rest. Tasted like Guinness always has to me.

rico567 said:

Bought a big bottle of Guinness -probably 22 oz- last week, specifically for cooking. Cooked with some, drank the rest. Tasted like Guinness always has to me.

Click to expand...

As a side note, those are awesome to bottle homebrew in :rockin:

rycov said:

i wanted to try that. i never saw it anywhere. can it still be found?

Click to expand...

doubt it, unless someone has it hidden behind something else on a shelf somewhere. it was a 2010 thing, definitely worth it, wish i had bought some more just to hang on to

I had some 250th anniversary Guinness on tap (at a place that can't pour properly). It was flipping delicious! Then again, I was already very drunk...

I think one of the main problems that occurs is that establishments don't clean their lines regularly. That makes a huge impact in drinking a proper pint.

Personally, I have never been a fan of Guinness. However, they are very smart in both advertising and merchandising. Whether draught, or bottles and cans, I have always gotten a copper penny flavor that I just cannot stomach. If I am in the mood for a good stout, I'll reach for a Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout. Haven't brewed a stout, because I tend more towards ale, personally. Although, I feel a chocolate nib infused porter is on my brewing radar.

jmferris said:

Haven't brewed a stout, because I tend more towards ale, personally.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure what you mean by this.....almost every stout is an ale. Are you saying you like a different kind of ale?

McMalty said:

I'm not sure what you mean by this.....almost every stout is an ale. Are you saying you like a different kind of ale?

Click to expand...

How about a proper bitter then?

jmferris said:

How about a proper bitter then?

Click to expand...

yeah, that's a bit more specific

I took a trip to Ireland in september 2010 and the Guinness just tastes better there. I've had it at some bars here in the US since returning and its just not the same IMHO (besides the fact that most bartenders here don't know how to properly pour a Guinness). I guess what i'm trying to say is don't base your opinions about Guinness on what you drink from a supermarket or a US tap. Taste one from the "motherland" and you'll see a why the average Irishman drinks 33 gallons of beer per year.

According to their website the product sold in Ireland is the same as here. Do you suppose it's the pour that makes all the difference?

jaginger said:

According to their website the product sold in Ireland is the same as here. Do you suppose it's the pour that makes all the difference?

Click to expand...

I had it at a pub in London that does "perfect pours" - something that is almost two minutes, if I remember correctly. I didn't find there to be an appreciable difference in taste from places in the U.S. where I had tried it, personally. Granted it wasn't Ireland, but we don't have an office in Ireland for me to visit.

Yeah, your are right. My homebrew for some reason tastes better than anything else out there. I have a Belgian Pale and an English ordinary bittler and I love them.
It seems to be the same for a lot of others out there.

cheezydemon3 said:

Yeah, all of us here , like Yuri, have only had a few homebrews, and have an irrational hatred of the most WONDERFUL beer ever created.

If none of you homebrew was better than guinness, give up now and just drink guinness.

Click to expand...

I've heard the same type of comments about Sam Adams over the years by homebrewes/craft beer drinkers. Makes me think of the expression, know enough to be dangerous.

If you think Guinness tastes like water then you need to evaluate your palette or your tasting methods. Experience should help you fine tune your palette not make it blunt or specifically tuned to syrupy 200 ibu beers. I'm not saying it should be liked by anyone but there is a place for objectivity in beer tasting in a group who are dedicated to making great beer.

Would be interesting if the same thing happened with food. Would you swear off hamburgers for truffle stuffed wagyu steaks?

jaginger said:

According to their website the product sold in Ireland is the same as here. Do you suppose it's the pour that makes all the difference?

Click to expand...

I don't think that the pour is the secret. Maybe its that the Irish have 250 years of experience in storing the kegs and serving Guinness at just the right temperature. Or maybe the atmosphere of a true Irish pub just makes you think that the pints taste better....