Guinness Black Lager Label

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Qeelin

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A friend of mine just brought over a six pack of Guinness' new Black Lager. It was an ok beer, not really one that I would buy but the big issue I have is what it says on the label. Right on the front in big bold letters it says: Cold Brewed With Roasted Barley. Now I know that most of the US is uneducated in the brewing process or even what beer is made out of, that's obvious by the way BMC is advertised, but I would think that Guinness of all companies wouldn't join the "American's are idiots and will drink anything" bandwagon. First of all, what the hell is "Cold Brewed" supposed to mean anyway? Cold Fermented? If so then how is that different than any other lager in the world? And "With Roasted Barley"? Really? What do they make the rest of their beer out of? Raw Barley? Boiled Barley? Roasted Coffee? I mean, saying your dark beer is made with roasted barley is like saying Jiff is made with peanuts. Am I wrong? It just makes me crazy when a company assumes that the general public is made up of complete idiots. Oh wait, I guess they are, but Guinness is not consumed by the general public so why assume that Guinness drinkers are idiots?

What do YOU think?

Qeelin
 
uh ... not to be too naive here, but does a black lager normally contain *any* roasted barley? I thought Schwarzbier gets its color from roasted malt and avoids roasted barley.
 
Maybe I'm the naive one. If that's true then it still leaves "Cold Brewed".
 
So maybe they're selling something called black lager but not making it like a black lager? ... with the roasted barley does that make it closer to the way they make stout. I don't have the brewing experience to comment much about what goes into any certain beer. It does seem odd though.
 
I guess any market research would show that most Americans prefer beer that is from the Rockies, triple hopped, less filling.....
My guess is that they're trying to appeal to most Americans as opposed to the beer geek.
 
I have never tasted it, but maybe it means that the roasted barley is cold steeped to extract color but not the overall flavor/astringency as if it was mashed with the rest of the grist, ala as done with black ipa. That could be a definition of "cold brewed with roasted barley".

This way it is aimed at educated consumers with knowledge of brewing process and they would get it, but also appeal to the overwhelming buying public who look for Cold Rocky Mountain brewed beer, and need a can that changes color to tell them when their beer is really cold and "ready" to drink; the slogan serves a dual purpose!
 
You guys have come up with lots of good theories, but I think they're just using marketing lingo to get people to buy it. Cold brewed = well, it was brewed cold. Not that many Americans know that lagers are cold brewed and ales are not. The roasted barley, well if that's in it, then that's what they mean. I'm not sure if you're drawing the right distinction in the OP. It would be between malted barley and roasted barley, not between raw/boiled barley or roasted barley. Some dark beers are made without it.
 
You guys have come up with lots of good theories, but I think they're just using marketing lingo to get people to buy it. Cold brewed = well, it was brewed cold. Not that many Americans know that lagers are cold brewed and ales are not. The roasted barley, well if that's in it, then that's what they mean. I'm not sure if you're drawing the right distinction in the OP. It would be between malted barley and roasted barley, not between raw/boiled barley or roasted barley. Some dark beers are made without it.

I would say that lagers are cold fermented, but not cold brewed.
 
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