I agree with this.
Also, I went to an Irish pub in Ventura a few months ago and just had to order a Guiness. In that setting it was perfect. I don't generally buy it for home though.
Is Guinness the most overrated beer...ever?
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I agree with this.
Also, I went to an Irish pub in Ventura a few months ago and just had to order a Guiness. In that setting it was perfect. I don't generally buy it for home though.
jtakacs
Well-Known Member
guiness? no. that honor belongs to stella imo.
stella: reassuringly expensive.
stella: reassuringly expensive.
Straight6TT
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ugh....dont even get me started on stella lol.
alexdagrate
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Personally, I love how easy it is to find cheap nitro guinness cans (especially at costco).
However, I somewhat agree that Guinness suffers from the same "Irishness" that afflicts Notre Dame football.
People who never went to college, whose family never went to college, and who are not even practicing Catholics will describe themselves as "die hard" ND Football fans because they are 1/32 "Irish."
Same seems to go with Guinness. Maybe I am suffering from that same affliction. But when I drink a pint of Guinness, it hits me.
Now, when I have a stronger, fresher, bolder stout on nitro (Deschutes Obsidian, North Coast Rasputin, etc), I enjoy it more.
And, don't forget, there's more than one bottle, can, or pint of Guinness. There's a big difference between a pint at St. James Gate, a can on nitro in the US, a keg in the US, a bottle of Foreign Extra Stout, or a pint in Africa (Nigerians drink more Guinness than the Irish).
However, I somewhat agree that Guinness suffers from the same "Irishness" that afflicts Notre Dame football.
People who never went to college, whose family never went to college, and who are not even practicing Catholics will describe themselves as "die hard" ND Football fans because they are 1/32 "Irish."
Same seems to go with Guinness. Maybe I am suffering from that same affliction. But when I drink a pint of Guinness, it hits me.
Now, when I have a stronger, fresher, bolder stout on nitro (Deschutes Obsidian, North Coast Rasputin, etc), I enjoy it more.
And, don't forget, there's more than one bottle, can, or pint of Guinness. There's a big difference between a pint at St. James Gate, a can on nitro in the US, a keg in the US, a bottle of Foreign Extra Stout, or a pint in Africa (Nigerians drink more Guinness than the Irish).
ChillyCheese
Member
Guinness in a can or bottle is pretty bad.
Guinness on tap in the US is decent.
Guinness in Ireland is lovely.
I know it's cliche, but after a trip to Ireland, that was my experience; it could be somewhat psychological, I admit. It's still certainly not a complex beer, but I would say it's my among my favorite mass produced beers.
Guinness on tap in the US is decent.
Guinness in Ireland is lovely.
I know it's cliche, but after a trip to Ireland, that was my experience; it could be somewhat psychological, I admit. It's still certainly not a complex beer, but I would say it's my among my favorite mass produced beers.
alexdagrate said:
Don't forget temp. & how it is poured, too cold and it's just a cold beer, too warm and it's rancid. Dont dare serve a pint straight up no settling, an offence punishable by a mass walkout
. Over here we'd send back a pint if it is not the right temp. or let settle properly. Old skool drinkers are a fussy bunch. In most pubs there are two types of Guinness, Guinness & guineas extra cold for the lager boys. Guinness brewed outside of ireland will always taste slightly wrong (think water profile) due to the water source. As. For Nigerians drinking more then the Irish that is just down to population? Check the stats for pints per capita. 
I think Guinness is largely overrated in terms of being "heavy". Sure, a lot of craft beer "connoisseurs" will complain that there's not much going on with it, but I do believe that's part of the thinking behind the beer. Dublin has horribly hard water, so they really couldn't successfully brew pilsners or pale ales with their water chemistry. So what would they make if they just want to grab a pint down at the pub after work? An easy drinking stout is the first thing that would come to my mind. Believe it or not, sometimes a 12% abv bottle of roasted-toffee-plum-bourbon overload that pours like used motor oil doesn't hit the spot after working all day.
IMO, it's not worth the usual $10 a 6 pack that I usually see it at in the store, but I don't think I'd ever turn down a cheap pint.
IMO, it's not worth the usual $10 a 6 pack that I usually see it at in the store, but I don't think I'd ever turn down a cheap pint.
Obliviousbrew
Well-Known Member
I like Guinness but I think its a little over-rated. Anyway I will defend it to death when everyone was brewing watery yellow fizzy pils Irish were brewing/drinking pretty good stouts. Cheers to diversity in brewing and in every other aspect of life
Kind I hard for any beer to be the most over-rated when Pliny the Elder is still around...
And this is a problem for you? To ME this means I can go to any bar, including a non beer centric bar like I would normally go to, (Like a place with a beer list longer than the wine one, or a brewpub) and KNOW that there's at least going to be 1 beer amongst the bud, bud light, coors, that I might actually ENJOY drinking....
I'm happy nowadays that even in the most divy shot and shell bar, I might find Guinness or at least killians on tap these days. Beats ordering a water.
I love the newly converted and how snobby they can be....
Bitching that Guinness is always on tap these days. Sheesh. Try going back to the 80's when the idea of something OTHER than BMC in a bar was an impossibility....
mhenry41h
Well-Known Member
mlyday
Well-Known Member
Until you've had it at the gravity bar in dublin, you haven't really had a guiness.
With more and more small breweries popping up everyday, it is only a matter of time until brewers like Stone, or Founders are considered overrated. Just ask Jim Koch
spearko520
Well-Known Member
no. i think the answer is no. a carrot can't be overrated because it's a carrot, and guinness can't be over- rated because it's guinness. you know exactly what you are getting and exactly what it is. how can you over- rate it?
I feel the same way with DFH's "Minute" Ipas. They're a lot of hype but pretty meh.
I think for me having had Bell's around since the late 80's and with Two Hearted and Hopslam as their signiture IPAs, and now with Founders Centennial IPA, I'm spoiled.
But even Hopslam to me can be overrated. I kinda think all the hype around certain beers is silly....People lining up to by Founder's Canadian Bacon Breakfast Stout. Or Utopias going on Ebay for tons. I think all that is silly.
But it's human nature, like the OP's silly troll attempt. Some folks need to make certain things "special" and put them on pedestals....and others like the op feel the need to piss in a punchbowl and tear something off a pedestal.
There's been threads bashing the big indies on here for years...
homebrewdad
Well-Known Member
Guinness is an excellent beer (and as others have mentioned, an excellent representation of its style), and serves as a wonderful gateway to craft beer. To me, hating on Guinness is like hipsters hating on popular music - if I've heard of a band, then they are not indie enough, and ergo, they suck. Give me a break.
That being said, if you don't like it, don't drink it. I'm not a hophead, so I don't care for most IPA - especially not the serious hop bombs. However, you don't see me posting on how a given IPA sucks.
Drink what you like. Don't complain about commercial beer that you don't like. What is the point?
That being said, if you don't like it, don't drink it. I'm not a hophead, so I don't care for most IPA - especially not the serious hop bombs. However, you don't see me posting on how a given IPA sucks.
Drink what you like. Don't complain about commercial beer that you don't like. What is the point?
Not overrated and as has been stated here it's become the reference standard for the style. Perhaps not to those of us with an advanced palette but it is consistent and drinkable and beats the hell out of any fizzy pizz water.
Oh, and EFF Notre Dame.
Oh, and EFF Notre Dame.
boscobeans
Well-Known Member
Guinness = The Ramones.
A well crafted Imperial Nut Brown Ale from my cellar = A Philharminic Orchestra.
Both are great. It's just what you're looking for or what's available at any given time.
bosco
A well crafted Imperial Nut Brown Ale from my cellar = A Philharminic Orchestra.
Both are great. It's just what you're looking for or what's available at any given time.
bosco
alexdagrate
Well-Known Member
Well, my old man went to West Point, so yes, ND does whoop Army a LOT.
But I went to Oregon. i THINK the last time they played was a 13-13 tie in 1982.
zeg
Well-Known Member
"Overrated" cannot be defined, so this is really a pointless discussion.
Guinness is an excellent beer. It's pretty hard to argue against that, even if it's not your favorite style or favorite example of the style. (Although it'd be hard to make a case that the beer that essentially defines its style is a poor example of itself.)
It's also very successful, very popular, and very available. It's probably not a coincidence that it's fairly mild as stouts go. Beers that see extremely wide distribution are rarely, if ever, extreme examples. Extreme tastes go in different directions, so more people will agree on a single beer that tends toward the middle. So even trying to say it "shouldn't be so popular" or something is silly. It may not be everyone's favorite, but I haven't met many people who like beer but strongly dislike Guinness.
Personally, and sincerely, I like my second beer ever, an extract American stout, better than Guinness. It just suits my palate a bit better. But that doesn't mean I think everyone should drink it or that my beer should be the one getting all the attention.
Guinness is an excellent beer. It's pretty hard to argue against that, even if it's not your favorite style or favorite example of the style. (Although it'd be hard to make a case that the beer that essentially defines its style is a poor example of itself.)
It's also very successful, very popular, and very available. It's probably not a coincidence that it's fairly mild as stouts go. Beers that see extremely wide distribution are rarely, if ever, extreme examples. Extreme tastes go in different directions, so more people will agree on a single beer that tends toward the middle. So even trying to say it "shouldn't be so popular" or something is silly. It may not be everyone's favorite, but I haven't met many people who like beer but strongly dislike Guinness.
Personally, and sincerely, I like my second beer ever, an extract American stout, better than Guinness. It just suits my palate a bit better. But that doesn't mean I think everyone should drink it or that my beer should be the one getting all the attention.
malevolent
Well-Known Member
Are you comparing a Chocolate Porter to Guinness? ...
BrewThruYou
Well-Known Member
The problem is that some people (OP?) usually equate popularity/marketing with being good. No one ever says that McDonalds has the best burger around...I don't know who is saying Guinness was ever good either.
homebrewdad
Well-Known Member
Have you even read this thread? Guinness essentially defines the dry stout style. It may lack some of the aspects of beer that you enjoy, but yes, MANY people say that it is a good beer.
Equating Guinness to McDonalds is just silly.
I will then. Now you know.
And as far as the 'ever' comment, that's a little off-base considering the beer has been around continuously since the Age of Enlightenment. I can't think of too many other beers that can make the same claim.
I for one. I enjoy Guinness, especially Foreign Export. Like I enjoy many, many beers.
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Agreed. IMO, Pliney the Elder is the most overrated beer ever; mostly because it's not the easiest to get outside of California. When I was in San Diego last year I finally had it and my impression was "really? all the hype for this?" Great underground forbidden fruit marketing by Russian River, I guess.
I much prefer Ballast Point's Scuplin to Pliney.
homebrewdad
Well-Known Member
Yep. For many years, Guinness was as close to craft beer as you could find in just about any bar in my state. Our alcohol laws have finally changed, so this is changing (slowly), but I have enjoyed many a Guinness when out on the town - and will likely do so in the future. It has a nice flavor, is drinkable, is readily available, and is usually very consistent, quality-wise. What's not to enjoy?
