Guinness Extra Stout - Guinness Ltd.

    Guinness Extra Stout is an Irish Stout brewed by Guinness Ltd. located in Dublin, Ireland. Most of the Guinness beers that we get here in the states are actually brewed and bottled in New Brunswick, Canada, this bottle included. This is the original Guinness which has been brewed since 1759. Since gaining popularity worldwide, Guinness has become a macrobrewery as opposed to its smaller beginnings. While I'm sure that the beer has lost something in the transition to large-scale production, the beer is still many people's standard for an Irish Stout.

    Guinness Extra Stout pours a dark black color through which very little light is able to pass. Upon pouring, the beer presents a massive, thick head which persists for a long time and leaves lots of lacing on the glass. The Stout has an alcohol content of 6% ABV.

    The beer smells mainly of roasted malts and coffee. The scent is much lighter than I would have expected.

A glass from the actual brewery in Dublin!

    The Stout actually feels somewhat thinner than I expected from the thick, foamy head. The beer is medium bodied with a mid-level of carbonation. The Stout is very creamy.

    Guinness Extra Stout tastes much like it smells. Roasted malts and dark coffee flavors predominate with a slight bitterness afterward. The flavors are actually much lighter than you might expect from something that calls itself "Extra Stout". The flavor is very smooth and easily drinkable, perhaps a change made to the brew once it hit mass production in order to please a wider range of customers.

    Since today is Saint Patrick's Day, I have to wonder about Saint Patrick's miracle. Granted, we all know the Irish stereotype, and I won't get into that here, but imagine if some crazy guy who has had a few of these Extra Stouts comes chasing you around with a stick. I honestly don't blame those snakes, I would have booked it off the island as well. I wouldn't even care if I wasn't a water snake, I would learn to swim to get away from that man bonking my friends on the head with his stick. I'm not at all saying that the driving of the snakes from Ireland was any less of a miracle, just that maybe, just maybe, Guinness Extra Stout had a hand in helping things along!

    Guinness Extra Stout is a traditional Irish Stout which has gone through changes throughout the years to accommodate the tastes of a world market. Unlike most marcobrews, Guinness remains decently flavored and has avoided being watered-down. I would encourage anyone who is a fan of this beer to try some different Stouts on the market to see what else they may enjoy!

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Guinness Draught - Guinness Ltd.

    Guinness Draught is an Irish Stout brewed by Guinness Ltd. which is located in Dublin, Ireland. The bottle encourages drinkers to "enjoy straight from the bottle" as the Draught line is meant to be as good from the bottle as if you had it poured at a pub.

    The Irish Stout pours a dark black with a large khaki head. There are a large number of noticeable bubbles which cling to the glass after pouring.

    Guinness Draught barely has any smell at all. What aroma there is smells of light malts.

    The "Stout" is actually very thin-bodied, and almost watery. There is a lot of carbonation in the beer, though it feels quite smooth.

    Unfortunately, the flavor in Guinness Draught is almost as non-existent as the aroma. The only flavor that can be perceived is a light roasted malt flavor. While Stouts usually have an alcohol content on the higher end of normal beers, this draught contains only 4.2% ABV. Higher alcohol contents usually signify greater amounts of malts used during fermentation, so this low alcohol content could easily be taken as a sign of a lack of flavor.

    I am extremely disappointed in the lack of flavor in this beer. I have had Guinness Stout before and know that it has much more flavor than this version of the beer does. I have no idea why Guinness would allow this beer to be sold with their name on it. The only reason I can think of for it to be named Guinness Draught would be that there is such a drought of flavor in the beer.

    With bottles of the Guinness Stout and Extra Stout being extremely common, I can't see why anyone would purchase this beer. I almost feel as though this was brewed for people who don't enjoy beer in order for them to have a type of the famous Guinness Stout which they too can enjoy.

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