Guinness & Co - Guinness Black Lager

Serving Type: 11.2 oz. bottle, poured into a plastic cup

Using the roasted malts found in the traditional Guinness beer, the brewer recently released the Guinness Black Lager employing lager brewing methods and traditional lager hops. The beer pours a dark brown body, deep in color like a regular Guinness, but without the nitro consistency. It features a ruby inner glow and is topped by a light foamy head colored in tan and moderate in size. The head retention is average and leaves light lacing as it recedes. The nose is tight and distinctly lagery with a minor hoppiness. It has a slight Pilsner-like aroma with the addition of toasted grains. Roasted barley is clearly present, but seem modest in their potency and modest overall.

The mouthfeel is quite crisp with plenty a carbonation. Toasted malts are comparable to a modest brown or red ale, falling far short of even the traditional Guinness. Lager notes are prominent and meet almost no smoke at all. Modest caramel notes provide some sweetness through the tight carbonation. Hopping is very minimal. The lager is sweet and crisp with nice color, but it lacks the punch of a solid black lager. It is certainly drinkable and perhaps even a bit adventurous, for the unadventurous.

Final Verdict: C-

Irish Black and Tan for St. Patrick's Day

In celebration of St. Patrick's Day I decided to skip a normal, non-Irish review and go for a special. Today is an Irish Blank and Tan. Instead of Guinness I used, my preferred, Murphy's Irish Stout. I was thinking of going with Harp, but wanted something a bit more flavorful than a Euro Pale Lager that just happens to be Irish-made. I went with the ever solid Smithwick's. Although it isn't exactly 'tan' the Irish Red made for a good mixture of flavor in my Black and Tan. Unfortunately, the color differential was much more understated than a pale lager would've been.

What's required? Two delicious beers, a glass (I prefer a pint glass, or taller), and a spoon (slotted works best in my experience).

Pour the first beer into the glass, filling it about half way. I've only ever poured the lighter beer first, leaving the stout for the top of the glass. I'm not sure that this is a hard and fast rule, so feel free to experiment.

Next, add the second beer to the glass. Pour it slowly over the back of the spoon. As the beer is dispersed by the spoon it floats on top of the first beer with only a thin layer of mixing.  I added a bit of light behind the glass to help showcase the difference in color. With a lighter lager the contrast would be much more distinct.

Finally, sit back and enjoy your delicious and eye-catching beer.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! Drink beer.

Guinness - Extra Stout

Purchased From: Sonoma Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a pint glass

Guinness Extra Stout is the second common variety of Guinness available in the United States. Unlike the Draught variety, the beer is carbonated, so it lacks the signature creaminess of its nitrogenated sibling. Also, unlike its other sibling, Guinness Foreign Extra, Extra Stout isn't quite so strong or full-bodied. It pours a quite-dark brown, bordering on black, with a very mild red glow. The healthy-sized head has a creamy appearance, but fades quickly and leaves a thin grainy appearing tan layer of foam. As the head departs it leaves solid lacing varying from thin to chunky.

The nose seems a bit dusty with a sour malty grain component. Hints of chocolate make it in, but the expected smokiness doesn't quite make it to the show. The mouthfeel is very crisp. The flavor is somewhat thin, characterized by watery roasted malts. There's also a feint caramel sweetness. Although seemingly missing from the nose, a very mild char flavor is present, but it does manage to provide some bite. Finally, the beer wraps up its presentation with a chalky and somewhat smokey finish.

Final Verdict: C+

Smithwick’s

Smithwick’s

Purchased From: Plumsted Buy Rite Liquors

Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a mug

Smithwick’s, pronounced Smiddick’s or Smittick’s (but certainly not Smith-wick’s) is an Irish Red Ale from the Guinness Brewing Company. Because of the popularity of Guinness (the beer) in America, the label is quick to let you know who brews this quality Irish import.

Unfortunately, I failed miserably on the handling/storage of this beer. When I opened it I was surprised by the lack of fizz sound when I popped the cap. To my dismay, when I poured the beer I noticed that there was a sizable chunk of ice floating in the bottle. You’ll see that this didn’t seem to negatively affect the beer (to any serious extent), but I’m not content with reviewing this one bottle and letting the rating sit in stone.

The beer pours a clear brown body with a yellow-glowing base and a very large light tan head resulting from a vigorous pour. Small brown flecks decorate the foam, which carries excellent retention and neat, but pronounced lacing. The nose is earthy and chocolatey with a mild aroma of cinnamon and nutmeg.

The flavor is seemingly more intense than I remembered (maybe because some of the water was frozen off?), but quite tasty. The toasty malt sweetness is like a warmed caramel. The taste goes a bit thin mid-palate, but moves nicely into a crisp finish with a lingering biting dryness and light caramel sweets.

Final Verdict: B+*

*Despite the fact that this Smithwick’s was actually quite enjoyable, because it was partially frozen when I opened it, I plan to review it again. So, I reserve the right to amend my rating. However, despite my mishap, this is still a high-quality standby.

Guinness Foreign Extra

Guinness Foreign Extra

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits

Serving Type: 11.2 oz. bottle, poured into a goblet

Guinness Foreign Extra is seriously different from Guinness Draught, and seriously serious. Foreign Extra was original devised in 1801 with extra hops as a preservative to facilitate shipping to the Caribbean. When prohibition stuck in the United States the beer was pulled and never returned, until now. On October 1, 2010 the beer was reintroduced to the American market. I welcome it.

This beer is dark with only a slight ruby glow at the base of the glass, held to a light. There is no seeing though this beer. The carbonation bubbles in the tan head are large, in stark contrast to the creamy head produced by nitrogenation in Guinness Draught. The head sticks around for a while and produces solid lacing.

There’s an initial sweet aroma, backed up by smokey tones. The taste follows the same pattern. Initial sweetness followed up by a dry charred bitterness and dark chocolate hints. This is no Hershey’s Special Dark, either. The chocolate component here is at once rich and bitter, more like pure cacao. Hops are much clearer here than in Draught.

Finally, there’s a lingering smoke essence. This beer has character and packs a punch. Unlike its lighter cousin, I could not knock back many of these, but that’s a good thing.

Final Verdict: A-

A Bit of History: Thanks to the wonders of nature and brewers ingenuity, the yeast used in the brewing of Guinness Foreign Extra today is actually many generations descended from the original yeast used back in 1801. At the end of each brewing cycle the yeast is extracted and can be reused.

Murphy’s Irish Stout

Murphy’s Irish Stout

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits

Serving Type: 16 oz. nitro can, poured into a Mark Twain pint glass

Murphy’s, Guinness’ less-expensive competitor, pours very dark. It’s considerably darker than Guinness with only hints of its true ruby complexion coming through at the edges of the glass when held up to a light. Like Guinness, the cascading bubbles, slowed by contact with the edge of the glass, are a prominent and eye-catching feature of the pour. (See below for more information)

The large creamy tan head is thick and liable to leave a beer mustache on an eager drinker. There’s a depth of flavor here lacking from Guinness Draught. The bold malts are toasted dark and there’s a considerable bittering from the beer’s hops. Sweet coffee and mollasses are present, but nicely rounded. The finish carries a smokier character that adds to the layers of flavor, balanced by a light caramel sweetness on the aftertaste.

Murphy’s has a lot going for it, over Guinness. It’s cheaper, it’s bolder and more flavorful, and the cans are bigger!

Final Verdict: B+ 

A Note on Cascading Bubbles: Pay close attention next time you’re pouring a beer into a glass. The characteristic cascading bubbles found in Guinness and Murphy’s are actually present in all beer. It’s just that the contrast between the color of the bubbles and the body is much more pronounced in a darker beer.

The cascade is caused by drag from the wall of the glass. Bubbles naturally rise to the top of the beer, but those in contact with the glass are slowed down, and as air rushes from the center of the glass (not touching the wall) to the top, those bubbles on the sides are actually pulled downward, creating the effect.

Guinness Draught

Guinness Draught

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits

Serving Type: 14.9 oz. nitro can, poured into a pint glass

Guinness is at once highly revered and strongly disliked, depending on who you talk to. Over my beer-drinking years I’ve moved from revulsion, to love, and now, somewhere in the middle. It pours a characteristic deep-brown-not-quite-black with glowing ruby hues. The large creamy tan head sits at the top of the beer, remains the entire time, and leaves serious lacing on the glass.

The toasted malts produce a characteristic sweetness balanced by dry hops. Coffee stout flavor is clearly present, but the mollasses sweetness takes the edge off. Despite the creamy texture of the head, the beer itself is somewhat thin, with a light finish. I can easily drink a ton of these, and at only 4% ABV it is a very doable feat.

Final Verdict: B-