when did guinness stop being guinness

BeerNut

The gas mix is different for nitrokeg but I think they pretty much all use some proportion of nitrogen. I'm not sure straight CO2 is used very much at all.

the beer revolu

munchkin_utd wrote: »

in a parallel world, Erdinger did the same with weissbier in Germany which allowed it to crack the larger marker in the rest of Germany outside of Bavaria (80million population compared to 12million at home).
Sure Erdinger now have an "Urtyp" original recipe Weissbier that is good for a compare and contrast as to HOW watery a beer can become over time!

And Germanys favourite beer type pils actually is no longer the eyewateringly bitter earwax like delight torture that it originally was but especially in the last decade the breweries are falling over themselves to screw back the bitterness levels so much that it's now questionable as to whether what they are selling is Pils at all.

Anyhow, all this tweaking of the flavours is simply to sell more beer and its far from just Guinness that is at it.

On a similar note, I find that Schneiderweiss Original (Tap 7) seems to have been blandified as well - not nearly as spicy and clovey as it was IMO.
Anyone else?
Avintinus too.

rubadub

sham69 wrote: »

Even my Dad who has been drinking it for over 50 years has changed to lager recently.

Did he try any other stouts out there? This reminds me of the thread with the strange loyalty people seem to have for guinness. If I am in the mood for a stout I have switched to beamish myself, all the recent ones I have had are grand and tasty. I notice more people drinking it now too, possibly a combination of it being cheaper so people are trying it, and then copping on it is as good or better than guinness. A lot of people must be feeling the pinch, I heard of a life long bud drinker switching to tuborg.

sham69

he lives in ashbourne so unfortunately there is not much choice when it comes to draught beer.
He has been drinking tuborg lately which he loves.
He swears its not due to the cheap price but down to the taste
Before that he drank Carlsberg when he fancied a lager so its not that odd.
Tuborg seems to be selling quite well..

pitythefool

rubadub wrote: »

Did he try any other stouts out there? This reminds me of the thread with the strange loyalty people seem to have for guinness. If I am in the mood for a stout I have switched to beamish myself, all the recent ones I have had are grand and tasty. I notice more people drinking it now too, possibly a combination of it being cheaper so people are trying it, and then copping on it is as good or better than guinness. A lot of people must be feeling the pinch, I heard of a life long bud drinker switching to tuborg.

Tuborg is a lovely beere once you get passed the stigma, its nice and clean and not filled with chemicals like fosters

The Danes got this one right

5 pints for €15 in my local

BeerNut

In Denmark, even though Tuborg and Carlsberg are made by the same company in the same brewery, they both have equal status in the market. Deciding that Carlsberg is premium and Tuborg is budget seems to be a decision Diageo made just for Ireland.

pitythefool

BeerNut wrote: »

In Denmark, even though Tuborg and Carlsberg are made by the same company in the same brewery, they both have equal status in the market. Deciding that Carlsberg is premium and Tuborg is budget seems to be a decision Diageo made just for Ireland.

Thank you diageo

pastorbarrett

It's unlikely, but I'd love if Guinness offered something in the way of a more traditional stout on tap, in addition to draught. Perhaps to do so would be an admission in respect of a change in flavour profile. Something a little bit more bitter sweet, and a stronger ABV. But yeah, I can imagine it being a niche market. Come to think of it, I'd welcome seeing Murphy's/ Beamish in more establishments. Surely they don't need that many Bud taps...

Dermighty

If you're drinking it in Dublin then I can't explain it.

In Cork some pubs have outstanding Guinness but most don't. Same goes for Murphys (usually ok) and Beamish (to a lesser extent).

It's so hard to pin down to one thing though, cleaning the pipes, different temperatures etc.

Hope it clears up

Raekwon

I much prefer O'Hara's Stout or Porter House/Messrs Maguire Plain to Guinness as it's far to bland and doesn't have that lovely burnt hops and coffee taste that the others have.

BeerNut

meridiangroup wrote: »

It's unlikely, but I'd love if Guinness offered something in the way of a more traditional stout on tap, in addition to draught. Perhaps to do so would be an admission in respect of a change in flavour profile. Something a little bit more bitter sweet, and a stronger ABV.

The vital statistics for Foreign Extra Stout are pretty much unchanged since the 1820s. It's the beer you're looking for and they already make it. I met one of the senior Diageo bods last year and asked him why they don't make more of FES. He was confused; he said they make a huge deal of it, wide distribution, heavy advertising, big market share: how could they possibly make more of a deal of it? <pause> Oh in Ireland? Nah, nobody really buys it in Ireland: it's primarily a beer for abroad. The clue's in the name, I suppose.

Seaneh

BeerNut wrote: »

The vital statistics for Foreign Extra Stout are pretty much unchanged since the 1820s. It's the beer you're looking for and they already make it. I met one of the senior Diageo bods last year and asked him why they don't make more of FES. He was confused; he said they make a huge deal of it, wide distribution, heavy advertising, big market share: how could they possibly make more of a deal of it? <pause> Oh in Ireland? Nah, nobody really buys it in Ireland: it's primarily a beer for abroad. The clue's in the name, I suppose.

It's fairly easily got now though.

Every tescos, most dunnes, all o'brien's and a lot of carryouts.

FES is a beautiful beer.

BeerNut

Seaneh wrote: »

It's fairly easily got now though.

Every tescos, most dunnes, all o'brien's and a lot of carryouts.

But almost unknown in the on-trade for no good reason.

Prop Joe

Raekwon wrote: »

I much prefer O'Hara's Stout or Porter House/Messrs Maguire Plain to Guinness as it's far to bland and doesn't have that lovely burnt hops and coffee taste that the others have.

Belfast Black from Whitewater brewery is lush

pitythefool

Prop Joe wrote: »

Belfast Black from Whitewater brewery is lush

I have never heard of it, have you got a connect yall would be willing to share, we needs to be havin a meet prop joe

minidazzler

Dermighty wrote: »

If you're drinking it in Dublin then I can't explain it.

In Cork some pubs have outstanding Guinness but most don't. Same goes for Murphys (usually ok) and Beamish (to a lesser extent).

It's so hard to pin down to one thing though, cleaning the pipes, different temperatures etc.

Hope it clears up

In Cork I'd put it down to how much the stout actually sells. Somewhere like An Bodhran would go through a ****e ton of Beamish, while the Old Oak wouldn't. The Bodhran has better Beamish.

Even within one pub, An Brog, you get good and bad pints because the back bar doesn't sell as much stout as the front bar, given the front bar is where the day time drinkers go, who for the most part only drink stout.

pastorbarrett

BeerNut wrote: »

The vital statistics for Foreign Extra Stout are pretty much unchanged since the 1820s. It's the beer you're looking for and they already make it. I met one of the senior Diageo bods last year and asked him why they don't make more of FES. He was confused; he said they make a huge deal of it, wide distribution, heavy advertising, big market share: how could they possibly make more of a deal of it? <pause> Oh in Ireland? Nah, nobody really buys it in Ireland: it's primarily a beer for abroad. The clue's in the name, I suppose.

I hear ya Beernut-I hop off enough of this stuff as it is It's commendable that it's also increasingly widely available these days. But I was specifically referring to availability of something on tap. No doubt Guinness are very good at their numbers, but surely pushing something a bit more 'traditional', stronger ABV, 'brewhouse' etc would make more sense than golfers half strength Guinness?

BeerNut

meridiangroup wrote: »

surely pushing something a bit more 'traditional', stronger ABV, 'brewhouse' etc would make more sense than golfers half strength Guinness?

I would guess they have lots of very expensive research saying this isn't the case. A lot of publicans won't carry strong beers on draught, for one thing.

pastorbarrett

BeerNut wrote: »

I would guess they have lots of very expensive research saying this isn't the case. A lot of publicans won't carry strong beers on draught, for one thing.

Shame, really. I know they weren't radical departures (same ABV etc), but a friend who's a publican said the brewhouse series sold well (at least in his pub, anyway). But in another light, this is a great time in respect of the availability of genuine alternatives (at least in cities etc). I suppose my hope is that some of these smaller breweries will continue to make inroads, to the point where you'll be able to drop into your local two-bit boozer and not have to order Guinness/ Beamish etc if you want stout. That said, I wont hold my breath though :rolleyes:

BeerNut

meridiangroup wrote: »

my hope is that some of these smaller breweries will continue to make inroads, to the point where you'll be able to drop into your local two-bit boozer and not have to order Guinness/ Beamish etc if you want stout.

The way to achieve it is to drink the stout you want where it's already stocked. Every month more two-bit boozers get the message. Some week it'll be yours. The worst thing is to keep drinking beer you don't like: each pint you buy sends the message that everything's OK.

Colonel Sanders

BeerNut wrote: »

The way to achieve it is to drink the stout you want where it's already stocked. Every month more two-bit boozers get the message. Some week it'll be yours. The worst thing is to keep drinking beer you don't like: each pint you buy sends the message that everything's OK.

How very true.

I always ask for O'Hara's or something even when in a place I KNOW won't have it. I've even just "settled" for a soft drink when I've been told all they have is the usual ubiquitous muck to looks of bewilderment (I don't like Heineken etc & would only be drinking for the sake of it)

Craft beers are gaining momentum, hopefully it continues.

Milan Cobian

I've been told all they have is the usual ubiquitous muck

Indeed and if the vintners recognised this, it'd be better for their businesses, rather than blaming everything from the smoking ban to the Shannon stopover for loss of business. Then again, publicans are not well known for trumping up adventurous means of drumming up business.
It's something foreigners have often commented upon to me, for a nation so supposedly linked to beer drinking, the average selection available in pubs is truly abysmal. The average bog-standard UK pub carries a vastly greater variety of beer, not to speak of places like Germany and Belgium. That might be excusable in terms of lack of variety in Ireland if what we did have on draught was any good, but it's not. Apart from Guinness, look at the rest, Budweiser, Carslsberg, Heineken and Bulmers. All sub-quality, metallic tasting rubbish that anyone with even rudimentary tastebuds would disdain.
I'm glad to see some evidence of change, availability of good quality stuff like O'Haras etc is improving, but there's a long way to go. Bring on the day when Budweiser is held here in as low esteem as it is in it's native USA!

slavedave

Get your dad to try some bottled Foreign Extra Stout. Arguably their best (most distinctive) product. Strong, full flavoured, complex and...strong! Don't give up after the first taste... persevere. The rewards are worth it. Bottled Guinness is still a great product too. Draught... lovely! But FES has to be tried at least once.
Nigerian FES is a little bit more of an acquired taste, but if you can get hold of any from the Caribbean then your in for a fruity treat as part of the deal.

Ravelleman

I had a bottle of FES last night for the first time and it really is a quality beer, far beyond regular Guinness in terms of depth and flavour.

beaner88

TheNinthGate wrote: »

Guinness hasn't changed.

Get a pint bottle, off the shelf, or a Foreign Extra from a drink shop.

Guinness is still a decent tipple, just not freezing cold with nitrogen pumped into it.

It actually changes all the time. They are constantly refining the brewing process to speed things and trying to make the production more efficient. I wouldn't put it past them to make slight changes in taste to chase new markets. Colder and blander beers sell more.