Is Guinness Nitrosurge Just More Marketing Hoopla?

squonk

Straight off I haven’t trued it mainly because there’s a barrier to entry in terms of buying the nitrosurge device. I don’t drink enough regular Guinness as is and don’t see a point in buying something that’ll sit on the shelf for most of the year

I had a few cans of O’Haras nitro stout in the back of the cupboard that were just pastvtgeyr BBD a few months so I enjoyed them over the weekend. Been ages since I had a can of nitro beer. These had the nitro bubble thingy I’d say.

It hit me thinking though, is nitrosurge that much different or just a way of getting the consumer to pay for an extra device and save the cost of widgets in production?

run_Forrest_run

I found with the Guinness Nitrosurge it pours a lovely pint but after the first mouthful or two it's just like the regular Guinness draught can. Not worth it in my opinion unless you can get the cans on offer, which sometimes happens.

sugarman20

I think it's a gimmick for the most part. As above, looks good but just tastes the same imo.

Seth Brundle

I hadn't paid much heed to the NS pricing until I was given one recently. It's about 40% more expensive (even looking at the current reduced prices in O'Briens).

As it happened, I had two NS cans and a few regular cans on Friday night. The NS definitley isn't worth the extra money IMO!

squonk

Yeah my O’Haras nitro experience for me thinking. It was a nice pint and they’ve done a good job IMHO. Seeing Diageo ads fur NS over the weekend fur be wondering. IMHO the device should be a freebie or at least charge a fiver extra as a 4 can pack and device over a regular 4 pack but id heard the cans themselves were also more expensive than the regular widget cans. It just didn’t seem to make sense to me. At that rate just go to the pub fur a pint!

I’ll be on the lookout fur more O’Haras into stout though. Very nice indeed.

Gusser09

It's great!! I swear by it. Pours a decent pint which in my opinion is way better than a regular can. Also fills the pint glass to the top.

I'd never buy a regular can again.

Ken Tucky

I use the regular cans of Guinness and do the thumb tac trick.

I really find no difference between NS and regular. So, yes. It was brilliant marketing.

Not that I bother too much drinking Guinness at home!

Leann Follain is my favorite drink at home stout, I wish it wasn't so strong. Lovely stuff though

ablelocks

i think there's a difference between guinesss poured with nitrosurge and guiness poured straight from a can (doesn't matter whether it's the NS or the normal can) - it seems to take longer to settle through the nitrosurge, and tastes a bit creamier. maybe the bubbles from the nitrosurge are smaller than normal cans so there's some fluid mechanics dynamic at work?

or it's just marketing

BeerNut

I don't get the idea of Guinness "tasting creamy". *Feeling* creamy, sure, but cream is famously sweet, containing lactose sugar. Beer foam concentrates hop oils, so tastes bitter. Because it's denser than foam on carbonated beer, nitrogenated stout foam is even bitterer. It's tangy, and tastes to me of zinc and crisp green vegetables. It doesn't taste remotely like cream. Neither does the body. I think the taste is being conflated with the look and feel of the head.

Thanks for coming to my Head Talk.

Phil.x

Now a 25cent deposit on each can, cans were already expensive.

ablelocks

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121854994#Comment_121854994

you know you get that back?

antimatterx

I've found the secret to good Guinness cans is to leave them in the fridge for a few days.

rebeve

Anyone have a number to contact Guinness , my 2nd unit after packing up . LOst receipt , only have it a few months

Anaki r2d2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121946820#Comment_121946820

Did you Google it? 😁

https://nitrosurge.guinness.com/en-ie/frequently-asked-questions

email is consumercare.GBandIreland@diageo.com

email them and they might replace it.

Show a picture of the device and serial number. Tell them how much you miss it and how many cans of guinness they are missing out on by the device not working etc etc

Anaki r2d2

To the OP,

I think the nitro cans are worth it at 2 euro a can.

But I have had a few lazy cans tho. Cans that even with a clean charged device, clean glass and cold cans they have been a bit dead.

Someone on boards mentioned tapping the cans to wake them up. I do that now.

People will tell you it's a scam, that regular cans are the same and you can't tell the difference. I can and we have done blind tests with regular, nitro and pub pints.

There's a difference.

BeerNut

What's the difference?

Anaki r2d2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121947895#Comment_121947895

Try it yourself. Make your own decisions.

AndyBoBandy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121889823#Comment_121889823

Yeah, I picked up a pack of Nitro Surge cans a few weeks back, and tried one after them being in the fridge for about 7-8 hours, and it tasted horrible.... went back at them again the following day and they were lovely. (I am aware that they advise minimum 24 hours in the fridge before consuming, but I was thirsty)

I do think they pour a slightly better pint than a regular draught can.. is it worth it? probably not...

For me Guinness has a much stronger effect on me compared to regular beer... (if 4-5 pints of regular beer gets me tipsy/buzzing, it'll only take 2-3 pints of Guinness to get the same feeling), and I wouldn't normally get that feeling from regular draught cans of Guinness, but I had 3.5 cans of Nitrosurge on Saturday night and they gave me a fair old buzz... so much closer to a pub draught pint than the regular draught cans..

Flaneur OBrien

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121849230#Comment_121849230

The thumb tack trick? Please elucidate...

AndyBoBandy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121948450#Comment_121948450

I'm guessing when you start pouring, you pierce the bottom of the can (which is now upside down) with a thumb tack, to allow air into the can to allow a smoother/faster pour which won't gurgle as air comes in while Guinness flows out...

That'd be my guess..

Sleepy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121948450#Comment_121948450

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xjvn76iT8Ro

You use a pin to pierce the can and release the nitrogen without triggering the nitro bubble widget, then you can use the nitrosurger on regular draught Guinness cans...

jiltloop

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121948482#Comment_121948482

No, I believe the trick is to pierce the can before opening it to release the pressure and nullify the effect of the widget, then use the nitro surge device while pouring it. I haven't tried it myself, mainly because I actually think I can pour a better pint from the traditional cans and I'm not so sure the NS cans are better.

AndyBoBandy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121948509#Comment_121948509

yeah, I see it now in the video just posted, and am intrigued...

I want to try this.

BeerNut

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121948408#Comment_121948408

I have. I don't detect any difference in the taste of Draught Guinness whether poured from a tap, a widget can or the Nitrosurge device. Hence when someone says they've done a blind test and there's a difference, I'm interested in what that perceived difference was. And then, depending on what it is, how that happened -- the base liquid is the same: how do the mechanics of dispense affect its sensory qualities? I'm a bit of a beer nerd that way.

How did the Guinness differ between the three formats?

Anaki r2d2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121948547#Comment_121948547

This is the thing. It’s all about perception, opinion, taste, value (some people want to chase the cheapest beer possible. MUP at all cost (pardon the pun))

Others care about the fluid dynamics or nitrogen effect.

My opinion, simply put is a regular can, has a thin head, no cling and a slight metallic taste.

Nitro cans are better and a Bowes Lounge pint the best. The thick head adds to the drinking experience of Guinness

no doubt someone will tell me I’m talking shite and that its in my head. I’m ok with that.

Is a pint of beer in a plastic cup at a festival the same as a pint of beer in a chilled tall glass in a nice sunny beer garden?

Is a pint of Guinness the same in each and every pub in Dublin? It’s the same stuff in the keg.

BeerNut

This is the thing. It’s all about perception, opinion, taste, 

That's true, but it's not the same as saying "anything goes, and every opinion is as valid as the next". There is such a thing as sensory analysis of beer. It's possible to learn how beer flavour works, what the flaws are, and what the standardised vocabulary to describe them is. There are organisations who offer qualifications in this. People who do this stuff, whether it's as part of quality assurance for a brewery, for homebrew competitions or for commercial competitions, can tell you when a beer is oxidised, under-attenuated, phenolic, light-struck etc etc: it's not just "these two are different, and this one is better".

So when someone expresses a strong opinion on the relative merits of different beers, or their dispense methods, I find myself trying to fit that into my own understanding of how beer is perceived. "There's a difference... try it yourself" is frustratingly vague, especially if it's off the back of a real live blind test -- blind tests are a brilliant way to learn about this stuff. Gimme the deets!

Anaki r2d2

Ok, so in your opinion are all three Guinness the same? regular nitro and pub

Are all pub pints of Guinness the same?

it’s all the same fluid.

ballyargus

honestly, if I'm having a dozen or more cans I'm not doing the thumb tack thing - I'd be making a balls of it after about the fifth can

richsull

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121889823#Comment_121889823

This is the way. I put some regular Guinness cans in the fridge a couple of days before I plan to drink them. They are spot on when I pour them. Haven't trie the NS as I can't see passed the marketing angle

Bobson Dugnutt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121948839#Comment_121948839

I even find the nitrosurge can be a bit messy after I’ve had 6 or 7. Device holds a few drops which can spill. Might be getting messier as I get older anyway - would struggle to put away a dozen these days