Guinness or Beamish?

xsiborg wrote: »

honestly i've never tasted anything other than guinness, but i know its not my imagination when i say that it's become next to impossible to find a proper pint of guinness, the kind that there was eating and drinking in years ago, with a full bodied thick creamy head, nowadays thanks to guinness trying to bolster its losses, they've definitely changed the consistency to watered down, bitter, skin off yer teeth, píss! :mad:

and dont even get me started on their "ice cold" crap, completely un-necessary, the new owners (diageo) have completely ruined what was once a great drink.

what next, guinness alcopops?

So I have to ask, why not try the other stouts? Or has Guinness driven you away from stout altogether.

Beamish, Murphy's, O'Haras or any of the smaller more locallised stouts (such as Shandon Stout). If you are/were a stout drinker and you stuck only to Guinness but have lost the love of it for the reasons you outlined above surely you have nothing to loose by trying the others?

PS: Completely with you on the 'Ice Cold' idea. The whole idea in serving beer ice cold is that it numbs the tastebuds and you taste the drink less (thus making it easier to sell beers of inferior flavour/quality to people). Any beer which is advertised that it ought to be drank 'Ice Cold' should always be avoided by those who like to taste their drink.

honestly its pretty much that im very stuck in my ways, and i dont drink regularly in one particular pub as such, i was given to thinking that perhaps it WAS just my imagination that the taste and consistency had changed, but after reading this thread i think im definitely going to give beamish a try, particularly after Sky Kings post about the consistency and taste of beamish which is the way i remember guinness used to taste years ago-

Beamish has a slightly sweeter taste and fuller, more complex flavour and I think this makes it nicer. I am by no means 'into' my beers but the two drinks really do taste totally different (I'm addressing that at people who say they don't). Guinness has a much more bitter aftertaste which isn't great.

I think the fact that Beamish is sold cheaper, people consider it to be a 'cheap' imitation of Guinness... which it isn't. The drink should really be marketed properly and sold on its own merits, I think lots of Guinness drinkers would convert if they gave it a chance on this basis.

On a side note, a mate of mine's da was a master brewer at Guinness for years (now retired) and he is a Beamish drinker. Says Guinness is gone to ****e these last few years, apparently.

I am going to the offie to buy 2 cans of beamish now!

i underlined the important bits...

policarp wrote: »

Was it on draught though?

Yep, every time. One of the Scottish bars is in a small fishing town in the north. I forget the prices in Scotland, but in the Polish city centre 'Irish Bar' (I never checked many of them as I prefer to avoid them when possible) I know for a fact has it in Warsaw it is 16zl for a pint (just under €4). Expensive by Polish standards, but to be fair it has to be shipped out there so if you want it you have to pay it. Guinness is the same price and as it's a city centre Irish Bar it is expensive. Most regular Polish pints there are about 10zl, compared to a city standard 8zl for a Polish pint.

Beamish is for people on the dole. Guinness FTW

mackg wrote: »

Why under any circumstances would anyone buy Beamish if it was the same price as Guinness?

Because beamish tastes nicer

dewdrop wrote: »

Beamish better by far. Why do Guinness get so many free pics in the paper like the one of Darren Clark. He did not look too happy!

well in fairness now from the clip i saw on the news, i think that was one of them plastic glasses he had in his hand, and as bad as guinness normally tastes in a glass these days, it tastes even worse from a "sippy cup"...

i'll leave this in my subscribed threads and try the Locke Bar or O' Connells in Limerick next time im out, then report back.