Guinness Draught (can)

Guinness Draught (can). Irish Dry Stout.

4.2 % ABV, Guinness Ltd., St. James Gate, Dublin, Ireland, (and who the hell knows where else, all over the world. )

Well, here it is, nearly St. Patrick's Day, and the minds and appetites of beer drinkers everywhere turns to Ireland and it's stouts. Except me. Why does a guy with an Irish name practically boycott St. Paddy's day every year. I'm just naturally contrary, I guess.

It occurs to me that something is very missing from the Bitter Nib, and it is Guinness Stout. If you check entries under the Guinness name here, you'll find three beers by that brewing conglomeration, and none of them are stouts: Harp Lager, Smithwick's Irish Red Ale, and Guinness Blonde Lager. All three of these were samples given by the distributor to intice me into ordering kegs for St. Patrick's Day. It didn't work, but I did write reviews of them. 

When I check over on BeerAdvocate.com, it looks like I've had four from that company, (not counting the aforementioned three above) all of them their stouts. So, what I'm going to do, my friends, is revisit three of them (I don't know when I'll ever see the Belgian Guinness again), then look back at my old reviews, all in time for the grand Gaelic holiday. 

First, tonight, a can of the nitro-widget "draught", which I did not purchase. How did it end up in my possession? I dropped it. Accidentally, of course. And the cans fell in such a way that the tops bumped out in a convex fashion, making them ultimately un-resalable, and were offered up for grabs, so I took some home. Who am I to turn away free beer? And, while it's not my favorite, it's still an okay beer, which one can actually drink. 

One last thing, looking at my notes from a bottle in March, 2003,  I gave it a rating of 2.88/5, roughly 20% below the average. On the other hand, my review of Extra Stout, also from March, 2003, was a rating of 4.33/5, 14.9 % above the average. 

So, we crack the can open, and the cascading effect begins immediately before I can take a good picture. After it settled, we have a full ebon appearance (or is it "dark ruby"?), completely opaque, with a lush, lasting, creamy head.

In the nose: smooth, creamy blend of cocoa, coffee, cream, and dark fruits, whipped up ethereally by nitrogen. 

In the mouth: Light bitterness, lean and clean, mostly malty. But the creamy, nitrogen quality makes it much lighter than I care for, smoother than a stout should be, in my opinion. This is very popular, but I'll never understand why. For the same reason Coors Light is popular, and Miller, and Stella and such. Whatcha gonna do? 

This is the sort of thing I would drink in a social situation if offered, but only if there were no alternatives. If it were the only option on tap, maybe, probably. It certainly doesn't deliver what I look for in a stout. 

Now, those notes from 2003, several years after the initial introduction of the nitro bottles: 

Pouring the contents of this unique, innovative bottle creates the mythical creamy head and the magical flowing cascade, so favored in the pubs. Or is it just a cheap imitation?

Aroma nicely hints at coffee and cream, and a touch of chocolate, rich and luscious. Small amounts of bitterness,but exceptionally smooth on the tongue. Light body, thin texture, and far too soft for my taste.

It took me a while to understand the supreme appeal of Draught Guinness, for the Extra Stout was my bottle of choice in early days. I did a taste test between the two, and ultimately found that the draught version resembles a chocolate milkshake, or a mocha latte. It's for people who want to go beyond fizzy lagers and such, but don't really want to approach the bold flavors and bitterness in a true stout or porter.

Short and to the point. And, why not? 

Swirling clouds tumble as the storm begins to calm. Settle. Breathe in the moment, then break through the smooth, light head to the bittersweet reward.

Unmistakeably GUINNESS, from the first velvet sip to the last, lingering drop. And every deep-dark satisfying mouthful in between.

Pure beauty. Pure GUINNESS.

Guinness Draught is sold in kegs, widget cans, and bottles. The ABV varies from 4.1 to 4.3%.