Guinness Beer: Flavors And Varieties You Need To Try

Guinness is a stout beer that originated in Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. While Guinness is well-known for its Irish stout, the company has also produced numerous other beers, including porters, ales, and lagers. In recent years, Guinness has also experimented with creating flavoured beers, such as the Nitro IPA, the West Indies Porter, and the Nitro Cold Brew Coffee. These beers offer unique twists on the traditional Guinness flavour, incorporating elements such as nitrogen-infusion, regional ingredients, and coffee flavours.

Flavoured Guinness beers

Guinness has a wide range of flavoured beers, from coffee to chocolate and even fruity notes. Here is a list of some of the flavoured Guinness beers:

Guinness Draught:

Guinness Draught, the iconic Irish stout, is rich, creamy and dark ruby red in colour. It has hints of roasted coffee and chocolate, with a smooth balance of bitter and sweet roasted notes. The draught is served using a famous two-part pour, first poured into a glass tilted at 45 degrees and then allowed to settle before filling the glass completely.

Guinness Nitro IPA:

This beer is infused with nitrogen, giving it a creamy, smooth taste and head. The addition of nitrogen to an India Pale Ale results in a mild hop profile and a milky, pine needle taste.

Guinness Hop House 13:

A lager made with IPA hops, giving it a hoppy bitterness and a sweet, crisp, dull-peach taste. It has a pine flavour that leads to a subtle toasted-biscuit malt finish.

Guinness Black Lager:

A complex lager with floral notes from Cascade and Saaz hop strands, and stout-like malt flavours. It's like enjoying a slightly burnt English biscuit topped with marmalade.

Guinness West Indies Porter:

This beer is a take on the traditional porter style, with an extra hint of sweetness. It has the familiar Guinness chocolate notes with an added touch of sweetness, resembling sugar cane water.

Guinness Foreign Extra Stout:

A bold and robust beer with a strong, bitter taste and higher alcohol content. The addition of hops gives it a subtle bite, while the malt infuses a burnt chocolate flavour offset with caramel sweetness.

Guinness Extra Stout:

The Extra Stout has familiar chocolate and coffee notes but with a stronger, more pronounced roasted malty finish. It has a smooth, traditional Guinness taste and is best enjoyed slightly chilled or at room temperature.

Guinness Special Export:

A blend of the Irish stout with stronger Belgian flavours found in a Belgian dubbel. It offers familiar coffee and chocolate notes with a deep, sweet prune molasses taste and a robust, burnt toast maltiness.

Guinness Nitro Cold Brew Coffee:

A surprising combination of coffee and beer, this brew has a delicious coffee flavour without any artificial additives. The nitrogen infusion provides a creamy mouthfeel, and it has a similar ABV to Guinness Draught.

Guinness' flavour profile

The flavour of Guinness stout is derived from water, barley, roast malt extract, hops, and brewer's yeast. A portion of the barley is roasted to give Guinness its dark colour and characteristic taste. It is pasteurised and filtered.

Guinness has a malty sweetness and a hoppy bitterness, with notes of coffee and chocolate. A roasted flavour also comes through, courtesy of the roasted unmalted barley that goes into its brewing. It has a sweet nose, with hints of malt breaking through, and its palate is smooth, creamy, and balanced. Velvety, you might even say, if asked about the mouthfeel.

The draught beer's thick, creamy head comes from mixing the beer with nitrogen and carbon dioxide. Guinness began using nitrogen in 1959, which changed the fundamental texture and flavour of the beer as nitrogen bubbles are much smaller than carbon dioxide, giving a "creamier" and "smoother" consistency.

Guinness is referred to in marketing as "the black stuff", but it is officially a very dark shade of ruby.

Guinness' colour

Guinness stout is known for its distinctive dark colour, which is achieved by roasting a portion of the barley used in the brewing process. This gives Guinness its characteristic deep reddish-black or chocolate brown shade, often referred to as "the black stuff" in marketing campaigns. However, if you look closely, you will notice that Guinness is not actually black but a very dark shade of ruby red. This unique ruby red colour is a result of the way the malted barley is roasted during the beer's preparation.

The process of roasting the barley not only contributes to the colour of Guinness but also imparts a smooth and flavorful taste to the beer. In fact, the discovery of ageing darker malts was a pivotal moment in the history of Guinness. In 1798, nearly 40 years after the founding of the Guinness brewery, local brewers found that ageing darker malts, which were previously considered too harsh and bitter, resulted in a smooth and flavorful beer. This new, nearly black stout became an instant hit, and within a year, the brewery stopped producing other varieties.

The two-part pouring ritual associated with Guinness also plays a role in showcasing its colour. By pouring the beer in two stages, allowing the foam to settle, and then filling the glass completely, the deep ruby red colour of Guinness is highlighted, creating a visually appealing presentation.

While the colour of Guinness has become synonymous with the brand, it is important to note that the hue has evolved over time. Originally, Guinness produced a dark beer porter, which was introduced in 1778. Later, in the 1840s, the terms "Single Stout" and "Double Stout" were used to describe their beers, with "stout" referring to the strength, body, and colour of the brew.

Today, the dark ruby red colour of Guinness is recognised worldwide, and the beer continues to be a popular choice for consumers, especially on Saint Patrick's Day when it is traditionally consumed.

How to pour Guinness

Pouring Guinness is an art form. The perfect pour is integral to the Guinness experience, impacting everything from the taste to the presentation. It's all about the famed two-part pour, a process requiring the ultimate blend of patience and precision. Here is a step-by-step guide to pouring the perfect pint of Guinness:

The Essentials of Guinness Pour

First, you need to make sure you have the right tools and conditions. This includes a clean, dry, and cool Guinness glass, also known as a "tulip glass" due to its flower-like shape. You will also need a keg of Guinness, preferably chilled at a nippy 5-7 degrees Celsius. Cold, but not too cold!

The Initial Pour

Hold your glass at a 45-degree angle and aim the tap nozzle for the gold harp logo on the glass. Pour until you reach the top of the harp, then stop. Yes, it's half-full, but now you must wait patiently!

Let the Pint of Guinness Settle

Set your half-poured Guinness down and let it rest. This is the 'surge and settle' phase. You'll see the darker stout slowly sinking under the creamy, white foam—a delightful spectacle!

Topping Off the Pint

Once your Guinness has settled (typically after about 60-80 seconds), fill up the rest of the glass. This time, the glass stays straight, and you'll fill until the foam forms a slight dome over the top. Now you've got that beautiful Guinness head.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

There are a few common mistakes that can ruin a perfectly poured Guinness. These include pouring too quickly, not allowing for the proper 'surge and settle' time, underfilling or overfilling the glass, and having the beer at the wrong temperature. Remember, pouring Guinness is a fine balance - no rushing and no skipping steps!

Guinness' history

Guinness History

Guinness is a stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. In 1759, Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease at £45 per annum for the unused brewery. Ten years later, Guinness shipped his first barrels to Great Britain. In 1778, he started selling dark beer porter, and in the 1840s, the first Guinness beers to use the term "stout" were Single Stout and Double Stout.

Throughout most of its history, Guinness produced only three variations of a single beer type: porter or single stout, double or extra, and foreign stout for export. "Stout" originally referred to a beer's strength, but eventually, it shifted to mean body and colour. Porter was also referred to as "plain", as mentioned in Flann O'Brien's poem "The Workman's Friend": "A pint of plain is your only man."

Guinness's sales soared from 350,000 barrels in 1868 to 779,000 barrels in 1876. In October 1886, Guinness became a public company, averaging sales of 1.138 million barrels a year. The company refused to advertise or discount its beer, and despite owning no public houses, it was valued at £6 million, with shares 20 times oversubscribed.

Guinness has a long history of marketing campaigns, from television advertisements to beer mats and posters. One of the most notable and recognisable series of advertisements was created by S. H. Benson's advertising in the 1930s and 1940s, with slogans such as "Guinness for Strength" and "Guinness Is Good for You". The advertisements featured distinctive artwork by the artist John Gilroy and often included animals such as a kangaroo, ostrich, and toucan.

In 1959, Guinness began using nitrogen, which changed the texture and flavour of the beer by creating smaller bubbles, resulting in a "creamier" and "smoother" consistency. This innovation was discovered by Michael Ash, a mathematician turned brewer. The nitrogen bubbles are infused using a widget in cans and bottles, and through a plate in the tap for draught beer.

Guinness Draught, the iconic Irish stout, was first brewed in 1959 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Arthur Guinness signing the 9,000-year lease. It has hints of roasted coffee and chocolate, with a smooth balance of bitter and sweet roasted notes. The draught is served using a famous two-part pour, first tilting the glass at a 45-degree angle and then waiting for the surge to settle before filling the glass completely.

Guinness has expanded its offerings beyond the iconic draught, experimenting with various recipes and beer styles. Some of their beers include Guinness Nitro IPA, Guinness Hop House 13, Guinness Black Lager, Guinness West Indies Porter, and Guinness Foreign Extra Stout. They have also released non-alcoholic and low-alcohol options, such as Guinness Zero ABV and Guinness Mid-Strength.

In recent years, Guinness changed its recipe to make the beer vegan-friendly by no longer using isinglass, a fish byproduct, in the filtration process. This change came after campaigns and online petitions from consumers.

Frequently asked questions