Guinness Beer: Sour Or Not?

Guinness is a stout beer that originated in Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. It has a distinctively sharp and tangy flavour, with a creamy head and a dark appearance. The taste is a combination of malted barley and roasted unmalted barley, resulting in a malty sweetness and a hoppy bitterness, with notes of coffee and chocolate. While Guinness has a unique taste, some drinkers may perceive it as sour due to the sharp acidity contributed by lactic acid, which is a key feature of the brewing process.

Guinness uses a sour blend for their stout

Guinness is a stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness in Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. It is now one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries and available in over 120.

Guinness's flavour derives from malted barley and roasted unmalted barley. For many years, a portion of aged brew was blended with freshly brewed beer to give a sharp lactic acid flavour. Although Guinness's palate still features a characteristic "tang", the company has refused to confirm whether this type of blending still occurs.

Guinness Foreign Extra Stout is blended with a small amount of intentionally soured beer. In the past, this was achieved by blending with beer that soured naturally as a result of fermenting in ancient oak tuns with a Brettanomyces population. Today, it is made with pasteurised beer that has been soured bacterially.

Home brewers attempting to replicate the distinctive "tang" of Guinness have experimented with various methods, including souring a small portion of the grain bill for several days prior to the brew day, adding lactic acid to the keg, and creating a separate sour mash.

The sharp acidity in Guinness is contributed by lactic acid

Guinness is a stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in over 120.

The flavour of Guinness derives from malted barley and roasted unmalted barley. For many years, a portion of aged brew was blended with freshly brewed beer to give a sharp lactic acid flavour. Although Guinness's palate still features a characteristic "tang", the company has refused to confirm whether this type of blending still occurs.

Lactic acid is produced by fermenting lactose, or milk sugar, with specific bacteria. It is an organic compound that plays a vital role in various biological processes and is commonly found in sour foods. In brewing, lactic acid is often added to beers, such as stouts, to impart a sharp and tangy flavour.

Lactic acid can be naturally produced by fermenting a small portion of the wort with lactobacillus bacteria. This method is risky as it can be challenging to control the growth of bacteria and maintain consistency in the final product. Alternatively, food-grade lactic acid can be added during the brewing process or at bottling to achieve the desired level of tartness. The addition of lactic acid enhances the complexity of flavours in Guinness, contributing to its worldwide popularity.

Guinness mashes their roasted grains separately

Guinness is a stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. It is now owned by the British-based multinational alcoholic beverage maker Diageo. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in over 120. Guinness's flavour derives from malted barley and roasted unmalted barley. The unmalted barley is a relatively modern addition that became part of the grist in the mid-20th century.

For many years, a portion of aged brew was blended with freshly brewed beer to give a sharp lactic acid flavour. Although Guinness's palate still features a characteristic "tang", the company has refused to confirm whether this type of blending still occurs.

This method also disproves the idea that water with very high levels of carbonates (e.g. Dublin water) is required to make a world-class stout. In the past, when water chemistry was not well understood, brewers may have used water with high levels of carbonates when mashing all the grains together. However, today, Guinness likely uses R/O or highly processed water and adds the desired salts for their base mash.

Overall, by mashing their roasted grains separately, Guinness is able to achieve the desired colour, flavour, and smoothness in their stout, contributing to its worldwide popularity and success.

Guinness brews high-gravity

Guinness is a stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. It is now one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in over 120. Guinness is made 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.

The term 'high-gravity beer' is often used, especially in the craft beer scene. A high-gravity beer is a high-alcohol beer made from wort with a high original gravity reading. High-gravity beers contain at least 8% alcohol ABV. In brewing, gravity is a measure of the degree of fermentable sugars dissolved in the wort. It is the density of fermentable sugars in the wort, measured during various stages of the brewing process. Original gravity reflects how much sugar is available for fermentation. Yeast consumes sugar to produce alcohol, carbon dioxide, and energy during fermentation. Therefore, the higher the sugar content (gravity), the higher the alcohol potential.

Guinness is brewed from a 1.072 OG wort, which is lower than the 1.075 OG used in high-gravity beers. Guinness Extra has an alcohol level of 5.6% ABV, which is also lower than the 8% ABV found in high-gravity beers. So, while Guinness brews high-gravity beers, they are not quite high-gravity in the technical sense.

Guinness Draught is rich and creamy. Distinctively black. Velvety in its finish

Guinness Draught is a rich and creamy stout beer with a distinctively black colour and a velvety finish. It is defined by its harmony of flavours, with sweet and bitter notes perfectly complementing the roasted barley base. The white head of the beer sits flush atop the dark liquid, mirroring the way the flavours counter and combine.

The unique flavour of Guinness Draught comes from a combination of malted barley and roasted unmalted barley. The use of unmalted barley is a relatively modern addition, having been added to the grist in the mid-20th century. For many years, Guinness also blended freshly brewed beer with a portion of aged brew to create a sharp lactic acid flavour. While the company has not confirmed whether this practice still occurs, Guinness Draught retains its characteristic "tang".

The thick, creamy head of Guinness Draught is created by mixing the beer with nitrogen and carbon dioxide. This combination of gases gives the beer its smooth, creamy texture and small bubbles. The use of nitrogen also allows the beer to be put under high pressure without becoming fizzy, resulting in the very fine bubbles that contribute to the beer's velvety finish.

Guinness Draught is an iconic beer that has become a symbol of Ireland. It originated in the 18th century at the brewery of Arthur Guinness in Dublin and has since become one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries and available in over 120. Despite declining consumption since 2001, Guinness remains the best-selling alcoholic drink in Ireland and continues to be beloved by drinkers around the world.

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