Why doesn't anyone ever explain how good Guinness is?

Why would anybody need to explain Guinness? It's a little like riding a motorcycle or listening to jazz. It is entirely non-verbal, although you did a pretty good job of verbalizing the non-verbal.

 

Well, with all due respect to the almight Guinness gods, they can't take all the credit. The tiny bubbles and creamy texture don't come from the beer, but rather from being injected with a nitrogen/CO2 combination rather than pure CO2 at the tap. The bar or restaurant has to have a special tap and gas tank for this purpose. (Most also keep the Guinness keg in a separate cooler that keeps it at the appropriate "cellar temperature" rather than the ice-cold temps at which most American places serve their beer.) Sometimes a bar will have one or more other beers on a nitrogen tap, and these will have that same creamy mouthfeel.

As for the flavor, which I agree is wonderful, Guinness is just one example of the beer style known as "Irish stout, "dry stout," or "Irish dry stout" (as compared to "chocolate stout," "imperial stout," and others). It is of course the best known and most widely distributed brand of such, but I've had others (also served via nitro tap) and found them to be very similar to Guinness. (Murphy's is one example.)

 

Guinness is great. I drink almost exclusively craft/microbrews, but Guinness is one of the few exceptions. It's better than a lot of craft Stouts. As you described, creamy and a bit of chocolate flavor.

Ben

 

two words,... Car Bomb!

 

Two words... Guinness float

 

You should try Left Hand Brewing Companys Milk Stout. Its magically delicious.

 

My holiday tradition is to go xmass shopping & then get myself a celtic warrior(British pub doesnt do car bombs)

It's a different take on a black and tan, 1/2 guinness, 1/2 hard cider with a shot of jamesons

 

Bah. If you want to add something to your Guinness, just pour it into a bigger glass and add more Guinness.

 

"My Goodness, My Guinness!"

 

You apparently haven't tried any stouts before. If you think Guinness is good then try a Young's Double Chocolate Stout.

 

I certainly agree that OP should explore other stouts, but I disagree with your implication(s) that Young's is somehow "better" and that if someone likes Guinness they would like Young's even more. Apart from both being classified technically as "stouts," they could hardly be more different, and one could easily love either but dislike the other.

Personally, I love both, but in totally different contexts. If I'm gonna spend a few hours in a pub hanging with friends, Guinness is a perfect session beer. I'll save the Young's for an after-dinner dessert (ideally with a good cigar).

 

I don't disagree with you, but I think it's important to consider what the OP is saying:

- has tried many beers
- thought most beers tasted more or less the same
- discovered Guinness and found it to be unique and good for x, y, and z reason

From his post, it seems like Young's would be something he'd enjoy. Also, I never called Young's a "better" beer as you're implying; I just said, "if you like Guinness you should try Young's," which he should. Also notice that I never suggested he try a North Coast Old Rasputin Imperial Russian Stout. Given his post, I'd think it wouldn't be quite to his liking

 

Tried many beers that taste the same? Miller, Busch, Bud, Michelob, Coors...?

 

OK, fair enough. IME, when somebody says "If you like X your should try Y," the intended meaning is that Y is (even) better than X and so the person will like it (even) better than X. But you didn't actually say that, and so I apologize for putting words in your mouth.

That said, I'm still not sure that one's liking Guinness is at all predictive of one's liking Young's -- especially if the Young's were out of a bottle or a standard CO2 tap (given that the creamy nitro-based mouthfeel was a big part of what OP like about it). I suppose it's ultimately an empirical question, so I hope you'll join me in encouraging OP to do the crucial experiment to find out!

As for Old Rasputin, yeah, let's not go there. That's one that I would definitely save for dessert -- but I'd be sure not to light my cigar too close to the beer....

 

Guinness is liquid bread. :cheers: