Guinness Draught

Back with brews. This time with a displaced classic, or a simulacrum of its former self!

Brewery: Guinness, St. James Gate, Dublin, Ireland (cough, somewhere in Canada)

Guinness Draught (bottled, with nitrogen rocket), 4.2% ABV, 12oz

Color: Ebony, but actual color is closer to a hue of dark coffee/green/blue.

Tasting Notes: The stout forms a thin head (I might not be pouring it properly, though. The nose is quite tempting, with roasted malt and fragrant grains, some leather. Sadly, the palate doesn’t quite fulfill the nose’s potential: first thing one detects is a thin body, lacking roundness. Notes of thick roasted malt stop right before hitting the jackpot, and nitrogen renders the punch even weaker. A lack of carbonation makes the thinness of body and off-metallic bitterness emerge in contrast, ack! There is little to the finish, as the flavors, already skeletal, vanish without a trace. This cleanliness is almost ethereal, ghostly and haunting for those who’ve had a better Guinness elsewhere.

Comment: One could either call Guinness Draught a shadow of its true self (what I refer to the representative Guinness is the Extra Stout from the tap: delicious, delicious stuff) or another victim of globalization. For the latter, not simply counting the over-production implemented to increase global sales, I’m pretty sure the drink on my table is NOT produced in their St. James Gate brewery. Guinness CO. has many subsidiary breweries in Africa, which provide a bulk of their production. But again, this is just speculation. Nevertheless, I can’t picture myself getting another six-pack of this caricature. If there’s any other stout or porter lying around, be my guest.