Guinness Tap Beer

[Pigeon_snIPer]

Hi All,

Recently i was visiting the Yanks and had a tap of Guinness at the Tilted Kilt .

 

The question is - it smelled like Iodine / Tincture but the taste was amazing, however the canned version wasnt as smelly as the tap.

Is that the normal smell that it has?

 

Thanks

/S/

[Bleeh]

To be honest, I've had tapped guinesses in the states, and it's not as good as it is in the UK.

 

And no, that's not it's normal smell.

[dazza]

If you want to taste a real pint of the black stuff you need to try one over here.

[Dempy]

If you want to taste a real pint of the black stuff you need to try one over here.

 

 

Is that an open invitation?

[agusta]

Hi All,

Recently i was visiting the Yanks and had a tap of Guinness at the Tilted Kilt .

 

The question is - it smelled like Iodine / Tincture but the taste was amazing, however the canned version wasnt as smelly as the tap.

Is that the normal smell that it has?

 

Thanks

/S/

 

I would say they had just cleaned the pipes, probably left over cleaning fluids

[dazza]

Is that an open invitation?

 

More than welcome

[Dempy]

More than welcome

 

 

Thats good, we might all need a few pints after this budget

[Pigeon_snIPer]

Thanks mates.

[vole]

I just spent a week in Eire and £10 will get you two pints of Guinness and a bag of Tayto Crisps. Its a dear do to drink over there at the moment.

[Fatcatsplat]

If you want to taste a real pint of the black stuff you need to try one over here.

 

I disagree with that statement. Aside from the ambience of being in a proper Irish pub actually in Ireland and not an O'Neills or similar, i think the Guiness you get in Ireland, England and the US is all of the same quality/taste etc etc.

 

20 odd years ago, when i was young and lovely, we used to drink in Filthy McNastys in Clerkenwell because the taps, pipes and Guinness were all imported from Ireland (and you got a regular smattering of Pogues jamming in the back bar!!) - You could tastet the difference then, bit i think there is now a lot more uniformity with the pint you get - Even when pulled by a semi literate Eastern European!!!

[Diceman]

40% of the world's Guinness is brewed in Africa, apparently. I'm not sure where the Yanks get it from though.

 

The usual reason for dodgy tasting beer is bad cellar keeping and poor hygeine in the dispense pipe & equipment.

[Billy.]

Ugh, I once had a bottle of Guinness in Canada and I was assured by the locals that it was amazing....

 

I love a pint of Guinness, but this was absolutely disgusting. I think I got hammered that night and just went on about how they should all go to Dublin for a 'proper' pint

[Billy.]

I disagree with that statement. Aside from the ambience of being in a proper Irish pub actually in Ireland and not an O'Neills or similar, i think the Guiness you get in Ireland, England and the US is all of the same quality/taste etc etc.

 

I've got to disagree. I really think there is a huge difference in taste between Irish and the rest.

 

Keep in mind that any exported liquid (except stuff that specifically is sold unconcentrated, like Orange Juice) will be boiled down to a concentrate and then have water added at the other country. There's no point in shipping a million tonnes of Guinness, if you could ship a million tonnes of Guinness tar and then turn it into 3 million tonnes of Guinness at the other country, by just adding the water that was boiled off.

 

So those countries which have the factories will be able to produce and sell the best quality Guinness.

 

...That's my guess/opinion

Edited June 23, 2010 by Billy.

[shot shot]

Ugh, I once had a bottle of Guinness in Canada and I was assured by the locals that it was amazing....

I love a pint of Guinness, but this was absolutely disgusting. I think I got hammered that night and just went on about how they should all go to Dublin for a 'proper' pint

That was probably the guinness original, I've had it, and even though I'm their biggest fan, I ended up necking the bottle just to be done with it

[Dougy]

I disagree with that statement. Aside from the ambience of being in a proper Irish pub actually in Ireland and not an O'Neills or similar, i think the Guiness you get in Ireland, England and the US is all of the same quality/taste etc etc.

 

20 odd years ago, when i was young and lovely, we used to drink in Filthy McNastys in Clerkenwell because the taps, pipes and Guinness were all imported from Ireland (and you got a regular smattering of Pogues jamming in the back bar!!) - You could tastet the difference then, bit i think there is now a lot more uniformity with the pint you get - Even when pulled by a semi literate Eastern European!!!

 

I also do not agree with that statement.

 

I used to spend about 2 weeks a year for quite a few years fishing aroung Athy, Carlow, Gowna,Cavan and Keshkerigan and i can say the Guinness overthere is as different as lager and bitter is over here. Over here i dont touch the stuff because i cant stand the taste, but if i go over the water thats all i used to drink.

 

The amount of landlords over here that argue with you and tell you its the same get on my pip, if its the same how come it tastes different

[Diceman]

I've got to disagree. I really think there is a huge difference in taste between Irish and the rest.

 

Keep in mind that any exported liquid (except stuff that specifically is sold unconcentrated, like Orange Juice) will be boiled down to a concentrate and then have water added at the other country. There's no point in shipping a million tonnes of Guinness, if you could ship a million tonnes of Guinness tar and then turn it into 3 million tonnes of Guinness at the other country, by just adding the water that was boiled off.

 

So those countries which have the factories will be able to produce and sell the best quality Guinness.

 

...That's my guess/opinion

 

They don't make it and boil it down, that would be even more expensive than shipping it and in the process would ruin the product. More likely that they make the wort (a sticky thick liquid made by soaking the grains in hot water, the starting point for all beer) and ship that to the satellite brewery, to be mixed with more water and the yeast, which is probably also supplied by the 'home' brewery as the particular strain of yeast used has a significant on the final product and they hate to lose control over that. I know that Budweiser used to be made in Halifax, but the yeast was all delivered in from the States. The water used in the final mix will also affect the flavour, unless it is standardised to specific mineral & salts content. The ideal water for brewing British bitter is traditionally thought to originate in Burton on Trent and many companies brewing outside that region "Burtonise" the water they use to make it taste & behave more like Burton water.

 

Incidentally, most breweries will ferment their beers at the highest possible alcohol content to save space, and only dilute down to the finished strength just before packing. Often the 'base' beer is the same for different finished products and they only decide what it is going to become at the last minute. Less dilution, more caramel to give it a darker colour, and you have a 'premium' bitter. More water / less caramel and your have your standard 3.8% bellywash.

 

Whilst I'm on my soap box, did you know that The Coca Cola Company don't bottle or can a single drop of Coke? They make a concentrate that they sell to franchised bottlers who dilute and carbonate it, and in some countries the recipe is slightly different to account for local tastes. Its much sweeter in African / Carribean countries, for example.

 

Here endeth the lecture....