It's always fun when a brewery comes out with a limited edition beer. I tend to see it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to try something, and go into it with the expectation that they have put a lot of thought into the recipe. In fact, I pick these up with the expectation that they'll be better than average. Sometimes they are, and sometimes they're a disappointment.
One thing I have noticed is that you really have to keep an eye out to find these limited releases. Although sometimes I'll happen across an article or press release through Beer Advocate or some other beer related website, generally the first time I hear about a special release is when I see it on the shelf at the liquor store. Guinness 250th Anniversary Stout was a major exception to this. They may have even *gasp* advertised that it was coming.
Now Guinness tends to be my stand-by drink whenever I'm going anywhere that finer beers are not sold. Unless you're at the lowest of the low end establishments, anywhere that sells beer is likely to have Guinness in bottles, if not on tap. Although it's pretty thin bodied and not all that flavorful for a stout, it's easy to drink, and there's nothing that I dislike about the flavor. I would even say that I like Guinness. If nothing else, it's one of the easiest beers to get down, and I don't think I've ever thought, "no thanks, I don't want another Guinness, I can't take this flavor anymore." So when I saw the 250th anniversary beer, I figured I'd give it a shot.
To make things a little more interesting, I did a side-by-side comparison of the Guinness 250 with a can of the regular Guinness Draught. It's probably closer to the Extra Stout recipe, but Dan already had cans of the draught from the last time we made black and tans.
The 250 was nearly identical in appearance to the draught. The only difference I noticed was that the head on the 250 was a slightly darker color, more tan, and had a 1 finger rocky head. The draught on the other hand had a head the same size, but was merely off-white and creamy and smooth looking. It's possible that the nitrogen widget in the can affected the appearance of the head. I did also notice that there was much more lacing on the glass with the 250.
The aroma did stand out as a difference between the two. The 250 smelled sweeter, and had less of a roasted quality. It was also stronger than the aroma of the draught. The 250 smelled OK, but not great.
The taste of the two was also slightly varied. The 250 had a more bitter quality to it. The draught was creamy and had a stronger roasted flavor. The flavor of both was not terribly strong though.
The area that the differences stood out the most was in the mouthfeel. Granted, this is at least partially due to the fact that the can had the nitrogen widget. The 250 had more body, although at best this would put it in the "medium body" category. For a stout, it's still pretty thin. It also had a higher level of carbonation and felt sharper. The bubbles seemed to be larger. It was definitely less creamy than the draught. Again, this is probably due to the nitrogen widget. I'm sure on tap the 250 would feel more similar to the standard draught.
Overall, I thought the beer was alright, but it really wasn't anything special. Certainly it wasn't something to really celebrate their 250th anniversary with. Although I liked the thicker body, the carbonation was too high and I actually enjoyed the flavor of the regular draught a little more. I'm just a sucker for roast I guess. The beers were incredibly similar, and that alone was disappointing to me. If I remember correctly, the 250 was also a little more expensive, and there's nothing I've seen in it to justify the additional expense. Unless you just can't resist, I'd say to avoid this one, at least if you're paying for it. I did like it about as much as I like the regular Guinness draught, but there's certainly better beers out there for the same price or less. To be fair, I had a second that was warmer, and it tasted a bit better. The carbonation was subdued a bit, and the roasted quality came out a bit more, although not so much as in the draught still. This was at nearly room temperature, probably around 65 degrees.
- Adam
No comments:
Post a Comment