All you need to know about Guinness

Subject: All you need to know about Guinness
From: GUEST,Red Eye
Date: 25 May 03 - 03:43 PM

http://www.guinness.com/guinness/en/gatewayD/0,8113,125449_126269,00.html

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: Bev and Jerry
Date: 25 May 03 - 05:03 PM

We saw a travel program about Dublin on PBS last night and they showed someone drawing a pint of Guiness. After the glass was topped up, they turned the tap off almost completely but not quite and traced a shamrock pattern in the head. Pretty slick>

Bev and Jerry

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 25 May 03 - 05:13 PM

That's a pretty regular trick, I don't think you'd get a job in a Dublin pub if you couldn't do that. Sometimes for a change they might write something - your name for example.

Here's a link to a story about how they've decided to abandon a gimmick they'd tried introducing it which was supposed to speed up the time it takes to pour a Guinness. I should hope so.

Mind, after extensive research, I've decided that when it comes down to it, I prefer Murphys.

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: Rapparee
Date: 25 May 03 - 05:37 PM

Murphy's, Guinness, Smitchwicks, Bass, ditch water, waste treatment plant runoff -- it's ALL better than Budweiser (and Budweiser is better than any "lite" beer).

Guinness Lite -- now there's a thought! Perhaps that's all they serve in Hell.

Subject: DTCorr: General Guiness
From: Joe Offer
Date: 25 May 03 - 05:41 PM

I think it's safe to say that Guinness is an essential factor of Irish music. Trouble is, the damn stuff doesn't taste right unless you're drinking it in Ireland.
And to make doubly sure this is viewed as a music thread, I see that the Digital Tradition entry spells it General Guiness. Is "Guiness" ever a correct spelling?
Are there other songs about Guinness that I haven't included in the crosslinks above?
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: GUEST,rangeroger
Date: 25 May 03 - 07:00 PM

When I clicked on the website after answering their questions,I was disconnected from my modem connection. When I reconnected I found that Guiness.com had managed to attach a cookie to my browser.

Will try again after clearing my cache and see what happens.Maybe I shoud have pint of the vile black stuff first.

rr

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: GUEST,Sorch
Date: 25 May 03 - 07:06 PM

Well, the site does warn you that it will do that.

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: rangeroger
Date: 25 May 03 - 07:21 PM

Sorch, I never made it to the site to get a warning.My birthyear of 1945 shouldn't be disqualifying.

Turns out it is the Flash presentation that screws things up.Without it I can access the website.

Think I'll have a Black Butte Porter instead of the vile black stuff.

rr

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From:
Date: 25 May 03 - 11:49 PM

That trick wiht the head of a glass of Guinness is quite common as far as I know. They also put hearts andother little symbols in there. Depending on occasions, etc.

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: PoppaGator
Date: 26 May 03 - 01:12 AM

Someone recently told me that the correct setup for drawing a proper pint of Guinness requires a tank of nitrogen, as opposed to CO2 which is normally used with all other draft-beer taps as well as carbonated soft-drink fountains.

I have no idea whether I was being BS-ed or not, but we were sitting at the bar in one of the very few establishments in New Orleans that serves a really good pint, and my companion pointed out a tank of some kind of compressed gas connected to the Guinness tap, separate from the other draft beers. The implication was that the mediocrity of pints served elsewhere was inevitable due to the use of CO2.

I had the shamrock drawn upon the head of my Guinness once at this same pub, but only once. The barkeep in question was new, and for whatever reason didn't stay around long. Most of the regular employees are relatively recent arrivals from Ireland, and all seem to bring a no-frills attitude to the serious matter of providing a perfectly creamy pint.

Subject: All You Need to Know about BUDWEISER
From: GUEST
Date: 26 May 03 - 01:48 AM

http://www.budweiser.com

They don't market to those under 21

It isn't from a mick's prick, so this will probably slip down under B.S.


Why do Americans blindly revere anything Irish?

---

I moved this message here from another thread on a related topic.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: Billy the Bus
Date: 26 May 03 - 02:52 AM

Aaaahhhhhh...

Pleased to see the Mudcat is still full of boozers!

Thanks for the memories - i haven't had a Guiness in the best part of a year. even that wasn't 'proper' - I'll never find a real Guiness in New Zealand I guess - Sigghhh ... ;(

Methinks the only true Guiness is brewed in Dublin, with Liffey water, and is then strained through a pair of Brendan Behan's old sox!

My tuppence worth on Guiness in NZ (remember when a beer cost tuppence?) ....

It's brewed here, half a world from Dublin, so it isn't 'proper'.

To the best of my knowledge a Guiness Tap in a pub MUST be on a separate system from the other over-chilled beers. It seems temperature control is critical (ca 'room temperature'). I've never investigated the use of Nitrogen as opposed to CO2 - but it seems to make sense.

The 'shamrock' flourish is pretty standard practice ..

As is 'wait time' for a Pint to Pour (ours are 500 - not 600ml - Grump Mumble). It's great - gives me time to load and light me pipe - but that may soon be a t'ing of the past. "Smoke Free Bars" could be serious soon. A Guiness without a pipe? Aaaaarrrrgggghhhh!!!!

Anyway ....

I'm just home from the Pub - Bar staff automatically give my (almost) pint of "Speights Old Dark" (nearest we have to Guiness on tap) a quick zap in the microwave. Many visitors to the Island freak out (apart from older Pongolians, who remember the 'red-hot-poker'...;)

Anyway, McGrath and Joe - Hve a Guiness for me - it'll be a while before I see another one!

Slainte - Sam

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: GUEST
Date: 26 May 03 - 03:44 AM

Surely a pump is preferable to any known gas. It is with English beer.

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: Keith A of Hertford
Date: 26 May 03 - 03:47 AM

That was me, cookie reset.

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: Billy the Bus
Date: 26 May 03 - 03:53 AM

TRUE - guest

Give me a pump any day - or even better a spigot from the keg - and gravity feed!!!

Mind you the keg (and spigot) have to be wood!!! Oak for the keg and ummm... bowood? for the spigot?

Woo-haaaa... !!!

Cheers - Sam (semi-sober)

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: GUEST,Davetnova
Date: 26 May 03 - 03:57 AM

Just to digress to an earlier disscussion. Jono Guinness (part of that family, I think a cousin) for some time ran Didgeridoo workshops in Dumfrieshire. I think they Were invented by the Irish as a discreet "out pipe" in the guiness drinking system.

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: Billy the Bus
Date: 26 May 03 - 04:16 AM

Davetnova,

The 'Digeridoo' was invented by Rolf 'Horrors', not the Irish (or Scots)/ He's a 'Strine' (with no Aboriginal connections - apart from making a sheet of hardboard sound like a digereedoo - or something - chuckle...)

Howsomever - I shall put my brain-cell into gear,,,

Ummm.... Guiness passed through a Didgerdoo = Umm... several gallons, I reckon ... ;)

I pass - OUT ... ;0

Cheers - Sam

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 26 May 03 - 04:34 AM

PoppaGator, I think the gas used in Guinness (and possibly other "Irish" stouts and maybe even "smoothflow" bitter) is a N₂ /CO₂ mix rather than just N₂. At one time Guinness suplied in a keg with its own gas supply used to be common but I believe that now most kegs use an external gas supply.

Joe, I'd say our English Guiness tastes good but I'm convinced the Dublin brew is even better, not that I've drunk it in a while. These days though I tend to drink "Adams", a real ale from Suffolk (England) in our Irish session. It all depends though - we get given 2 x 4pt jugs, one of Guinness and one of Adnams - I'll happily drink either...

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: JennyO
Date: 26 May 03 - 07:50 AM

I don't know why, but the Guinness I had in Dublin was definitely better than I have had anywhere else.

At the pub we go to after choir practice, they know me well enough to say "Guinness?" before I have time to ask. What worries me is that some of the bar staff seem to know how to pour it better than others. Last week it was handed to me far too soon, while it was still settling and half foam. I would rather wait and get my full measure, complete with the shamrock on top. All the good ones seem to do it.

Jenny (I like to watch) {;-D

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: MartinRyan
Date: 26 May 03 - 10:59 AM

Next time your'e in Dublin, find your way to the Cobblestone bar in Smithfield - if it hasn't been demolished! Settle down to listen to some good Irish music and order a pint of ...... Darcy's! Then you'll know what stout really is!

Regards

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 26 May 03 - 11:22 AM

Darcy's sounds interesting. It looks as if it is a "real" (no gas) stout, something I rarely get to sample. Thier website is here. Thier "history of brewing in Ireland" is well worth a read.

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: Rapparee
Date: 26 May 03 - 12:08 PM

A pump, definitely. Or gravity fed. But a keg a straw works too, although not for Guinness or Murphy's.

I currently have Alaska Amber, Polygamy Porter, and St. Provo Girl in the house.

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: Joe Offer
Date: 26 May 03 - 01:07 PM

All these Europeans who condemn American beer talk about Budweiser, and Miller, and Schlitz. It seem they haven't tried any of the wonderful local beers that have come into being in the last twenty or thirty years. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale has been my favorite for a long time. It's brewed in Chico, California - 75 miles from my home. The company has become quite successful - but the beer still tastes good. The beer is brewed by real people, not by machines. Besides, the company's labor practices are admirable. It's an unpretentious place where people enjoy their work. They're proud to work for Sierra Nevada Brewery. There are lots of small breweries all over the U.S. where people do things the way they think they ought to be done, where good beer is their primary objective and corporate profits mean little.

I really liked the pubs of England and I tried to develop a taste for British beer when I was there last year, but I just couldn't do it. People suggested I try lager, but that tasted like a flat version of Coors. Besides, I wanted to learn to like the bitter that the locals drink. I found one beer I really loved - something called Grouse Beater. I've always liked Newcastle Brown Ale, so I had some of that, too - it's also available quite widely in the States.

I like the mystique that surrounds Guinness, but I can't say I had any Irish beer I really liked. Irish whiskey is another matter. I like that just fine.

I lived in Germany for a couple of years in the 1970's, and I really liked a wide variety of German beer. Even the large German breweries make wonderful beer. A good German beer and a good German sausage is a journey to heaven.

I grew up in Milwaukee, so beer is part of my upbringing - but I never met a Milwaukee beer I really likes.

-Joe Offer-

---

2:37 AM:
Well, it's bedtime and I guess it's time to move this down to the "BS" category. It's an interesting thread, but I guess I have to admit it doesn't have much music or music-related information. I keep getting messages from people who think this should be a "BS" thread. Damn tee-totallers...
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 26 May 03 - 01:15 PM

it's ALL better than Budweiser - not so. Real Budweiser is a splendid beer. I don't mean the stuff they make under that name in America and on franchise in other places, but the Czech original, now marketed as Budweiser Budvar.

The other Irish stout is Beamish, also from Cork, like Murphys, and that's not bad either. I'd rank them Murphys, Guinness, Beamish. Don't ever let anyone tell you Murphys is a second best. The only thing is, the head is a bit yellower than the one on Guiness, so it doesn't doesn't look so much like a penguin or an Ursuline Nun, which maybe takes a way from the dramatic appearance.

And there's a great song by Flann O'Brian, "A pint of plain is your only man", and we've had a thread aboutr that, and I'll put in a link before I post this, if I can find it. Mind that song is technically about a variety of Guiness with a little less body to it, which they stopped producing a few years back, not about any of the versions they make today.

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: GUEST,Wyrd Sister
Date: 26 May 03 - 01:15 PM

Bottle conditioned Original is the one for me

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: Gareth
Date: 26 May 03 - 02:36 PM

Hmmm ! at the risk of being alcholically incorrect :-

Guiness - over priced, over rated, and brewed over here.

Gareth

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 26 May 03 - 03:36 PM

And mispelt into the bargain, Gareth...

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: Allan Dennehy
Date: 26 May 03 - 03:55 PM

I drank about 5 million pints of Guinness in Ireland before emigrating and never once got a shamrock on the top. I never drank in tourist bars, mind. To those who wrote that the best pint was in Dublin i have to say, WRONG! There are loads of good bars in Dublin, but there are plenty of awfull commercialised kips as well. The most reliable (and cheapest) pints are to be found in the country, apart from the tourist traps of course. The pint isn't too bad here in Copenhagen these days, at least in the Irish pubs. Have you all tried the Dublin brewed can of draught Guinness, the one with the ping pong ball in it? Not a bad pint at all 'cept its not a pint, just 440ml.

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: Blackcatter
Date: 26 May 03 - 05:35 PM

Joe,


In some parts of the U.S. it is still quite difficult to get local microbrews at any of the bars. I live in Orlando and the closest breweries are in Tampa and the Miami area. A few bars carry them but only in bottles. Also, I prefer dark and rich brews and the weak ales that are offered so often are pitiful. I'll stick with draught Newcastle if I have the choice.

On the other hand (exactly which one is the other hand?) there are three wonderful bars close to my home two Irish, one English that carry at least 15 Irish, Scot and English brews and deliver them in 20 oz pints. Are they not as good as those served in bars in the U.K. and Eire? Possibly not, but they are better by far than what else is out there (with the possible exception of the local Bauren Stube which has 5 different, hard-to-find German beers on draught).

By the way - none of the 3 pubs do the shamrock thing on top. When I asked the owner of one why they don't, they say that there's constantly a line of Guinness waiting to be pour and it knocks a few seconds off each one.

pax yall

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 26 May 03 - 05:36 PM

When I was a student, we used to sing the label from a bottle of Guinness to the tune of Beethoven's 9th symphony. But this was in Oxford, not Ireland, so we had to sing "Arthur Guinness, son and company, Park Royal Brewery London, extra stout, registered trademark, Guinness, Arthur Guinness. Bottled by Allied Breweries, UK limited, Burton on Trent, minimum contents nine and two-thirds fluid ounces, Dublin and London".

Kitty

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: GUEST
Date: 26 May 03 - 06:40 PM

I got this of the website:

s it true that you get a much better pint in Ireland?
These days an Irish and GB pint of GUINNESS® Draught are pretty much the same. The water will be different, of course, because we always use pure, fresh water from local natural sources. In blind tests though (with a bunch of highly cynical journalists!), none of our sample could tell the difference. In fact, the only real difference you should be able to spot is the pub that you're drinking in.

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 26 May 03 - 08:46 PM

Two problems you can get with stout in some English pubs: the first is when they haven't learnt how to pour it, and how long to let it settle; and the other, whiuch us worse, is when they haven't properly cleaned the taps and the pipes, and that can make it taste foul. I'm sure there've lots of people who've been put off for life by that.

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: khandu
Date: 26 May 03 - 08:50 PM

Guinness is the Official Stout of the Kingdom of khandu...I think I shall have one now.

k

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: Blackcatter
Date: 26 May 03 - 08:58 PM

There's a really big problem in the U.S. with the temperature as well.

You really have to be careful, and when I'm travelling and I see a Guinness tap in a restaurant or bar that's not Irish, I ask them if they refridgerate it in the same cooler they do the other beer. You'd be surprised how many places don't think this is an issue. Maybe I shouldn't trust any place that doesn't have the "perfect pull" award proudly displayed on the wall.

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: Rapparee
Date: 26 May 03 - 09:11 PM

51 degrees F. for beer. ALL beer worthy of the name.

Sorry, but Budweiser to 99.9% of those in the US means the Anheuser-Busch product.

And it's so damned sad, because prior to Prohibition the US had many, many local breweries that produced very fine products. Some took up again after alcohol was again legal, but sank or were sunk by the Big Boys. Dick Brothers, Atlas Praeger, and others from my childhood come to mind.

And then there were the jokes about Griesedick Brothers beer, and I leave it to your imagination what they were -- but the surname of the Brothers was pronounced "Greasy Dick."

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: Bruce from Bathurst
Date: 27 May 03 - 01:47 AM

Last time I was in Belfast, in 1995, I had the opportunity to compare 'local' Guinness ('local' as in UK, brewed in Liverpool) with 'imported' Guinness (brewed in Dublin). Some bars sold one or the other, while some bars sold both. Some chilled it and others didn't. I did much, much comparing!

I was told the English version had to be pasteurised due to UK health regulations, or perhaps it was because they had so much trouble selling it they had to pasteurise it to prevent it going off before someone bought it. No such treatment was given to the Dublin product.

Now, admittedly, I was given that information by Irish musicians who tend to have very fixed ideas about the subject of Guinness, and my own objectivity decreased as the glasses and session tunes increased, but the bottom line for me was that I prefer unchilled, Dublin-brewed Guinness in a straight pint glass.

That much I do remember.

Bruce

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: Gurney
Date: 27 May 03 - 02:37 AM

I never met an ale or stout that I didn't like, from Guinness to Oh be Joyful. Oh, I remember Barley Wine!!! But don't people get partisan about them! Unless you are a loony patriot, and booze doesn't strike me as a thing to get patriotic about, drink what you like.
Still don't much like pale beers and lager much, except for (the memory of) East India Pale Ale.

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: GUEST
Date: 27 May 03 - 06:31 AM

I remember a barman telling me that Guinness was a 'bitch of a beer to keep' as it only had a very short life once the cask was opened?? Three days max as opposed other beers weeks of life.

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: Doug_Remley
Date: 27 May 03 - 06:40 AM

I was under the impression that a major problem in "translating" a foreign beer to the American market was the strict adherence of %alcohol to appelation: beer - malt liquor - wine - fortified wine - brandy, etc. Somehow, also, Americans fell in love with ICE; beers and mixed drinks are served in a fridgid state and it's difficult to taste any flavours. To ask for two fingers of Scotch and a small pitcher of water on-the-side with no ice creates quite a scene! That, or a beer from a case in the cold-room that hasn't gone into the cooler.

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 27 May 03 - 06:41 AM

All I need to know about Guinness is that I hate it and it makes Manitas snore even worse than he does normally. Well, 14 pints of it does..... If I see him drinking Guinness, I know I'd best be finding my earplugs.

LTS

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: JennyO
Date: 27 May 03 - 11:17 AM

To Allan Dennehy, MY best pint WAS in Dublin, in Lanigan's Bar. That was MY experience. I was not generalizing. So telling people they are WRONG is pointless.

Mind you, I am more than willing to keep testing, in the interests of research, of course! ;-)

Jenny

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 27 May 03 - 11:46 AM

Not a big lover of the black stuff myself but it is far prefereable to some of the fizzy crap that gets passed off as beer in some pubs...

Nitrogen as opposed to CO2 is getting quite popular in serving a lot of beers in the UK. It tends to be called 'Smoothflow' because, so they tell us, it is not absorbed into the beer like CO2 producing a smother and creamier brew. It is still pasteurised beer that they are selling served under gas pressure though.

At the risk of antagonising the CAMRA crew I do find some of the 'smoothflows' quite pleasant and, unlike some of the real ales, consistently drinkable. They also have the advantage of being pretty inert and not capable of provoking, how shall we put this, large eruptions of methane, which can be produced when imbibing large quantities of live beer...;-)

Completely in agreement with Joe about the US micro beers. I have had some belters both here in the UK and over there in the States. And, much as it pains a good Englishman to say it, I am getting quite fond of the premium French lagers. As well as the German. And Dutch. And Belgian. And....

Cheers, hic.

DtG

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: Cluin
Date: 28 May 03 - 12:01 AM

I do love the Guinness meself (yes, it does taste better in Ireland), but after 6 or 7 you might as well be drinking Bud. It all tastes like the same old horsepiss by then.

I reserve the black stuff for when I'm only having a couple. I like "Black & Tans" and "Half & Halfs" too.

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: Burke
Date: 28 May 03 - 07:41 PM

Getting back to the first message--What's with the age check? I told it I'm 13 & got back, "the laws of your country do not allow you to view our site." You're not supposed to view it if you're in France, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Hungary, Poland or a list of Islamic countries either.

What is not legal about it? We have beer commercials on TV and in magazines, is this any worse? Is virtual drinking a problem? Someone who is under age is not allowed to read about drinking? I think all the Scandinavian countries ban alcohol advertising & it is illegal in Islamic countries, so I guess them being on the banned makes some sense.

The site is different if you say you're in the US than England as well. According to the site it should be served at 6°C, 42.8°F. That seems cold to me.

Subject: RE: Guiness Price per Oz
From: *#1 PEASANT*
Date: 16 Mar 10 - 11:00 AM

One Us oz is almost equal to 1 imperial oz. Start there. The price of retail imported guiiness in cans with smoothifier in Ferndale Maryland is 9 cents an ounce. The cost of 14.9 oz which is just short of an imperial pint is $1.46 that is one can of imported guinness in ferndale Maryland USA. Bar price found recently is between $6.00-7 without music or snacks.

Now I would grant an establishment 100$ mark up but these days it is more like 500% -600%. Keep in mind that my supplier is making what he considers to be a fair profit and he has overhead-

Do musicians enable this rip off? They do if they do not insist on working only at venues where the price of beer is reasonable. A bit of research is required but it should be worth it by providing your audience with a fair, affordable bargain thus making them happier and increasing attendance overall to a higher volume which infact should bring down prices generally as well. So therefore here is a way to put prices for your fans on a downward rather than an upward spiral without anyone loosing money in the long run.

One way to fight this is to hold byob events where the cost to attend is only the fair cost of the music. Planning in advance I can get my church hall for free and they would tolerate alcohol.

national parks in the usa generally permit alcohol and if you dont collect money there you can collect it elsewhere and simply agree to be all in the same place at the same time in a park. No rules against that.

But.....if we don't stop the madness of profit taking in the food chain we will discourage audiences or limit them to the very wealthy cutting our ability to profit via volume.

What is the retail cost of a pint where you are? That is in a store not a pub or specialty establishment?

Conrad

Subject: RE: All you need to know about Guinness
From: gnomad
Date: 16 Mar 10 - 08:55 PM

Minor point, 14.9 oz is well short of an Imperial Pint (over 25% short in fact) which is 20 ounces.

I believe a US Pint to be 16 oz, if I am right it is not far short of that.