Guinness 250

VDub26Falcon · Post by **VDub26Falcon** » Tue May 05, 2009 9:37 am

Has anyone tried the new beer from Guinness yet? It commemorates the 250th anniversary of the signing of Arthur Guinness' 9,000 year lease at the St. James Gate Brewery in Dublin. It is really a delicious stout with a little more carbonation than the original Guinness stout. The settling affect of the original stout does not take place with the 250. Definitely give it a try!!!

hammb · Post by **hammb** » Tue May 05, 2009 12:15 pm

For what it's worth standard Guinness is not carbonated with standard CO2 at all. It is served on beer gas which is mostly Nitrogen, but I believe there is some CO2 in it as well. The Nitrogen provides much smaller bubbles which give Guinness (and other beers like Boddington's) the smooth & creamy mouthfeel. I cannot tell you how many people have told me they don't like Guinness because it's like drinking a meal...which is foolish because Guinness is actually a pretty light beer, it just feels thicker because of the nitrogen bubbles.

Anyhow, it looks as though this 250 anniversary beer actually IS carbonated. That's interesting, I may check it out. Personally the nitrogen IS the appeal of Guinness to me, so I'm not real sure I'm into this idea, but I'll give it a shot sometime.

For those that like Stouts Guinness is a pretty mediocre rendition, IMO. Pick up any of the stouts from Bell's and you'll taste a truly great stout.

billchase2 · Post by **billchase2** » Tue May 05, 2009 9:01 pm

I hadn't heard of the 250 until your post. As a Guinness fan, I'll have to check it out. Thanks for the tip!

VDub26Falcon · Post by **VDub26Falcon** » Wed May 06, 2009 10:34 am

It's very good, but don't you dare put anything resembling your avatar in it!

Ydfalcon · Post by **Ydfalcon** » Wed May 06, 2009 4:05 pm

hammb wrote:For what it's worth standard Guinness is not carbonated with standard CO2 at all. It is served on beer gas which is mostly Nitrogen, but I believe there is some CO2 in it as well. The Nitrogen provides much smaller bubbles which give Guinness (and other beers like Boddington's) the smooth & creamy mouthfeel. I cannot tell you how many people have told me they don't like Guinness because it's like drinking a meal...which is foolish because Guinness is actually a pretty light beer, it just feels thicker because of the nitrogen bubbles.

This is only true of the Guinness Draught, however. Nearly every store also offers Guinness Extra Stout, which, like this "Guinness 250" is more normally carbonated. The Draught cans and bottles contain a widget which is made to simulate how the beer is when served from a European type tap where apparently a flatter, creamier mouthfeel beer is preferred. The Extra Stout is known as "Guinness Original" in Ireland and England because it is most like what Arthur Guinness originally produced. I have always preferred the Extra Stout to the Draught because of the creamy mouthfeel of the Draught. Though, oddly enough, I like Guinness or Boddington's when poured from an actual tap, Euro-style or not.

What I wonder though, is how much, if at all, this "Guinness 250" differs from the "Guinness Extra Stout" I'm used to drinking.

Bleeding Orange · Post by **Bleeding Orange** » Wed May 06, 2009 4:17 pm

How widely available is Guinness 250? I'd like to try it, but I would prefer to not have to travel half the state to find it. Should most liquor stores have it, or be getting it soon?

I am not ashamed to admit that I am a Guinness fiend.

VDub26Falcon · Post by **VDub26Falcon** » Wed May 06, 2009 4:18 pm

Any Liquor store should have it...beware though. A 24 pack of 12 oz. bottles runs about 40 bucks.

Post by **ZiggyZoomba** » Wed May 06, 2009 4:34 pm

https://www2.guinness.com/en-US/Pages/secure_250.aspx

hammb · Post by **hammb** » Wed May 06, 2009 4:59 pm

Ydfalcon wrote:
hammb wrote:For what it's worth standard Guinness is not carbonated with standard CO2 at all. It is served on beer gas which is mostly Nitrogen, but I believe there is some CO2 in it as well. The Nitrogen provides much smaller bubbles which give Guinness (and other beers like Boddington's) the smooth & creamy mouthfeel. I cannot tell you how many people have told me they don't like Guinness because it's like drinking a meal...which is foolish because Guinness is actually a pretty light beer, it just feels thicker because of the nitrogen bubbles.
This is only true of the Guinness Draught, however. Nearly every store also offers Guinness Extra Stout, which, like this "Guinness 250" is more normally carbonated. The Draught cans and bottles contain a widget which is made to simulate how the beer is when served from a European type tap where apparently a flatter, creamier mouthfeel beer is preferred. The Extra Stout is known as "Guinness Original" in Ireland and England because it is most like what Arthur Guinness originally produced. I have always preferred the Extra Stout to the Draught because of the creamy mouthfeel of the Draught. Though, oddly enough, I like Guinness or Boddington's when poured from an actual tap, Euro-style or not.

What I wonder though, is how much, if at all, this "Guinness 250" differs from the "Guinness Extra Stout" I'm used to drinking.

You know what, I don't know as though I've ever tried the Extra Stout before! To me the Nitrogen has always been the signature of Guinness.

Personally if I'm in the mood for a stout their are much better options available. I drink Guinness when I'm at the bar and it's the best thing they have on tap...or if I'm going to drink a ton of it because it is much lighter than the stouts I would usually prefer.

Ydfalcon · Post by **Ydfalcon** » Thu May 07, 2009 1:41 am

I picked up a 6-pack of this earlier this evening after reading the talk about it here. It's pretty good, I must say. As for how it compares to the standard Guinness offerings, I would say it lies somewhere between the Draught and the Extra Stout. It's closer to the Extra Stout in that it has "normal" carbonation levels and what I think is a little more of a complex flavor than the Draught, but has a slightly thicker mouthfeel than the Extra Stout, similar to the Draught. Truth be told, I think it's a good harmony between the two.

Hammb, just out of curiosity, you make reference to a few other stouts. Do you tend to lean more towards the chocolaty stouts or the coffee-like stouts? I've noticed that nearly every stout I've tried has fallen into one of the two categories. Personally, I have never been a fan of the chocolaty ones, I can usually tolerate it ok for a glass, but then have to switch to something else and make a note not to buy that particular stout again. I love the ones with that coffee-like note to them, though.

It's funny to me that you wouldn't have tried the Extra Stout before, though I guess I'm not surprised, it seems fewer and fewer people are aware of its existence, even though the Draught wasn't introduced until the mid1960's. On the flip side of the equation, the day I turned 21, which was just under three years ago, the first purchase I made was a six pack of the Extra Stout. So I guess we balance each other out.

Post by **ZiggyZoomba** » Thu May 07, 2009 8:57 am

Founder's Breakfast Stout is just about my all-time favorite stout... brewed with oatmeal, chocolate and coffee...

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1199/11757/

hammb · Post by **hammb** » Thu May 07, 2009 9:00 am

Well what makes a stout a stout is the roasted barley, and I think that gives all of them a coffee flavor. Yes, some of them do use a lot of chocolate malt too that can give them that chocolatey taste, but I think the roasted still gives a coffee note as well.

I generally shy away from any stout that says "Chocolate Stout" or "Coffee Stout" on it though. I just don't see the point of adding chocolate or coffee to a beer when those flavors can be achieved the proper way through the balancing of the proper grains. If a brewer isn't skilled enough to do that, I generally avoid it. I'm probably missing out on some tasty beers, but that's just how I am.

As to the stouts I prefer I'm not real particular as to whether it's got the chocolate notes or not, but I definitely prefer the bigger, sweeter stouts. Most of my favorites are probably classified as Imperial Stouts or Cream stouts. Off the top of my head I'm a huge fan of the Bell's Double Cream Stout, Great Lakes Blackout Stout, North Coast Brewing Old Rasputin, New Holland Dragon's Milk (not sure if this is technically a stout, but it's borderline stout/porter, IMO), and Bell's Expedition Stout.

What all of those share is that they're all pretty sweet, and they're all big beers (probably all 8+% abv). When I drink a stout I usually want a big full bodied beer that will warm me up on a cold morning...these are perfect late season tailgate beers. Guinness is a decent beer but it's far lighter than any of these.

Post by **ZiggyZoomba** » Thu May 07, 2009 10:34 am

hammb wrote:Off the top of my head I'm a huge fan of the Bell's Double Cream Stout, Great Lakes Blackout Stout, North Coast Brewing Old Rasputin, New Holland Dragon's Milk (not sure if this is technically a stout, but it's borderline stout/porter, IMO), and Bell's Expedition Stout.

Can't go wrong with any of these! Bell's Double Cream is a huge favorite of mine too....

We really need to road-trip to Kalamazoo for a Western game and make a side trip to the Eccentric Cafe. Yes... yes we do.

http://www.bellsbeer.com/index.php/cafe.html

Oh my, they've got "Firkin Hopslam" on tap right now............. "Boss, I'm taking the rest of today and tomorrow off, OK??"

hammb · Post by **hammb** » Thu May 07, 2009 10:49 am

ZiggyZoomba wrote:
hammb wrote:Off the top of my head I'm a huge fan of the Bell's Double Cream Stout, Great Lakes Blackout Stout, North Coast Brewing Old Rasputin, New Holland Dragon's Milk (not sure if this is technically a stout, but it's borderline stout/porter, IMO), and Bell's Expedition Stout.
Can't go wrong with any of these! Bell's Double Cream is a huge favorite of mine too....

We really need to road-trip to Kalamazoo for a Western game and make a side trip to the Eccentric Cafe. Yes... yes we do.

http://www.bellsbeer.com/index.php/cafe.html

Oh my, they've got "Firkin Hopslam" on tap right now............. "Boss, I'm taking the rest of today and tomorrow off, OK??"

I did that last year when we played up there in hoops. We lost the game, but the trip to that cafe made it all worthwhile. Bell's beer is fantastic and to have all of them on tap in one place was awesome. My only disappointment was that they didn't have any pub exclusives when I was there, everything on tap was available bottled elsewhere. Of course it's better fresh from the tap, but I was hoping it'd be like Great Lakes where they've always got a couple pub exclusives. They also are pretty much just a pub, so you're not going to be grabbing dinner there.

Still the place is really cool. Nice and dingy atmosphere. Live bands as the night goes on and just some amazing beers.

VDub26Falcon · Post by **VDub26Falcon** » Fri May 08, 2009 9:46 am

Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout makes a great dessert!

Guinness is my all-time favorite beer. Period. End of Discussion. Don't try to change my mind. My first taste of Guinness was on my 16th Birthday in an Irish Pub, in Ireland...awesome experience.

I also like Murphy's Stout in a close 2nd to the Godfather of Stouts.