It has an interesting association with some former British colonies. Very popular in Nigeria when I was there and used as the basis of a unique “shandy” mixed with tonic. I have to say drinking warm Guinness at 35 degrees with a whisky chaser isn’t an experience I want to repeat.
I remember the advertising for the Guinness we shipped over to Nigeria ( merchant navy) as concentrate in the 80's was "Guinness gives you power" with associated visuals to suggest it was in the manly department.
Oh yes. But context shapes the experience. You've got to try it somewhere Blake's The Hollow in Enniskillen. A classic Irish pub. https://blakesofthehollow.com/
Yes, but like everything in life, circumstances are important. This is best sampled in a pub in Dublin on the banks of the Liffey, in the company of good friends.
Hard disagree. Not to everyone's taste. Some pub quiz trivia the harp in Guinness is in reverse. Deal done with the irish government when we became a Republic
Yes. Some drinks I have to be in he mood for - particularly lager or cider - but a Guinness is great at any time. Guinness 0% is also the best-tasting non-alcoholic beer around. Tastes a lot like the real thing!
Beamish used to be one of the best around, almost as good as Guinness in Ireland; haven't seen it since the Heineken takeover, mind, it's not usually on tap in North London
Yes, but definitely an acquired taste. One of the top ten beers in the world for a reason but we Irish would be firm that it’s a stout not a beer. Must be from a pub that cleans lines regularly and properly poured. Try it initially with a dash of blackcurrant cordial to make it less bitter.
Yes, but it appears to have higher variance in quality than of other draughts. I've had a bad and exceptional Guinness but I've not had Heineken significantly worse than most Heinekens. If you're not drinking in a place with a high volume of Guinness drinkers I don't think you should bother.
When my Iranian partner and I went to Dublin for the first time, I bought him a half of Guinness. He looked around and complained that he had a small one and everyone else's was large - then he tried it. Then he was glad he had the small...
It is a bang average stout. It's perfectly drinkable, but there are better ones available, albeit much harder to find now that Guinness, and its unspeakable brethren Guinness 0.0% and (worse, much worse) Guinness Extra Cold, seem to have infiltrated every corner of the pub market.
I don’t drink so much anymore, but back in my 30s I found if you drink Guinness *and only that* you can drink indefinitely and never get more than about 3-pints level of drunk. One false move, one tequila, done for; otherwise you’re good all day. So if that’s useful to you, you’re missing out, yeah.
No. There are so many other better Stouts and Porters to try which are far superior and cheaper. Try Wye Valley Brewery Nightjar for a good session Stout or Siren do some amazing thick and tasty higher abv ones.
It's particularly good on a cold winter's night. I once went on a holiday in Anglesea with 6 friends and we decided it was easiest to remember a round if we all stuck to the first drink we ordered - I drank nothing but Guinness for a week
It's a sort of pub diagnostic. If you enter a pub and have no idea what kind of place it is, you order a pint of Guinness and observe how they treat it. If there's elementary respect, a humane concern for the quality of the experience, you're in.
You may not particularly like the first one you have, but once you’re used to it, it will be the only acceptable drink in the pub that doesn’t have hand-pulled cask beer.
On a rugby tour to Ireland early 90s. Rule 1 was “you can only drink Guinness!” After a game at Balbriggan rfc we’re up the bar and my mate said “this Guinness…the 1st one’s pretty gross but the 2nds not too bad” One of the Irish lads said”Why not have the 2nd one 1st!” 😂😂😂🏉🏉🏉☘️☘️☘️
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It is possible to have one or two - more so with Guinness than others I'd say!
the Jamaican Red Dragon is widely available, the Trinidadian Lion less so
Lovely drunk cold in the summer, as is Scotlands own Sweetheart Stout at 2%, top chilled summer drink..
Diageo sold Guinness Nigeria PLC to Tolaram in June
Guinness in Nigeria now produced under license by 3rd party with Diageo collecting royalties
Diageo volume in Nigeria fell -10% in FY20 (COVID), rebounded +39% in FY21, and was then +1% -4%, -18% in FY22, 23, 24
FY23: vol. -17%, sales -16% (COVID)
FY21: vol. +30%, sales +32%
FY22: vol. +4%, sales +17%
FY23: vol. -8%, sales +7%
FY24: vol. -1%, sales +16%
* Nigeria-only figures not disclosed
https://blakesofthehollow.com/
Try Guinness by all means but don’t be put off dark beers by that one experience
But if you like your peat bogs mixed with paint stripper then Laphroaig will suit you well.
The standard pint of Guinness in London is about 80% of the good Guinness you could get at e.g. The Devonshire.
It's perfectly adequate, mostly.
The Zero is also very good!
https://bsky.app/profile/citradelica.bsky.social/post/3ldhecx7ns22l
Drunk it in the UK, but word is a pint in Ireland is the way to go.
You may not particularly like the first one you have, but once you’re used to it, it will be the only acceptable drink in the pub that doesn’t have hand-pulled cask beer.