Everyone knows how much the Irish like to drink. So it’s almost common knowledge that their beers are very well made. Guinness is the best selling beer in Ireland and has been around for almost 250 years. The world consumes about 2 billion pints of Guinness and can be found in almost every country on the globe.
My father was born in Dublin and moved to America when he was 22 years old. He would not go a day without having a pint of Guinness. If he had only a few dollars in his pocket and was given a choice to buy his family dinner or walk down to Flanagan’s Pub for a few pints, he would choose the pints of Guinness. He often would drink what is called a Black and Tan, A Black and Tan is commonly served in Irish Pubs. It is a combination of two Irish beers. First you fill half of a pint glass with Harp and the second half with Guinness. The light golden colored Harp would stay on the bottom of the glass and the rich black Guinness if poured properly will stay on top. As a child I remember being amazed by the multicolored pint glasses. I would walk into the dark smoky pub, past all of the Irish men wearing their nit sweaters and listening to Folk Singers. I would find my father in the same corner table every night and I would ask him for money every night. He would be one of the only men drinking a Black and Tan, most men in the pub considered Harp a ladies beer. If you didn’t drink Guinness something was wrong with you.
My father was a skinny little man, he was about 5 foot 6 inches tall and weighed about 150lbs. He would work hard labor jobs all day and would spend most of his money drinking in the pub at night. When he was at home, he was always in a deep sleep.
I remember one night my father came home after spending most the night at the pub, he stumbled in the front door and screamed for me to wake up. He screamed “hey you, Wake up”, “hey you, Wake up”. He wanted to know what my name was and what I was doing on his couch. When I said “I’m Chuck your son”, He said" I don’t give a Chuck get the F-ck off my couch."
After learning at a very young age the importance of a pint of Guinness, I had my first pint when I was 15 years young.
I don’t drink that often anymore, but I will enjoy a pint of Guinness every now and than.
Until recently I would only drink Guinness in an Irish Pub, behind the skilled hands of a professional bartender. I was always told there is an art form to pouring a pint of Guinness that only a man from County Clare could achieve.
Since I don’t live near an Irish Pub, I buy cans of Guinness Stout. The cans have this little plastic ball floating inside that keep the beer from pouring out to fast. If you take your time pouring a can of Guinness you can almost achieve greatness, a perfect head over your pint. Don’t make the amateur mistakes of drinking Guinness directly from a can or bottle, always pour into a large glass and never use a dirty one; you should use a new glass for each beer.
The Taste
Guinness is an acquired taste, if you are in love with beers like Coors or Miller Lite, you will have a hard time getting used to this extremely heavy, dark, thick beer. Guinness has almost a coffee taste and leaves a slightly bitter after taste. It goes down smooth and seems to quench your thirst and hunger at the same time, but it is not a beer you drink fast, Guinness should be savored one medium gulp at a time.
Because Guinness is so thick with roasted barley flavor you feel as if you are drinking a beer with high alcohol content, but Guinness is about the same as most beers at 4%.
The Bottom Line
Guinness is not the type of beer you guzzle down while eating pizza or watching a sporting event under a hot sun. I think Guinness is the type of beer you will enjoy while relaxing and talking with friends. Guinness should be appreciated.
Leave your glass at the bar and still enjoy the authentic taste of GUINNESS Draught beer How? GUINNESS Draught in Bottles - that's howIn 1999, we bott...More at Witty's Fine Wine
GUINNESS Extra Stout is steeped in heritage - a whole costume drama in a bottle It's naturally GUINNESS a complex beer full of character that's great ...More at Witty's Fine Wine
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.