Guinness - Pure Genius!
Written: Dec 06 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Heaven in a pint glass, sticking your nose in the head
Cons: Sticking your nose in the head, 475 calories per pint!
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| cinimod's Full Review: Guinness Stout 2404b |
It was not until I visited Ireland that I learnt to appreciate Guinness Stout. What many people don’t realize is that the bottled Guinness brewed in Malaysia tastes so different from the original St. James’ Gate brew that they could be two different brands. In fact, many locals think that Guinness is a local brand, and it is only when I point out the label on the bottle that they learn that Guinness is actually from Ireland.
How could anyone think that Guinness is from Malaysia and not Ireland, you might wonder. Guinness has been very popular in Malaysia for a very long time – here it is a man’s drink, popular with tin miners, construction workers, rubber tappers alike. They were one of the first companies to localize their advertisement campaigns, with the slogan “Guinness is good for you”, showing healthy looking, robust and successful Malaysian people drinking Guinness like it was water. In every coffeeshop all over Malaysia, there are pictures of voluptuous girls with a come hither look pasted on the walls – courtesy of Guinness! When I was in England, they ran a series of ads under the theme “Guinness – pure genius” staring Rutger Hauer. The British ads were aimed at a much more upmarket, intellectual audience than the Malaysian ads. The ads were as different in different countries as the taste of Guinness in the respective countries.
In Malaysia, bottled Guinness (Foreign Extra Stout) has a much stronger, bittersweet taste than the Guinness draught in Ireland. Malaysian Guinness also does not have as solid a head, and contains twice as much alcohol for the same volume. Anyone who is used to Guinness draught from Ireland would probably choke on the Malaysian version. However, Malaysian Guinness does have a couple of advantages over the Irish original. First, it is better for mixing with lagers, creating a darkish beer that actually tastes quite good (purists may have a heart attack reading the last statement!). Second, it is great for cooking with. One of my favourite restaurants serves “Guinness Stout spare ribs”, which taste absolutely wonderful. If the Irish brew were used, it would probably not work as well since the “real” Guinness is much more subtle than the Malaysian version.
I have learnt to appreciate both versions of Guinness, although, as a drink on its own, there is still nothing close to the original brew. Even watching the fine bubbles (almost like sand) sink down the pint glass while the head forms is a delightful experience. It usually takes a few minutes before the process is complete, and then you have a head so thick that a metal coin will float on it (“float” is the wrong word, since the head is a solid, not a liquid). Guinness feels like a very heavy drink, and a couple of pints makes you feel as though you’d just eaten a four course dinner.
I visited the Guinness brewery in Dublin, where I learnt that it is the roasted barley that gives Guinness its unique taste. If my memory serves me right, the brewers did not originally roast their barley in the process of making porter (stout). A fire broke out where they stored the barley and they decided to carry on brewing – and Guinness has never looked back since!
Another interesting little fact about Guinness draught – although most people describe it as a “heavy” beer, it is actually less dense than a lager. If you pour a lager into a glass until the glass is half full, and then carefully add Guinness draught, see which floats on top!
In the last few years, Guinness draught has gradually become available all over the world. In my opinion, however, there’s nothing like sitting in a real Irish pub (in Ireland) listening to an Irish band while the rain falls outside, sipping a few pints of black magic.
Some interesting websites about Guinness
Official Guinness website
http://www.guinness.com
Guinness beer FAQt and folklore
http://www.ivo.se/guinness/
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
cinimod
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Member: Dominic Lim
Location: World citizen (in an ideal world)
Reviews written: 42
Trusted by: 53 members
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