The Foreign Guinness

The other day I came across bottled Guinness called 'Foreign Extra Stout' - never heard of it (I am not a lover of stout) but the name intrigued me so I took a bottle home. I always have a glass of Guinness on Arthur's Day and it still takes me ages to drink.

I was told that this stout was especially brewed for the African market in past years and that it was suppose to be a lot stronger than the 'normal' Guinness. I put the bottle in the fridge to reach a cooled but not ice cold temperature. Opened the bottle and poured a bit in a glass. Nipped a bit, drank a bit and left the rest. What was the taste like you ask??? Cold bitter coffee - and nope, I didn't like it at all.

Here is how Guinness describes the beer: 'Foreign Extra Stout is brewed with generous hops and roasted barley for a bittersweet balance & full-flavored, natural bite. Developed over 200 years ago for global export from Ireland, the addition of extra hops ensured this Stout would arrive to its destination in perfect condition. Today, Guinness Foreign Extra Stout is enjoyed by millions of people around the world. Pure beauty. Pure GUINNESS®.'

And this is what Wikipedia has to say about it: 7.5% ABV version sold in Europe, Africa, the Caribbean, Asia, and the United States. The basis is an unfermented but hopped Guinness wort extract shipped from Dublin, which is added to local ingredients and fermented locally. The strength can vary, for example, it is sold at 5% ABV in China, 6.5% ABV in Jamaica and East Africa, 6.8% in Malaysia, 7.5% in the United States, and 8% ABV in Singapore.^[42][43] In Nigeria a proportion of sorghum is used. Foreign Extra Stout is blended with a small amount of intentionally soured beer.^[44] It was previously known as West Indies Porter, then Extra Stout and finally Foreign Extra Stout.^[13] It was first made available in the UK in 1990.^[13]

You will have to make up your own mind about this beer - let me know what you think. You can get it in SuperValu at the moment.

Beer Festival in the Franciscan Well

How to brew your own beer

The Fransciscan Well and the Irish Craft Brewer's Association have joined forces to bring the art of homebrewing to the masses. A free event for all you need to know about making your own brew is taking place this Saturday and kicks off at 2pm. Don't miss it

First Beer Tasting ...

... and it might be the last one. One of the blogs I follow up regularly is the Beer Nut - a blog dedicated to - and here you might be surprised - BEER. Anyhow, the beer nut recommended an American beer that my dad might like. So, I thought I treat my dad a bit and get him some more unusual beer. Off I went to the Abbot' Ale House which praises itself to have the biggest collection on different beers in Cork if not Ireland. But silly me forgot the list with the names the beer nut recommended -so there I was - all alone in the shop with a huge guy who looked at me with this knowing look - he knew I was a fake, that I had no idea what I was looking for. So I thought, be truthful and tell him that you want to treat your dad to some beer. Told him that daddy loves his German beer and that he hates beer that is sweet. So, what did the 'expert' recommend:

Tyskie - Poland
Baltijos - Lithuania
Gaffel Kolsch - Germany
Asahi - Japan
Pere Jaques 2009 - US (Chicago)


I wasn't so sure about the Japanese one - although Bubble Brothers are selling IKI Beer from Japan - but thought that the German beer might do it at least. And how did daddy rate the beer (we used 1 - 5 with 1 being the lowest and 5 the highest - logically):

Tyskie - 0.5
Baltijos - 1.5 (he compared it to Budweiser which he hates)
Gaffel Kolsch - 3 (nothing compared with other German beers)
Asahi - 3 (he was actually surprised that it wasn't too bad)
Pere Jaques 2009 - -100 (he actually had to brush his teeth after the beer as the taste was so sweet that he thought even hours later that he still got it in his mouth).

He was actually asking me if I am trying to kill him off gently as the beer was really bad for his taste. I will not be giving up - he will get more beer but next time I will take the list of the beer nut with me to make sure that I have someone to blame if dad hates it again :-)