Guinness Draught

Short Description

The Irish cult beer tastes full-bodied like roasted malt with a touch of liquorice and coffee.

Long Description

Guinness is a traditional Irish Stout beer made from roasted barley, hops, yeast and water. The deep colour and caramelised flavour characteristic of this dark beer comes from barley that has been roasted but not malted. The thick, creamy head, for which this beer is known far beyond the borders of Ireland, is achieved by mixing the beer with nitrogen, which produces smaller bubbles and thus a thicker head.

 

Although the company is now based in London, Guinness was first produced in Dublin at the Arthur Guinness Brewery at the end of the 18th century. Today it is one of the most successful beer brands and is sold in over 100 countries worldwide.

 

A meal in a cup

Guinness earned the nickname "food in a cup" a long time ago because it is a thick, filling nature. Surprisingly, at 198 calories per liter, Guinness contains fewer calories than most juices or even milk. In the 1920s, Guinness used the slogan "Guinness is good for you" after consumers reported improved well-being after drinking a beer. Due to the limitation of medical claims, this slogan has long since been abandoned. Regardless of whether the company promotes it or not, its beer contains a surprising amount of healthy antioxidants, similar to those found in fruit and vegetables. These antioxidants have even been shown to help slow down the deposition of bad cholesterol on the artery walls.

 

Guinness varieties

Guinness is sold worldwide and brewed in over 50 countries. The varieties available and the alcohol content vary from country to country. These are some of the most popular varieties available on the market today.

Guinness Draught: Draught is sold in barrels, bottles and widget cans (with a special nitrogen widget for an extra creamy head) and contains between 4,1 and 4,3 % alcohol by volume (ABV).

Guinness Original/Extra Stout: One of the best-selling versions, Original/Extra Stout, contains about 4.3 percent ABV in Europe and slightly more in the United States, Canada, Australia and Japan.

Guinness Foreign Extra Stout: This variety has a higher alcohol content than most other varieties and reaches up to 7.5% ABV in Europe and the USA and up to 8% ABV in Singapore. To produce this variety, an unfermented hop mixture is shipped from Dublin to foreign countries where it is fermented locally. The variance of the fermentation processes and techniques takes into account the different alcohol values.

In addition to these three main varieties, the brewery has created a large number of other beers throughout its history, including a number of limited edition stouts.

 

Guinness as an ingredient

Guinness has established itself as a representative of Irish culture and cuisine and is therefore used to give an Irish flair to many culinary creations. Thus it is not only used as a cultural prop ingredient, but also gives the food a unique, rich, caramelised flavour.

One of the most popular dishes to use black beer is the Irish stew. Adding this dark beer to the stew creates a fuller, more complex sauce. It was also used as a baking agent in soda bread and scones and even as a novelty in cupcakes. In recent years Guinness Floats (where the beer is poured over vanilla ice cream) have become a popular treat on St. Patrick's Day.