Guinness: What's happened?

[Gunge]

Someone laid 4 cans of Guinness on me over xmas and it's been there ever since cos I prefer my own stout. But last night I fancied another pint before bed but I'd nothing chilled except the Guinness so I cracked one of those.
WTF??? It was nothing at all like the stuff I remember, last sampled about three years back. The sharp, slightly sour flavour and distinct bitterness had gone, completely. And I noticed that in a certain light that it was actually translucent, gone was the 'black as a blind cobbler's thumb' opaqueness which was one of its claims to fame. It was alright actually. I wouldn't call it cack unless expecting the Guinness of old. That's what I was expecting so ye it was cack. When and why did the change happen and how dare they call it Guinness Original when it is quite clearly not??

 

[chewie]

Have to agree with you, home made over the canned draught is no comparison.

 

[Ale]

I had some at a New Years eve party and commented on it somewhere on here, the what are you drinking tonight thread I think. The comment I made was that I think they have cut costs in how they make it resulting in a beer that I won't buy again.

 

[Gunge]

Well I think it's a bloody disgrace. Why not go with Guinness 'Lite' or summat?

 

[Gunge]

I had some at a New Years eve party and commented on it somewhere on here, the what are you drinking tonight thread I think. The comment I made was that I think they have cut costs in how they make it resulting in a beer that I won't buy again.

Maybe they ought to change their advertising slogan to 'Guinness - made of less'?, and quit with daft images of folk in unlikely situations and other simple-minded crapola. Gaah I'm off on one tonite for some reason!

 

[Dutto]

It's probably a "new and improved" version ... :thumb:

... that just happens to be cheaper and easier to make ... :whistle:

... and can be foisted on an undiscerning public at an inflated price to boost profits!

Or maybe I'm just being cynical again! :lol:

 

[IainM]

I ended up with 12 of these left over from a party. They certainly aren't as good as they used to be, but still went down the hatch one way or another; directly, as steak'n'Guinness pie, or as chocolate Guinness cake. The cake was surprisingly good.

 

[BeerCat]

Its already a very cheap beer to brew. Its the cheapest recipe i do. Poor shareholders must be getting hard up. I reckon the concentrate they use is reduced cold steeped barley. Cant really remember what it tastes like though as i stopped drinking it when they stopped brewing it in London.

 

[Tau]

Noticed that the draught of this also tastes slightly thinner and not as dark as it used to be, still drank it mind :)

 

[JapanBrew]

I had heard the changed the recipe recently. One thing gone is the fish parts. Now vegans can drink it!

 

[Fictional]

Yeah the used isinglass for clearing, they've changed filtration equipment. They haven't announced as they're waiting for all the old stock to be used up so still might be fish pish in the odd one. That's shouldn't change a recipe though.

 

[goodolpete]

I was abroad south of the equator last year, all expenses paid, and lived for three weeks
on guinness FES, a mighty fine brew. Costs about £3 a bottle back home.

 

[Manxnorton]

I was stopping at hotel a few days, looking on the thread I thought hmmmm! Never tried a guiness for years..
Draft Guinness...thinking I know why I haven't bought one for years!! The taste was bland...missing the hit if u know what I'm saying!! The only thing it's still got a pint of 'like eating a pint of soup!' But I'm disipointed...
The single malt 15 years old was more enjoyable!! That was a Irish one..
Now I more determined to do the guiness clone..enentuslly in the coni keg..

 

[shepp]

Foreign Extra is still good.

 

[Wysh]

I prefer their bottled West Indian Porter to be honest.

 

[Pfeffer]

I actually love the creamy nitrous head on the canned guinness. I can't really say I experienced a different taste, though guinness here might come from a different brewery. Haven’t brewed my own yet, so I don't have much comparison. But the bottled stouts I had could not compete with that fine nitrogen foam.

 

[Dutto]

I actually love the creamy nitrous head on the canned guinness. I can't really say I experienced a different taste, though guinness here might come from a different brewery. Haven’t brewed my own yet, so I don't have much comparison. But the bottled stouts I had could not compete with that fine nitrogen foam.

Hmmm!

In view of the fact that HP Sauce is now made in the Netherlands instead of Hull, it wouldn't surprise me to discover that Guinness is currently brewed just up the road from where you live! :lol:

BTW, the current HP Sauce tastes no better than most other brown sauces that are sold at a fraction of the price ...

... and knowing Hull folk, I can well understand that they didn't pass on all of the secrets of manufacture! :whistle: :whistle:

 

[Gunge]

Hmmm!

In view of the fact that HP Sauce is now made in the Netherlands instead of Hull, it wouldn't surprise me to discover that Guinness is currently brewed just up the road from where you live! :lol:

BTW, the current HP Sauce tastes no better than most other brown sauces that are sold at a fraction of the price ...

... and knowing Hull folk, I can well understand that they didn't pass on all of the secrets of manufacture! :whistle: :whistle:

I hate branded stuff. Not that it's crap but that it's no better than most similar stuff costing a quarter as much. I think anything that's genuinely good or better than the rest doesn't need advertising.

 

[Bigcol49]

. . . the current HP Sauce tastes no better than most other brown sauces . . .

Hi!
I was a convert to Branston Brown Sauce but, apparently, not many others were; it is no longer produced.
On the Guinness bandwagon, my local working men's club used to sell Sam Smith's Sovereign which became my pint. It was withdrawn and replaced by John Smith's Magnet, a different bitter, but it became my tipple. That was recently withdrawn and replaced by Theakston's Best bitter - I don't like it so (I'm getting to the point) I changed to Guinness. It is a pleasant drink but not a patch on what it used to be - less roasted barley flavour. Sadly, it's £3 a pint (Magnet was £2.20).

 

[Dutto]

My Homebrew shop in Grimsby were out of Star-San (I wanted to try it) so to fulfil my order I had it replaced with a Coopers Stout on the basis that this Thread was still in my head and I hadn't brewed, bought or drunk any form of stout in forty odd years.

I hope I am pleasantly surprised in about two months time! :thumb: