The Guinness is Better in Ireland...

[iRiSh]

Serious issue settled as scientists reveal that Guinness in Ireland tastes best by far
FRANK McNALLY

A SERIOUS science journal has dared to go where no science journal has gone before by tackling a question that has long vexed mankind (especially when sitting in a pub): does Guinness travel well outside Ireland?

The answer, tentatively, is no. But despite sampling 103 pints in 71 pubs and 14 countries, the researchers admitted further study is needed to back up their preliminary findings that, when ambience and other variables are discounted, Guinness really does taste better here.

The survey was conducted under the umbrella of the Institute of Food Technologists, an international not-for-profit organisation based in Chicago, and published in the latest issue of its monthly Journal of Food Science .

It comprised four researchers from countries with a long brewing tradition – Ireland, England, the Netherlands, and Germany – carrying out the fieldwork over an 11-month period in conjunction with their existing assignments and travel arrangements.

All used identical equipment: including a thermometer, a ruler (to measure head depth), a stopwatch (to measure pouring and drinking time) and a standardised checklist for rating various quality indicators.

But central to each test was a visual analogue scale, scoring the pint’s taste on a scale of 0 to 100. On the overall score, the average Irish pint rated 74. The average for all other countries was 57.

The researchers also considered a range of explanations for the discrepancy, including what they called the “conspiracy theory”, a popular suspicion that the brewery produces three different qualities of Guinness.

The study summed up the belief thus: “The finest quality is given to its own employees, the second best is sold to the people of Ireland, and the worst is exported”.

But the theory was undermined, the researchers said, by their experience that the stout served in the brewery was not the best they had in Dublin.

The four-man team did admit the possibility that the “craic” or “ambience” of the Irish drinking environment could influence quality judgments. They also found evidence for the “line” theory: that Guinness is best enjoyed in pubs where demand for it is high, so that it is never sitting in the pipelines for too long.

That the Journal of Food Science is a serious publication can be inferred from some of the other material in the March issue. One feature is headed: “Technological Optimization of Manufacture of Probiotic Whey Cheese Matrices”. A second reports: “Improved Sauerkraut Production with Probiotic Strain Lactobacillus plantarum L4 and Leuconostoc mesenteroides LMG 7954”.

And then there is the catchily titled “Discrimination of Alicyclobacillus Strains Using Nitrocellulose Membrane Filter and Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy”.

The journal also features a study on the development of food for Nasa space missions. Astronauts now enjoy a tastier and healthier diet than ever before, it concludes, but there are challenges still to be faced before they travel “to Mars and beyond”. There is no mention of the use of Guinness in the project.

[Skywalker]

Good read!!!



BTW - The Sierra Nevada beers taste much better in Chico!!!

[Don Fernando]

should be, as it tastes like **** everywhere else in my opinion (and I tried it on 3 continents)

[awsmith4]

Many beer folks say that fresh is better. I know that Sweetwater IPA is a great example. In bottles it is good. On keg at a local pub, freshly delivered and tapped it is better. At the brewery last weekend it was the best I've had. Does that lend to the 'conspiracy theory' sure but what folks fail to realize that beer is alive and continues to change and develop long after it is brewed.

[MurphysLaw]

I have to agree wholeheartedly on this one, the Guinness in Ireland is way better than the stuff we get in the states...

[N2 GOLD]

The best part is they got paid for sampling 103 pints in 71 pubs and 14 countries...

Where can I sign up???

[iRiSh]

I agree it doesnt travel too well but i think the constant use and cleaning of the suppy lines is the key, even in pubs in the u.k there are much much better in their understanding of the black stuff!

In Ireland the wee pubs that are 95% Guinness Drinkers are the places to go for best pints, After the Free pint at the top of the Guinness Brewery at St. James Gate

[iRiSh]

Originally Posted by N2 GOLD

The best part is they got paid for sampling 103 pints in 71 pubs and 14 countries...

Where can I sign up???

[awsmith4]

Originally Posted by iRiSh

I agree it doesnt travel too well but i think the constant use and cleaning of the suppy lines is the key, even in pubs in the u.k there are much much better in their understanding of the black stuff!

In Ireland the wee pubs that are 95% Guinness Drinkers are the places to go for best pints, After the Free pint at the top of the Guinness Brewery at St. James Gate

That is a great point, cleanliness is paramount.

[timo]

But how are the Seegars back in the old country?

[pektel]

Fun fact: Bud light tastes like sh*t no matter where it is drank.

[TBone]

I also agree, I lived in the UK for 3 yrs and wouldn't touch guiness until I went to Ireland in 2000 where I lived on Guiness...its all about the water...

[icehog3]

I still prefer Guinness to most mass-produced beers available in the States, but after travels to Ireland, I agree that there is no doubt it tastes better in Ireland. It's also much easier to drink there in that I can drink as many as I care for without getting full in Ireland, whereas I can only drink 6 or so here and I am too full to drink much more.

[iRiSh]

Originally Posted by timo

But how are the Seegars back in the old country?

Expensively Imported

[ODLS1]

They don't pasteurize the Guinness in Ireland do they? I've been under the impression they pasteurize Guinness for export. If this is the case, that is a big factor, as is the age of the beer.

[Salvelinus]

Originally Posted by pektel

Fun fact: Bud light tastes like sh*t no matter where it is drank.

Fun game.

When in Ireland let your buddy buy the first round he will bring back guiness because he has to. When you finish offer to buy the second round and bring him back a budwieser. Loudly state "I don't know why you'd rather drink this than a guinness" when you get back to the table.

I did this at least once a day to my pal Logan while we were in Ireland and got a kick out of it every time. Him... not so much

[pektel]

Originally Posted by Salvelinus

Fun game.

When in Ireland let your buddy buy the first round he will bring back guiness because he has to. When you finish offer to buy the second round and bring him back a budwieser. Loudly state "I don't know why you'd rather drink this than a guinness" when you get back to the table.

I did this at least once a day to my pal Logan while we were in Ireland and got a kick out of it every time. Him... not so much

That's hilarious! I'll have to remember that if I ever travel across the pond again.
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Have any of you guys tried Guiness "Foreign Extra?" That stuff
is amazingly good!

[pektel]

Drinking one right now, as a matter of fact!
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[Lumpold]

They must have had some serious funding to afford 4 pints in Dublin.