Guinness Special Export

Between the time of writing and when you are reading this, everyone’s favourite Irish holiday will be celebrated. St Patrick’s day has become well established in our culture as a time to pretend you’re Irish, wear Irish colours, drink Irish drinks and generally have a good time. And what Irish drink has as much status as the glorious brew that is Guinness?

Guinness itself has a long and interesting history. Arthur Guinness, a devout Christian, saw the drunken state of Ireland and wanted to do something about it. In particular the people were getting blind drunk on spirits at gin houses and the like. And so, with money left to him by his Godfather, the Archbishop of Cashel, he decided to brew a beverage that had some real food value and was more difficult to get drunk on than spirits. His efforts were successful, and now Guinness has developed a large following worldwide, and many different variants are brewed.

There are indeed a number of breweries worldwide that are now licensed to brew Guinness. Whilst I am not a fan of the stuff brewed here in New Zealand, I’d be keen to try some of the Nigerian brews which are apparently very good. However, purist that I am, I’m likely to continue to insist that the best Guinness is brewed in Dublin.

There are two variants of Dublin Guinness I’ve managed to get hold of here in the land of the long white cloud. Firstly, cans of their draught, which is their most well known brew. It’s nice and dark with a creamy head, but it is smoother and easier drinking than many other stouts. That said, there’s still a heaviness that reminds you of the food value in your drink. The creamy head is interesting in itself; if you’re getting Guinness on tap a proper pour is supposed to take 119.53 seconds. The cans actually have a device inside to properly nitrogenate your beer as you pour it.

The second, and perhaps more interesting variant, is Guinness Special Export. Apparently it was brewed with the export market of Belgium in mind, and Belgium likes their beer strong and flavoursome. The special export does not disappoint. Much richer malt and burnt coffee flavours accompany the higher alcohol content of 8% by volume. This is the beer that got me to like Guinness on the whole, and was also a stepping stone toward enjoying even darker, thicker and chewier beers such as imperial stouts. I highly recommend trying some if you can find it. Last I checked it was available at New World Victoria Park. I also would heartily recommend Guinness as a beer for all year round, and not just for the 17th of March.