Guinness Stout: Gateway to Greatness

Since moving back to Minnesota from Utah, I've been indulging (ok, overindulging) on beer. I forgot how many really smart, creative brewers that were out there. After pretty much trying everything on the shelf, I was recently given no other option but to drink an Guinness.

Don't get me wrong. I love Guinness. It was the beer that got me thinking about beers. It was the first beer that I had that wasn't as clear as water. The happy little bubbles gently cascaded down the glass not up, which always fascinated me.

After a while though, as Guinness started showing up on the menu of most every restaurant, joining such prominent cousins as Corona and (gasp) Killian's, I decided to go exploring.

I was introduced to microbreweries, little pockets of rouge beer makers that gave the giant watered down industry the finger and made what they wanted to make. Soon I was enjoying hops, fruit, and malt the way they were intended. All was right with the world.

All wasn't right with my waistline, which soon grew to epic proportions. This was timed with my move to Utah, which pretty much cut off my supply of micro brew heaven. Utah still had Guinness however, and it became my drink of choice during my tenure there.

Guinness is still my "first real girlfriend" beer. Not as strong as other stouts I have since had, it just feels "right". It's subtle and smooth finish makes Guinness a real winner.

Of course what we drink in America is not Irish Guinness. Those crafty Irish licensed the brewing rights to Canada (in a coup that would probably rival Castro's in Cuba) and soon our "neighbors to the north" were shipping tons of "quasi-Guinness" all over the states.

Many friends have told me that once they visit the St. James Gate Brewery in Ireland that they would never drink a Canadian made Guinness again. I would probably do the same, but coming up with enough money to fly over the Atlantic to indulge in Guinness tasting probably isn't in the cards for me yet.*

In the end, if you are tired of yellow beer, think about starting with something like a Guinness. It was assault your palate, but that is a good thing. Challenge that puppy, it's been dormant for so many years, it needs a little "wakin' up". Once you have mastered it, you can go on to try many of the other micro brewed beers that make up the greatest brewing nation on Earth...that's right, the good old US of A.

Cheers mate!

*If you would like to contribute $5,000 to make this possible, I would gladly credit you in the blog....

Guinness Brewery