Guinness

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Guinness

Guinness
© Denzil Green


Guinness is a Stout. In your glass it will appear black, with a thick, creamy, foamy head on top. The two layers (the dark beer and the foamy head on top) are sometimes said to be "as dark as Cromwell's heart and as white as snow." Guinness, however, says that their beer is not actually black, but rather a dark ruby.

Guinness is brewed the same way in many different parts of the world. Though some people think it tastes different in different places, blind taste testers have been able to reliably distinguish one Guinness from another. If there is any difference, though, it would be owing to the local water used, as that is the only variable in the brewing.

The creamy head on top is caused by nitrogenation when it is poured, either through a special tap, or from a can with a widget. There is a version of Guinness, "extra stout", which is not hydrogenated and does not have the creamy head.


Stout

A Stout is a strong, dark beer with a slightly bitter or sour flavour. The dark colour comes from some of the malted barley in it being roasted like coffee beans. There are many ways to use Stout in cooking, from marinades to rich, moist cakes. Porter is similar to Stout. Both are dark beers, but Stout is sweeter, denser and "hoppier." Some brands of Stout other than Guinness are Murphys, Beamish and Crawfords (all brewed in Cork, Ireland.)


Substitutes
Another brand of Stout (though chances are if your supplier sells Stout, it's going to be Guinness); or a Porter.

Literature & Lore
It's a popular misconception that the waters used for Guinness Beer came from the Liffey River in Dublin. Many residents of Dublin even believe it.

Eric Newby, the English travel writer, visited Guinness's water filter beds in the mid-1980s when he was in Dublin. The filter beds are to the west of Dublin, near Lock 8 between Ballyfermot and Clondalkin on the Grand Canal (that flows out of Dublin and joins with the Shannon River to the West and the Barrow River to the south). There he found that the filter beds were brick-lined ponds. Some were open to the air, others were not only roofed over, but had grass growing over the roofs. Here in these ponds the water used to make Guinness beer was allowed to rest, so that sediment could sink to the bottom, before being piped to the Guinness plant 4 1/2 miles away for further purification and ultimate use.

The water in those filter beds, still there today, does not come from the River Liffey, but rather from the Grand Canal that the beds are near. And the water in the Grand Canal -- at that point near Lock 8, at least -- does not come from the Liffey, but rather from Seven Springs, St James's Well, in Pollardsdown Fen near Kildare. That water is soft and alkaline, with lots of lime, and that, Newby was told, was the water that was used for making Guinness.

By 1995, though, the water Guinness used had changed. "Above 8th lock are the filter beds from which Messrs Guinness used to draw the soft water that was so suitable for brewing. The filter beds are still in use today, but the water is used for washing purposes only." ("Guide to the Grand Canal of Ireland", The Waterways Service with the co-operation of the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland, 5th Edition, 1995.) The water now (as of 2004) comes from the Wicklow mountains, in County Wicklow.

If you have seen up close the Grand Canal near Dublin, it's no wonder Guinness changed the source of their water, no matter how scenic the "Fen" it had started from. We remember half-submerged rusting grocery trolleys in a very rough area, but we'll leave it to the "Guide to the Grand Canal of Ireland" to sum that stretch up best:

"The canal rises steeply out of the city, but this is an unattractive area and it is the stretch of canal most subject to vandalism. It is wise to make a point of taking locks 1 to 9 early in the morning, or during school hours, to avoid the sometimes boisterous attentions of children. Despite much time-consuming work by the Waterways service removing debris from the canal, some rubbish may be picked up by propellers, especially on deep-draught vessels."

Acknowlegements


Inland Waterways Association of Ireland. "Guide to the Grand Canal of Ireland", 5th Edition. Dublin: The Waterways Service, 1995.

Newby, Eric. Round Ireland in Low Gear, London: William Collins Ltd, 1987.

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It's a myth that the water used for Guinness Beer comes from the Liffey River. It's actually piped in from the Wicklow mountains.