St. Patrick's Week Beer Review: Guinness Foreign Extra Stout

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Because you KNEW we weren't getting through this week without a Guinness product.

The Guinness Foreign Extra Stout is pitch black with a bit of tan head, and has a fair amount of body. The first taste is a big sweet note of dark chocolate, combined with some breadiness. Towards the end I get a whole lot of maltiness, roasty and smoky notes, along with maybe just a slight touch of alcohol at the very end. I find this Guinness to have lots more flavor and be much more complex than the standard Guinness Draught Stout, which can be a little bit limited, flavor-wise. While not traditional, this is a nice alternative.

 

St. Patrick's Week Beer Review: Smithwick's Irish Ale

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Hello, everyone. It is four days until St. Patrick's Day, and we're going to honor such a notable holiday with four different Irish beers. Now, I will quickly note that these beers generally are wide commercial releases. This more or less can't be helped, as microbrews/craft beers FROM Ireland typically will not make it across the ocean to North America. So, we take what we can get, starting with arguably the widest release of the four: Smithwick's Irish Ale.

A Guinness product, Smithwick's is stylistically an Irish Red Ale. The most common Irish Reds available in the U.S. are made by Killian's and Samuel Adams. Smithwick's is typically better than either of those. It pours a pretty bold red color with perhaps some brownish hints, and has a nice pillowy light tan head. Upon drinking, the first notes are sweet notes along with some dark fruits. As my palate adapts, I find there is less sweetness that is replaced with just a small hint of hoppy bitterness. These notes gradually lead into maltiness and a hint of roast towards the back end of the sip.