The Lab

During my time as a home brewer, I have done some experiences during the brewing process, and even today, I continue with the experiences (less on the brewing process).
It is not a professional lab where I can measure things to accurate numbers, so do not expect a professional lab report. However, I will explain the background, process, and result.

Experience #1 – Guinness Original Cold vs. Warm

Background story: Right after St.Patrick's Day in Dublin, Ireland. I had the chance (not really a chance, I visited there every time I came to Dublin) and had the Connoisseur Experience. They take you to a “secret” back room where you can try different Guinness and hear about the history and the beer. If you are lucky, you have a few beer enthusiasts (like myself), and the chat can quickly become more technic and much more terms from the brewing world, but that is not the point here. Guinness Original came after a taste or two, according to the lecturer: “It is the closest Guinness version we have today to the one that Guinness himself brewed at the time”. While talking about it, he remarks that the old folks in Ireland will drink it warm (“and that is why you may see bottles of it outside and not in the fridge”). In comparison, the younger generation will drink it only cold. While pouring us a taste, he said, “If you can 2 of this here, and you can compare these two” (nice up sale, by the way). I sat there listening, and as a beer connoisseur and Guinness (well, stouts), I thought, “Challenge accepted”, I bought 2 Guinness Original cans, one I left out and one in the fridge. I know you can get a Guinness Original in glass bottles, but I had to take it with me back on a flight, and I preferred to be able to carry more (can lighter than a glass bottle, surprised?).

The Experience:

Simple, taste one and then the other. Judge the beer by the minimal way of judging.

Predictions:

Look– Not expecting any difference here.
Smell – Some difference here.
Taste – Most of the difference will be here. The taste will follow what we were taught in the Guinness Storehouse:
exhale, take a long smell, and hold it while tasting the beer. Keep it rolling on your tongue and swallow.
Aftertaste – Some differences here too.
I will skip the saleability; I believe Guinness has the stats.

The experience itself

* Warm (room temperature)[Old generation style] -

Look – Lots of head, brownish color with small bobbles, dark brown-red color with a black opaque.
Smell – Rich cream smell with a tiny hint of hop.
Taste – A bitterness, light bitterness.
Aftertaste – A light bitterness that stays a long time and can be tasted in the back of the mouth even longer.
Personal opinion:
I like it, The look is Guinness, but the smell is unique, and I like it very much. The taste is light bitterness that lasts very long (around 1 minute) and delated bitterness.

* Cold (fridge cold)[Young generation style] -

Look – Creamy white head with small bobbles, Dark brownish color with an opaque black look.
Smell – Creamy smell, strong cream smell.
Taste - Strong bitterness with a hint of dark chocolate taste.
Aftertaste – An assertive bitterness and pick that slowly disappears.

Differences:

Right from the start, I see differences between the warm and cold ones.
While pouring the same way, the warm Guinness has a much richer head than the cold one. I had to pour the warm one 4-5 times before I could finish the can, while the cold one was much faster, only 3-4 times.
The head of the warm Guinness was much more robust and held for much much longer than the cold one that had been gone in a matter of few minutes.
The warm smell was a rich cream and much stronger than the cold smell. Both were an excellent creamy smell, but the warm smell was much more notable and stronger.

Experience #2 – Israel Guinness vs. Irish Guinness

Background story:
At the same Connoisseur Experience. The instructor talked about various versions of Guinness and the difference between the local one and the “global” version. Although the locally (Israel) sold Guinness (can in this case) is brewed in Ireland and imported here, the instructor said that there are more hops in the beer that have been exported than those sold locally. A bulb lit above my head, and I thought about the 2nd experience I wanted to do. It was straightforward: local VS Irish Guinness. Once again, I went with the can (it is just lighter to carry in a suitcase than the glass version and much easier to find, well, everywhere in Ireland).

The Experience:

Simple one. Get a cold local sold (Israel), and Irish sold Guinness can.
I will follow the standard form: look, smell, taste (procedure: The taste will follow what we were taught in the Guinness Connoisseur: exhale, take a long smell, hold it, and take a taste of the beer. Keep it rolling on the tongue and swallow), after taste. I will skip the saleability; I believe Guinness has the stats.

Predictions:

Look– Not expecting any difference here.
Smell – Some slight differences here.
Taste – Most of the difference will be here. I expect the local one (Israel version) will be more bitter (hops bitter) than the local (Ireland) version.
Aftertaste – Some differences here too.
I will skip the saleability; I believe Guinness has the stats.

The experience itself

* Local (Israel) bought Guinness can -

Look – Light head white cream color. Very dark brown with a black opaque effect.
Smell – A rich cream smell.
Taste – A cold bitterness, light-mid bitterness.
Aftertaste – The bitterness is getting more robust to the point of strong bitterness and fades fast, leaving a light hop bitterness.
Personal opinion - A good look with a little smaller header than expected and a light bitterness taste with a mid bitterness shortly followed.

* Irish Guinness can -

Look – A rich, thick cream white head and a strong surge. Dark down color with an opaque black look. The head is steady and stays for a long time.
Smell – Light cream smell.
Taste - A very light bitterness, A good taste with a light bitterness.
Aftertaste – A light bitterness and gets stronger but to a mid lever and stable there. That leaves a hint of bitterness at the back of the mouth.
Personal opinion - There is nothing like an original Irish Guinness beer and cold.

Summary:

Let`s start with the obvious.
The locally sold (Israel) Guinness can is 330ml with 4.2%. The funny thing is, according to the warning icons on the can, it is not recommended for pregnant women and cars.
The Irish sold one is 500ml with 4.2% (did you really expect a difference in alcohol?), and according to the warning icons on the can, it is not recommended for pregnant women, cars, and 18+, and there is a detailed nutrient table.
The differences are surprising aspects.

Look – The local had a little head that disappeared quickly, while the local Irish one kept its head as it should.
Smell – not much of a difference, but a tiny one. Both had a good creamy smell, while the local had a richer smell than the original Irish.
Taste - Where the major of the difference lay. The locally sold Guinness had a little more bitterness than the Irish one.
Aftertaste – The locally sold Guinness has a kick and an advantage for the bitterness. The local one has more bitterness coming and staying longer. In comparison, the Irish sold one has a more prolonged bitterness but a much lighter and, on a personal note, more fun.
Personal opinion - The changes are expected in some way as off Ireland Guinness should be more bitter, which is right. I did not expect a difference in the head, and the aftertaste was interesting. I like the aftertaste Irish bought Guinness (can) more.