The guinness variations, Part Three

The details: Guinness Draught Stout, 4.2% ABV, served in a special edition 11.2 oz glass bottle

Week three of my experiment to find the best method for drinking Guinness. Something that I just noticed that I hadn't realized yet - there'a not always an ABV on Guinness packaging. The bottle of Extra Stout that I had week one did have it, but this week's bottle doesn't.

If you missed the last two week's letters about bottled Guinness Extra Stout and draft Guinness, I'd recommend taking a moment and going back to read them first. 

I thought it would be hard to find this week's variation of Guinness. I honestly hadn't seen draught bottles in quite a while, but lucky me I dropped into a grocery store near work last week and found both bottles and cans (that's for next week - stay tuned!). I thought I remembered draught bottles being larger than standard Extra Stouts, but I guess they've changed to all the same. This bottle is anything but boring, though.

The wrap on this bottle pays homage to Guinness adverts that started in the 30's - these are the ones with animals. They went through a few choices; there were turtles, sea lions, bears, ostriches, alligators, horses, sloths, and lions, but none have been as famous or iconic as the Guinness toucan. No one's quite sure exactly why it became the favorite of all the animals, but it might have something to do with the colorfulness of the bird, the fact that it can be drawn flying, and that it's not native to Ireland. Before you could type 'guinness toucan' into amazon and buy a poster, some friends and I got thrown out of a bar in Alexandria, VA, for trying to steal one off the wall in a very busy bar (a totally different story). It's just that iconic.

The next thing different about this week's beer isn't actually different at all. This bottle clearly says Draught (pronounced droft). When I go to a local bar and ask for tap beer, I ask for a draft. I thought this simple spelling difference would have more meaning, but as far as what you're asking for, it doesn't go further than that. One is American, and one is seen across the UK.

However having the word draught on the bottle does mean that what's inside is different. This guinness is more like what I got last week at Flannery's. This is to say that it's a more softly carbonated version than the Extra Stout I had. It's also intended to be enjoyed directly from the bottle (it's printed right on the label). I wondered if there was nitrogen in this beer (seems there is) and the bottle is designed to stir the beer as you drink it (though I can't see it at all, even with the label removed). All in all, a fine way to enjoy Guinness and in this particular case, something interesting to look at.

The verdict: 3.75 out of 5 (on Untapp'd - follow me @slownumbers to see what I'm drinking)