Guinness is a dry stout that originated in the St. James Gate Brewery of Dublin, Ireland. Its distinctive dark ruby color and flavor is the result of unfermented roasted barley used in the process. The stout is named after its brewer, Arthur Guinness, who began brewing it based on the porter style that had originated in London in the late 18th Century. Guinness first exported his brew in 1769 to London, England itself. Since then, Guinness has been recognized around the world through creative advertising and its promotion of Proposition 3-17 to make St. Patrick’s Day an official holiday

Guinness is a heavy brew whether from draft or the can. Its healthy head of light foam covers the liquid below that is heavy to the tongue, and bitter to the palate. Many first time Guinness drinkers will turn away from it, having spent to many years consuming inferior “light” brews. However, once the first pint is down (a pint is the only way to drink Guinness… unless you wish to take the challenge of drinking a yard of it) the second pint, and every one thereafter goes down much smoother. While Guinness has been described as a “meal in a glass”, it actually is not as high in calories as one might think. At only 198 calories per Imperial Pint (20 fl. oz.), it has less calories than the same size bottle of Coca-Cola (240 calories).

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What? Recommending a drink with another drink? This may be the only time this happens… but we need to recommend Bass Ale with Guinness in the form of a Black and Tan. A Black and Tan is a traditionally American drink that features the Guinness layered over the Bass Ale. The two do not mix due to the density of Guinness. The American Black and Tan is made by first filling half the glass with Bass Ale, then pouring the Guinness into the glass over a tablespoon to prevent splashing and the mixing of the layers.

We recommend watching the story of Irish immigrants in Gangs of New York (Two-Disc Collector’s Edition) while drinking Guinness either straight up, or the American style Black and Tan.

It’s a meal in a glass for pete’s sake! The only thing we may recommend to have on hand would be Emerald Nuts Mixed Nuts. Other than that… the only other thing we can recommend is a designated driver… but you should have one of those for whatever it is that your drinking.

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