Guinness Draught (Nitro bottle)

B / 3.75
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | drink: 3.5
Nitro-bottle
Glass

Appearance: Average pour, noticeable bubbles due to the nitro. I very much like the cascade effect with the nitro-bottle as it also produces a very nice head that builds quickly, but settles to about ¼ inch with a very dense light khaki foam. The brew appears black, but when held to the light you can see the bulb dimly through the glass, with a very dark amber glow. The lacing was thick and held to the glass through the drink and even lasted after I finished.



Smell: The first thing I noticed was the abundant malts and the lighter spicyness, there was some toffee sweetness and hints of an espresso. The aroma was pleasant without being too strong.

Taste: First taste is the dark malts with a nice level of flavor, followed by some mild hop spices and ends with a bite of bitterness on the back and sides of my tongue. There are not a lot of heavy flavors other than the malts followed by the hops. I like the light sweetness on the tip of my tongue and the espresso aroma it leaves in my nose. The after-taste is mostly mild bitterness in the back of my mouth with the lingering malt flavor. Nowhere in my tasting did I notice any taste of alcohol in this brew.

Mouthfeel: The head was very smooth on my lips and tongue, the liquid was thicker than a pale ale, but not as thick as the Smithwick's Irish Ale. There was some light carbonation that set on my tongue but nothing too heavy or over-bearing. It also had a very nice clean finish without any noticeable diacetyl taste or feeling.

Drinkability: This is an easy drinking brew, with good flavor and nice simple complexity without trying to do too much. This is not an afternoon BBQ beer, but a nice steak dinner brew for those looking for a change.