Guinness Foreign Extra Stout
Guinness Ltd.

Guinness Foreign Extra date code seems to be Lxxxx, where L=Lot, 1st digit is year, and the next 3 digits are the Julian date. So this beer is from batch L6319 and so was bottled on 14 Nov 16

The beer pours out into a Duvel glass a nice black color with a finely bubbled 3/4” fluffy dark tan head that slowly recedes to leave a lot of lacing on the sides. Sipping cleans the side of the glass to leave behind lots of small patches and some thick spider web lacing that persists until the end of the beer. Eventually the head becomes a thin island of foam on the surface of the liquid.

The aromas include dark roasted malt, some dark chocolate and black coffee with a bit of earthy hops and a touch of dark fruit.

The flavors are much as expected from the nose with the dark roasted malt, some dark chocolate and some coffee up front while in the background there is a bit of sweetness, a bit of dark bread, some dark fruit and some bitter earthy hop flavor to smooth out the ending.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied and creamy soft with the gentle and persistent carbonation. The medium length finish begins as the coffee, dark chocolate and dark roasted malt all become more bitter and earthy. The touch of sweetness fades to become completely dry but with a touch of bitter earthiness remaining to slowly fade away.

On the whole I definitely thought this was a well made enjoyable stout which is quite drinkable and which I will surely be having again. The complex set of flavors are well balanced with each noticeable but none dominating the others. To my taste this is much better than the regular Guinness (although if settling down to have more than one I think I’ll stick with the regular Guinness given the ABV for this beer).

 

A- chocolate oily brown with a cappuccino head. Nearly perfect. Completely opaque.

S- aroma is of toffee and delightful malt but a bit of metal brings it down

T-Roasted malt. Unapologetic oats and toasted caramel. It’s great
M- a bit slim for the taste

O- this is solid. It’s from a bi brand but it’s great

Pours dark black with a medium frothy caramel head on top. Has a roasted malt smell with a small hint of something sweet. Earthy and roasted coffee taste with a caramel aftertaste.

A bottle poured into a snifter.
Dark, with an abundant foamy khaki colored head that settles into a thin layer. Leaves generous lacing all the way to the bottom.
A roasted caramel aroma with hints of coffee on the nose.
Dark roasted and well caramelized barley dominate the flavor, with blackstrap molasses, bittersweet chocolate, hints of licorice, dried fruit.
The hops bitterness profile is outstanding, surprisingly well balanced. The mouthfeel is lite to medium, and the tangy finish with the roasted malty aftertaste is very enjoyable.

I haven’t had one of these in years, and have forgotten how good it was.

Pours dark black with a thick brown head that lasts and leaves lots of lacing.

Aroma has a lot of candied dark fruit, licorice, dark cherry and raisin. Nice roasted character.

Taste follows the nose. Bittersweet chocolate, molasses, dark fruit, raisins, brown bread. Nice bitterness.

Medium bodied, slick, creamy. Dry finish with a lingering bitterness.

Very nice beer.

 

 

 

 

 

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown with little light transmission in the glass and a thin dark khaki head that dissipates to a thick film with nice lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, brown bread, cocoa and raisins. Flavor is dark toasted malt, bakers chocolate, pumpernickel bread, coffee and light raisin; light to moderate coffee-like bitterness in the finish. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. I've heard about this version for a long time and was pleased to see a bottle locally. Although I'm a fan of export stouts, I didn't have high expectations for this. Guinness is a beer I'm happy to see when when I want something comfortable and familiar, but it seems a bit dialed back. This on the other hand is full of surprises. The aroma is more complex than I expected, with dried fruit notes and a pleasant dark breadiness. The finish was completely unexpected with a noticeable bitterness that is hoppy, but also reminiscent of strong coffee, a great combination. A fine export stout from a legendary brewery. Quite enjoyable and interesting.

 

IMO underrated at 91 points.
Don’t sleep on Guinness Foreign Extra Stout.
Imagine Guinness mixed 2:1 with a good IPA with a solid hops profile like Sierra Nevada Torpedo and you have Guinness Foreign Extra Stout.
It’s a deliciously unique flavor profile!
It pours nearly black in color, with a decent head. As far as taste, if you like Guinness and a strong IPA it’s good. Only reason it’s not 100, is the mouthfeel is slightly light and I’d like some pronounced coffee notes in there (My favorite beer is Founders Breakfast Stout = 100).
Still, the price is right, $10-$12 for the 4-pack, which is on the low end price wise for this excellent product.

 

 

A: opaque; very dark brown - almost black in color; 1+ finger finely pored light brown head that receded to a thin cap; very nice thick rings of lace;

S: deeply roasted grain, bittersweet chocolate, coffee, and a slightly off-putting sourness;

T: the sourness is more pronounced here; coffee is also more noticeable with deeply roasted grain and bittersweet chocolate behind all of that ; moderate bitterness at the end;

M: medium bodied; moderate carbonation; moderately dry finish;

O: the sourness was unfortunate - other than that, it was really good;