1980 Guinness Christmas Brew

I'll be the minority that says drink it- at least one! If it's terrible, you can save the other. I think drinking a glass and thinking about how much the world has changed in the time that beer has been in that bottle would be a pretty cool experience... and I bet it's still better than quite a few other beers you would currently find sitting at your local gas station!

 

This is so cool. That beer is ten years older than I am!

 

After further review...TRY ONE!! Let it settle upright for a day or two, cut the foil very carefully under the cap, take the cap off with a lighter or something that won't screw it up and pour that sucker reeeeeeal slow. If it's bad, you'll know right away, of course. But if it's good, won't you be a happy li'l kid? Rinse and dry the bottle and cap, put the cap back on the bottle (or send it to me) and back in the box and either way, you have a good beer story and souvenir. I'll bet, on your deathbed, you won't say "I'm sure glad I never opened that ol' Guinness..."

 

I sense an ulterior motive here.

On the note of not screwing up caps, @jtmiller03 makes a killer bottle opener that keeps caps dang near perfect.

 

This is awesome. Post back here if you decide to open one with results! I'd probably open one just out of curiosity. I think that's what YOLO means...?

 

My opinion: beer is made to be enjoyed!

Decision making help: Which of the following two worst-case scenarios would be worse?

1. You open it and it tastes terrible
2. You keep it and then it gets lost/misplaced

 

I'm optimistic, so I'm hoping that someway, somehow, a 35 year old Guinness will magically age into something absolutely glorious.

Even if it sucks, it'll be fun drinking it anyway!

 

Oh man. I wouldn't even use the glass in the off chance I broke it and ruined the gift set. This is the kind of thing that I would put on display and just let it look cool. There's no shortage of other good beers or glasses to use, so why take teh chance here. Just my thoughts.

 

Beer is meant to be drank and he has multiple bottles. Why not crack one open to give it a try?

 

I think it would be a travesty to drink it! Keep it bottled and have a great memory and funny story. You will always have the suspense of not knowing what it tastes like but after 30+ years it's not going to be great.

 

I would agree. Just keep it bottled or trade it for something. Something like a stout with a low ABV like that isn't gonna hold up after all these years. Just my opinion but stouts that are low ABV just don't hold up well even after a couple of years. It sure is neat looking though. My ex from long ago in the early 90s brought me back a cool Guinness bottle (no where near as cool obviously) from the Bahaumas that said "Guinness is good for YOU" on the bottle. Some bottles are just meant to be displayed.

 

Drink that shit! For science!

 

Wow very cool. I'm in the drink one camp.

 

Wow! Drink it!

 

So August came and went. Did you ever drink it?

 

On the 1981 brew back label (the 1980 version has front & neck labels only) we said that “Only one vat has been brewed”. However, I am not sure how many bottles this would fill while allowing for wastage, employees’ sampling, etc.