Guinness Nitro IPA?

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by Punisher1976, Sep 21, 2015.

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  1. Tut

    Tut Pundit (872) Sep 23, 2004 New York

    Ever wonder how much better it might have been without having it's flavor profile muted by nitro-dispense?
     
  2. RobertColianni

    RobertColianni Pooh-Bah (1,789) Nov 4, 2008 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I had the Guinness offering a few days ago. It's a very boring, but great traditional ale that drinks very nicely. I noted that if they used cascade as a late addition it'd have more of a floral side which would be a huge perk. Certainly a beer worth buying. BJCP is going to love this. The average beer hipster will not.
     
  3. Tut

    Tut Pundit (872) Sep 23, 2004 New York

    What a joke! Trying to make nitro-dispense seem like the greatest thing to happen to beer since hops were added. Absolute marketing bullshit. It's like the maker of Velveta cheese doing a slick promotion bragging about how their totally artificial, industrial processing creates a wonderfully smooth textured cheese that is legendary for the way it easily blends into sauces, mac and cheese, etc. The only thing sillier would be the consumers who buy into that line.
     
    #23 Tut, Sep 22, 2015
    Last edited: Sep 22, 2015
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  4. Tut

    Tut Pundit (872) Sep 23, 2004 New York

    How can a "very boring" beer also be a "great traditional ale"??? :confused: Interesting how you denigrate in advance those who may dislike it as "beer hipsters", and imply that their opinions should be dismissed.
     
    #24 Tut, Sep 22, 2015
    Last edited: Sep 22, 2015
  5. Onemoresolo

    Onemoresolo Initiate (0) Jul 21, 2014 Connecticut

    Our distributor in CT was supposedly the first in the country to receive a shipment of Guinness Nitro IPA. Naturally, we were given a sample can to try it out. (11.2oz btw)

    It's not very good IMO. Definitely not 44IBUs, definitely not an IPA. It's more along the lines of Boddingtons with the slight suggestion of American hops. Super watery beer, foamy messy cans. My review is currently the only one up on BA so far.

    We're hoping to sell through the rest of our stock and wash our hands of it, until they have commercials on TV and people start coming in droves to try it a la Guinness Blonde.
     
    #25 Onemoresolo, Sep 22, 2015
    Last edited: Sep 22, 2015
  6. Jacobier10

    Jacobier10 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,102) Feb 23, 2004 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah

    Maybe. But I do think the nitro added an enjoyable creamy texture to the beer which helped make it interesting and unique.

    I checked my review of the beer and I did note that it resembled a cream ale more than an IPA, so it's possible the nitro muted some of the flavors, or maybe that's what the brewery was going for.

    Here is the description of Mea Culpa from Dieu du Ciel's website:

    "This is a cross between an Indian Pale Ale and an Irish Cream Ale. It is therefore an amber ale with malt-caramel and fruity flavours, the latter being a by-product of the English style yeast used during the brewing process. The beer has a mild hoppy flavour as well as a discrete alcohol taste. Overall, the beer is complex and full-bodied and wonderfully balanced. The beer, as in the Irish Cream Ale tradition, is pressurized with a mixture of nitrogen and carbon dioxide, resulting in a less effervescent beer, but with a rich, creamy head."

    http://www.dieuduciel.com/en/beers.php
     
  7. Tut

    Tut Pundit (872) Sep 23, 2004 New York

    Just wait until the beer geeks see those slick videos. They'll be lining up for hours, like they do for Heady Topper.
     
  8. rozzom

    rozzom Pooh-Bah (2,620) Jan 22, 2011 New York
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I tried an IPA on nitro once. Weird.
     
  9. Roguer

    Roguer Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,811) Mar 25, 2013 Connecticut
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I suppose it's natural that Guinness would go the nitro route, considering how huge that figures into their marketing for their stout (although I haven't seen the American Lager on nitro). However, an IPA on nitro just doesn't feel right. I think Founders Pale Ale does alright on nitro, but I wouldn't say that it's improved by the setup.

    @Tut I think has it right, especially with regards to pale ales and IPAs: sure, it might be good on nitro, but is it really necessary, and is it any better? I'll go with cask or forced carb, please.

    Caveat: there are a handful of stouts and porters where I don't personally think the nitro has a significant effect on flavor. For a low ABV, easy drinking porter/stout, I don't mind the nitro at all - but again, I think for those beers, I wouldn't mind regular forced carb, either. I guess I can take it or leave it with some styles.
     
  10. Aventinus88

    Aventinus88 Initiate (0) Feb 15, 2014 New Jersey

    Except Velveeta is delicious.
     
    donspublic and Tut like this.
  11. eppCOS

    eppCOS Grand Pooh-Bah (4,570) Jun 27, 2015 Colorado
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    Meh. If I want flat and creamy, I'll have a root beer float. Nitro or cask IPAs just run counter to what I'm looking for in an IPA (fresh, carbonated, bitter). Stouts on nitro, and only one ale (Sawtooth), are the only ones that impress me to some extent.
     
  12. Nutmegger

    Nutmegger Initiate (0) Mar 20, 2014 Connecticut

    My shop got it in last week, my manager bought a sixer and gave me a can. I felt the same way about it, its not very much of an IPA. It was super creamy and really sweet. I think it might get popular among people who regularly drink Guinness though, since it's kind of like a pale ale version of Guinness draught.
     
  13. Jacobier10

    Jacobier10 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,102) Feb 23, 2004 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah

    I agree. I don't think it's ever really necessary, but can be very enjoyable when used with the right beer. And since the vast majority of what I drink is regular forced carb, it's nice to mix it up every once in a while with a nitro or cask.
     
  14. Tut

    Tut Pundit (872) Sep 23, 2004 New York

    As is Guinness. I love pairing it with Velveta mac n cheese. They are made for each other. :stuck_out_tongue:
     
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  15. RobertColianni

    RobertColianni Pooh-Bah (1,789) Nov 4, 2008 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    BJCP loves cask style beers with traditional recipes. The hip, modern craft drinker thinks IPAs should smash your face in and they ignore what beauty a traditional bitter can have. It'll get low ratings online and high ratings in competitions, because it's right for the brewers and judges, but wrong for the hop head.
     
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  16. PorterPro125

    PorterPro125 Pooh-Bah (1,700) Jan 19, 2013 Canada (NB)

    Nitro Beers always have an insanely smooth body but I personally think that it blocks out a lot of great flavour that would otherwise be showcased if it had been kegged/bottled/canned with CO2.
     
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  17. michman

    michman Pundit (751) Oct 14, 2005 Illinois

    its worth a shot. its it an "ipa" as we know them today? prob not. could it be a smooth easy drinking pint? absolutely and sometimes thats what you want. not sure the abv but sounds like it could be a good football sessionable ale to me.
     
  18. GreesyFizeek

    GreesyFizeek Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,026) Mar 6, 2013 New York
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Nitro is an abomination.
     
  19. soughtbygod

    soughtbygod Initiate (0) Apr 27, 2011 California

    I seem to be in the minority, but I love nitro IPA's so I am looking forward to trying this....
     
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  20. marquis

    marquis Pooh-Bah (2,313) Nov 20, 2005 England
    Pooh-Bah

    It's impossible to tie down what is meant by a "true IPA" because it has been pretty well anything over the last 200 years or more. It was being brewed and shipped for decades before the name IPA was even thought of and it changed markedly by 1900 .Since then it's been a synonym for bitter and many such IPAs have been around since WW1 , such as Greene King IPA.
    Names stay the same but what they describe moves on.Change though doesn't negate what's gone before though , a Model T Ford remains an automobile although it isn't anything like what's produced nowadays.
    The Guinness IPA is very likely cast in the mould of a 20th century IPA such as Greene King rather than being a simple repository of vast numbers of hops.
     
    billandsuz likes this.
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