Guinness Foreign Extra Stout (Nigeria)

Brewed by Guinness Nigeria
Style: Foreign Stout
Lagos, Nigeria

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

As black as it gets with a bubbly brown head. Probably not the best looking beer I’ve ever seen, but the smell of chocolate, caramel, cereal and even flowers is sublime. The mouthfeel is rich, silky, oily and unctuous. A little sweet with that lovely chocolate, almost oatmeal flavour. Not nearly as bitter as the Irish stuff, or the stuff that is brewed in Christchurch, but memorable.

Bottle WL beer for quite some time. Trade with omhper. Many thanks Per ! Pours black with nice foamy brown head. Medium to full bodied. Roaste malt aroma, coffee, chocolate. Sweet malt taste, burned sugar, chocolate, tar, a slight sour touch as well. PRobably the best Guinness.

Black colored pour. Big tan head that slowly falls, leaving behind a swath of lacing in its wake. Big roasty aroma with hints of molasses and sugar. Carbonic bite with a sweet feel. Molasses makes its presence again along with the malt and coffee notes. Bitter yet sweet. Nice take on the classic Guinness.

Herber, stark malziger Antrunk. Im Malz werden rauchige und trockenste Noten vereint, dazu eine unpassende Bitterkeit. Das Bier ist so in einigen Teilen nicht ganz harmonisch. Herb-säuerlicher, in Teilen fehlerhaft wirkender Abgang. Trinkbar. 11/8/9/8/11/8

Been a while since I tried this now as it’s fairly uncommon (though regular Foreign Extra is now widely available.) Came in a 600ml bottle from Tesco for £2.99. Pours pitch black with a thin, dark tan head. Taste I can remember being that of strong chocolate and coffee, with a lasting bitter aftertaste. A very smooth bber, carbonated, but not too much. Full body and a smooth texture, certainly one of the nicest stouts I’ve tried. Also much nicer than Guinness Original and Guiness Draught, aswell as being better than the standard Foreign Extra in my opinion.

650mL as one of the staple beers in Sierra Leone. Technically brewed at Star Brewing in Freetown on contract, I am rating the beer under this entry because A) the Sierra Leone version is made with sorghum as well, B) a new entry for Sierra Leone would have no ratings save for mine, and C) I am almost positive the recipe is the same as the Nigerian version after talking to the brewers at Star. But this is not an import for Sierra Leone but one of their very few domestic beers.

Pour is very dark, a clear maroon, looking black in the glass. A healthy but semi-fizzy brown head erupts with spotty lace. Nose is pretty much raisin, ash, sweet molasses, roast, lemon. Taste is quite intense for the subtropical West African climate. Very bitter comparatively, quite roasty, mildly astringent, with a tart lemon acidic finish to give it some sort of palate. In Sierra Leone, I was told some bottles get the sorghum treatment and others do not depending upon barley supplies as barley does not grow in tropical climates; thus sorghum is the substitute. I think the sorghum in Star Lager and here create something pretty nice. More sweetness and subtle berry flavors it seems. More of a fruity lightness. So if you are in West Africa, this is major upgrade to pale lager and thankfully can be stored in heat for long periods without developing too many off-flavors.

With that said, I would urge you to think twice about getting hammered on this stuff given the humidity and heat of West Africa. There is a reason locals will stick to swill...stay relatively hydrated and moderately sober. This does quick work and I once almost died, literally, from dehydration coupled with near black out drunkenness after drink six bombers of this stuff and no water. Literally I was writhing in bed thinking I would die as I had no access to drinking water at 2am in the slums of Freetown. So take it from me: please drink responsibly.

Tastes dark bread and coffee. And a distinct taste of alcohol. Not to much aroma in this beer. Small head that quickly disappears.

9th July 2011
Scopeys East Croydon tasting - Cheers Paul! Black opaque stout, pale tan head. Cardboard! Dark malts with a trace of fruit. Dry finish and a bitterish aftertaste. Not for me!