Guinness Special Export (Belgian version)

Brewed by St. James’s Gate (Diageo)
Style: Foreign Stout
Dublin, Ireland

Bottle at home. Drank it quite warm. A sweeter version of one of my favorite all-timers. It’s dark chocolate color, not as black, and more sugary. Some of the wheat/bread flavor is less pronounced. Lovely bitter finish. Highly drinkable and most enjoyable. Only criticism would be that it’s perhaps too smooth, too easy.

Any first impressions?
-A veil of foam covers the brownish black.
-A rather timid aroma presents coffee and chocolate over wet earth.
-Vanilla and black beans diversify the mokaccino.
-A rich yet classy maltiness is lightened by the medium effervescence.

What if you dig deeper?
-Roastiness comes through in the finish.
-Black grape fruitiness adds to the already high complexity.
-A great integration of flavors in this very good foreign stout which is thankfully leagues ahead of the ubiquitous Guinness. Thanks Jim!

Bottle; best before March ’08.

Black with a creamy brown head. Simple, dry, metallic coffee aroma... not too bad. Dry dusty coffee flavour on a supervising weak body and harsh bitterness. The finish was quick, dry and bitter.

Bought at some odd Indian store in Graz. One of the biggest surprises of the day. Poured a nice black colour with a medium sized tan head. The nose was lovely. Vinuous.... red wine, malt, some breadiness and acidity, some fruitiness, raisins mainly... some alcohol too. The taste is dominated by a harsh bitterness (hoppy maybe), especially when cold (the beer tastes quite kräuterlikör like because of it then), but it mellows as the beer warms, and I could appreciate the complexity of this one more... Roastiness, raisins, malt, alcohol, seed-like hopiness, dry figs... and as one would expect, a long bitter aftertaste. Nice, interesting and complex. Definitely a sipper.

2005. Drank in 06. Whoa, looks like a lovely FES, densely packed beige head, almost black body with bright brown swirling highlights. Very sweet in the fore, easily assessed tastes of chocolate, lightly roasted malts, licorice. Very harsh finish. Taste is cheapened by a faint metallic aroma.

Bottle. Guinness colour with large tan head. Roasted aroma. Very nice taste of coffee, chocolate, caramel, roast malts and a hoppy bitter finish. Full bodied, smooth and creamy with some warming alcohol which is otherwise well hidden.

Rounder than the Foreign Extra, more like a barley wine. I miss the complexity - here all the edges are rounded off. A bit too sweet, too. Note: I bought my bottle in the Netherlands. The labes sasy clearly that it’s brewed in Ireland FOR John Martin.

0.33l bottle at home. Aroma of roasted barley. Quite bitter in taste but that’s what you expect of this beer. Good stout.