Guinness Special Export (Belgian version)

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

Serve in English pint, Snifter, Tulip

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Bottle. Black colour with a big baige head. Spicy light roasted sweet fruity aroma and a sweet roasted rasin taste. Medium to full body and a sweet roasted dry finish.

UPDATED: OCT 29, 2006 Jan, 2005 Bottle from Beer Essentials, Horsham. Sweet & fruity - dark berries. Soft chocolate. Smooth. Strawberries & cream. Lacks the typical bitter roasty edge. In fact doesn’t taste like a Guinness, merely a stout with lots of sugar. It’s quite pleasing, but insubstantial. [3.3]
Oct, 2006 Bottle at Café Belge, Eastbourne. Wow! Not insubstantial today at all. A Guinness Foreign Extra Stout with Belgian yeast and candi sugar. Sweeter and softer than the regular FES, and with a spicy, yeastiness. I love it - I love the blend of dark chocolate burnt bitterness and soft yeasty sweetness. Do I love this more than the Nigerian Guinness? Hmmm. Probably not. But it would be fun to fo them side by side. [4.2]

Bottled. Deep black colour with a big, off-white head. Roastmalty aroma with hints of molasses, coffee and alcohol. Coffeish, roastmalty taste with notes of chocolate and sweetness. Bitter-chocolate finish. I will be so bold to call this the best irish beer I´ve ever had.

Black, opaque color, nice lasting beige head. Sweet chocolate and roasted coffee aroma, some mild buttery tones coming from hops too. Roasted flavor, some sweet chocolate tones with some vinous notes. Aftertaste is somehow smoky, bitter and strongly dry. Nice lace. Medium to full bodied, alcohol covered almost totally, notes of it can be noticed in aftertaste. Very dimensional beer, excellent one!

Very dark beer with brown head. Coffee aroma’s, black chocolate and burned malts. Full taste with dry coffee like bitterness.

33cl bottle: I saw this sitting on a shelf in a store in France and new right away there was something out of the ordinary. The bottle said "8%ABV". Closer inspection revealed this to be the Belgian version. You can tell this is different from "normal" Guinness as soon as you open the bottle. There is much more of an aroma than you are used to. The beer pours a dark brown color. There is no hint of ruby color to it if you hold it up to the light as in standard Guinness. The aroma is much stronger. It contains notes of roastiness and chocolate. Possibly a hint of licorice (I was getting something sweet). Similar to normal Guinness in taste, but much more rich, with the flavors much more prevalent. More chocolate notes than the original. Still very creamy and silky.

I liked this better than regular guinness, flavor was rich, heavier than our version, obviously from the stonger alcohol, but the taste was just great, loved the stuff!

Deep red copper ale with moka head. Intense aroma of sugar, with maderization. Deep chocolate and molasses and alcohol warmth, nice hops in finish. Rich in mouth, effervescent. Very different from the regular canned stuff. Un gros merci a Dumdum!

Strongly and decided. Elevated alcoholic degree that it stretches to cant of the general taste. Black with persistent foam. Much bitter with toasted aroma nearly burnt.

solid ebon hue, saves ruby tinges around the bottom, enormous, volcanic, creamy tan head, with honeycombed appearance, leaving lace, a delight to watch dwindle down, gracefully... the nose is a blast of dark, yet bright fruit, mingled well with molasses and mocha, delicious, a shiny sensation, bold and beautiful, trickling hints of anise and pepper, with sweetness heavier than the spice...notes of vanilla, a bit of butterscotch...staggeringly complex, and right up my alley, aroma-wise... Thick and sweet in the mouth, with forceful, yet pleasing presence on the palate, slying slinks on the tongue, dripping flavor throughout...same complexity of flavor found in the aroma occurs again in the taste, a rich mix of cocoa and coffee, sweet caramelly tones, dark molasses, tar, licorice, pepper, and a fresh feeling, though I have no idea how long it’s been since this beer was bottled. Full bodied, long, strong, sweet finish, excellent balance...tons of dark malt, not much hops, but still, a wonderful interplay and a unique flavor combination. This is an astonishing stout...the alcohol is well hidden, and sneaks up on you, and delivers one into a comfortable lull. A relaxing brew, luxurious, and immensely rewarding. It goes without saying that I wish this were as easily available as the Extra Stout found here, let along the "Draught" version. If I found a genie in a bottle, that’s where one wish would go!