Guinness Special Export (Belgian version)

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

Bottled. A big black beer with a lovely coffee coloured head. The aroma is full and malty with toffee, fudge and coal. The taste is also very full with malts, caramel and coal. Not the roastiest of stouts but oh so tasty.

Black in colour with a short though long lasting brown head. Nice lacework too. Choc coated liquorice aroma, with some nice roast notes behind it. Flavour is sweet aniseeed, chocolate with a chalky roast finish. Some vineous notes there too. Medium feel, and overall felt a little one dimensional.

Bottle (bought 1996): Almost black, firm brownish head; complex nose: molasses, some roasted malts, some fruity (plums) and winy ( port) traces; complex, a bit sourish vinous taste, ending in a slightly sweetish finish, some traces of chocolate in the aftertaste; some qualities remind me of a baltic porter, some of a flemish sour ale (Liefmans). All in all an excellent example of a Stout, highly quaffable....

i didn’t care much for stout beers, but to my surprise this is better than i thought. I’ve developed more and more of a good beer taste :) caramel, butterscotch aromas, licorice, coffee and strong hops taste. alcohol is very well hidden. finish is long and bitter with some malt sweetness. nice brew!

Big thanks to Saarlander for providing me with this gem for my St. Pat’s feast! Pours black, with a tan head. Roasted malt aroma with a metallic tinge, notes of plums and wine. Creamy mouthfeel. Dry, medium bitter flavor, notes of chocolate, roasted malt, figs. A world apart from the thin, bitter concoction that they ply on the States.

Bottled. Black opaque with small brown, lasting head. Aroma of roasted malt along with toffee. Roasted malt/smokish flavour with hints of coffee. The finish is a bit bitter. Alcohol is wellhidden. Nice.

330 ml bottle, bought at Selfridge’s, London. Black (= very dark brown) colour. Truly impressive large and thick brown head. Aroma of malts, oak, leather, coffee and dark chocolate. Flavour is overwhelmingly bitter from the roasted barley and hops, but also sweeter than regular Guinness. Elements of very strong coffee, hints of bitter chocolate. Bitterness lasts through the long aftertaste. Not for beginners. The crowd who think nitro draught Guinness is "sooo strong" should try this one!

33cL bottle. Pours a huge, lacy tan-colored head of large bubbles. It is dark brown/black and opaque. The aroma is bready and bitter, very similar to regular Guinness stout. The flavor is also similar to Guinness stout with a bit more sweetness and more alcohol, of course. The flavors are dark, roasty, creamy, and bitter. Excellent beer! Thanks Doug!