Guinness Special Export (Belgian version)

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

Bottle. Pours a dark brown with a greyish/light brown head. Nice lacing. Sweet, roasted, slightly spicy aroma. And not tart, as a lot of porters and stouts tend to be – nice! Flavour is roasted with spicy/liquorice/winegum (!) notes blended with a metallic touch. Feels very candy-like, but in a good, balanced way. Mildly bitter finish with liquorice notes. Not a very complex beer, but quite nice and very drinkable. 17-01-09.

very black beer,beige head smells of chocolate, coffee and toffee tasts malty, of chocolate, coffee,toffee,bittersweet aftertaste bittersweetness ,some malty roastyness

33cl bottle, deep black colour, fine beige head, roasted malt with dark hazelnut chocolate notes, sweet flavor, medium body, roasted and coffee finish with light notes of bitter and alcohol, balanced, so much better than guinness draught (rated 2)

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.

33cl botttle from VinensVerden, Odense. Pours black with a creamy brown head & lacings. Nose is milky chocolate, light roast & dark dried fruits. Creamy & smooth mouthfeel. Taste has mild roasted coffee notes & chocolate. Sticky palate. This is just wonderful, could drink this everyday!

33cl bottle. poured totally dark, with a giant light-brown head that just staid there. no nitro golfball needed.. aroma is sweetish, subdued, matls, faint dark fruits. flavor is caramel, roasted stuff, honey, faint dark fruits. licorice all very subdued, but very well balanced. alcohol is extremely well hidden. some hoppiness in there too. plus points for well crafted balanceness.

Tasted 30/10/2008. 330ml bottle all to myself, after sharing one with Steve and Sam last week. Beautiful looking beer: black, with an inviting tan foam and clinging lace. Awesome aroma: sweet malts, toast, fresh berry fruit. Fabulous flavour: toasty malt dominates but is perfectly balanced with fruit and herb notes, and just enough sweetness. Lovely lingering liquorice note and subtle fruit esters in the roasty palate. Great bottle and great label. It’s just a shame that when you turn the bottle around there is another label full of EU junk. The frontside tell me all I want to know, and all that anyone should need to. Needless regulations aside, a splendid beer.

Bottle courtesy of yalnikim (in NZ), pours black with a think beige head. The aroma is full of licorice and alchohol. Lots of licorice in the mouth again, now with a citrus tang. A good medium mouthfeel, though maybe a touch syrupy in the finish.