Sorry, but as a blog post there’s not really anything left to say about Guinness that hasn’t been said a thousand times before by better writers than myself. They started making this here in 1759 and it has been sheer perfection ever since. Gorgeous to watch being poured, beautiful to look at in the glass, not fizzy with carbon dioxide, but creamy smooth with nitrogen bubbles, and enough stout flavor to be satisfyingly substantial, but not so much that you wonder if you can handle a second pint. While loads of other (fantastic) beers enjoy tremendous popularity across Ireland, there isn’t a pub that doesn’t have a row of Guinness lined up for those ordering the famous two-part-pour beer.
Like U2 or Elvis or Levi’s, there will always be detractors who loathe something so universally loved. They’ll say the brewery has been bought out by a global corporation (it has), or that it’s only for tourists (it’s not), or that it’s fattening (it is), or any number of reasons to take away your joy. Pay them no mind. Stare into the molten chocolate depths of this cave-dark brew, taste the history of this recipe, listen to the rain on the window and the singing of the Irish band in the corner booth, and let yourself get lost in the beauty of a 250 year tradition in beer. Your IPA can wait.