The best Stout I've ever had was from Blacks of Kinsale. Their Chocolate & Vanilla Stout is by far Ireland best stout. Now, working in the beer shop in Belgium, my palat would be very developed when it comes to beer specifically. Beamish is probably the best of the three big draught Irish stouts. It has the most character. I'm dying to try this stout some time.
I'm fortunate that Anspach & Hobday are my local brewery. London Black is one of the few beers that stand a chance of being an iconic beer! Paul and Jack are constantly trying new and renewed old styles and I have not had a bad beer ever from them! In fact most are just great! A number have been the best of the style I've tried! London Black is not challenging Guinness, as it's not the same beer really. But it stands apart as possibly the best Porter available right now. With luck it'll be around for a very long time! I hope that London Black becomes an unrivalled success for them, they deserve it for being the passionate committed brewers that they both are.
Porter has been around for many many years and is well worth a try (It won't be exactly like Guinness or Murphy's for you Cork people but it is from a similar background)
Interested to try this. Getting a creamy stout with good head and good flavour isn't easy. John Willie Lees Brewery make a decent stout. But Again, like all beers it has to be looked after and poured correctly.
London Black is an East London Porter. Porters taste a lot more Malty to the classic roasted bitter flavour of a Stout. Can confirm that London Black is very different but just as tasty as Guinness in my opinion
I was about to say. Here in the U.S. I've had many stouts that "bury" Guinness in terms of flavor and body. But like you said, it depends on what you want. There's no accounting for taste.
I tried this the other day and it tastes like an espresso martini! Very strong roasted coffe flavour. Slightly creamier than other English stouts/porters that I’ve tried so big fan of it.
I tried Islands Edge when i was over in Ireland earlier in the year for my brothers wedding. I was very underwhelmed by it. It lacked flavour and felt watery on the mouthfeel. Ive been meaning to try this London Black as i live in London and theres some pubs not too far from me that serve it. Now ive seen this video ill probably make a an effort to try it sooner rather than later.
A French stout called Dark Side of the Moon is the best stout I’ve ever had. There’s an English one with the same name I’ve never had but the French one is a proper drink.
You should try get into the more flavourful stouts. When I was in my early 20s Guinness was my favourite and Beamish was way too strong for me but as my pallet evolved I realised the dept of flavour in beamish is far superior. Having one pint of beamish is not enough you have to acquire the taste .Now Guinness and murphys lack flavour for me , too bland and too watery . McGregors stuff is not bad either . I’ve had this London Black a few weeks ago and it’s nice but still second last ahead of that vile Islands Edge .
It’s just preference. Taste is far too complicated to be absolutist about. There might be one element in Guinness that a Guinness drinker may or may not have even noticed that is actually the thing they love about it. Someone else might hate it for that one element even if they haven’t been able to identify it. Something we drink for our own enjoyment really cannot be judged by others.
Ah, I think I recognise the guy in the hat - Anspach & Hobday did a tap takeover in the Bierhaus, Cork a few years ago. Very nice brews. I still regret not snagging a fancy pigeon bag/shirt!
i was hoping this video would come but didn't expect it! haven't been into London for ages but this is on my list to try as it looks so similar but tastes different. Don't expect to like it as much as a pint of G but it would be nice to have something like this in the UK that people say in "it just tastes better there"
Up here in Manchester (or across if you're in Ireland) we have a brewery called Joseph Holt. They serve their own pint called 'Black'. Same colour and head as a Guinness. Some say its better tasting than Guinness. Some say its on par. I find it tasty but not on par with Guinness. Its a nice enjoy pint if you're on a budget (can be found in some Holts pubs for under three quid a pint).
@@alfonsobonzo3782 The lagers for me are an 'acquired taste'. Takes at least two pints for my taste buds to adjust. Cheap and cheerful for an afternoon session.
I once had a better stout than Guinness in a Brewdog in Paris 3 years ago. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the name of it, but I’m sure it was brewed in Scotland. I hope you find it
It's a great one that had it few times Lovely. Porter . Guinness of recent is a session drink A lot of the real stout n porters will get heavy if you're not used to them. But then I like an imperial .
Had a pint of this a couple of weeks ago at a pub near Ashbourne. Really nice beer, a subtly stronger roast flavour. One of the better porters I’ve had. However, if you liked this one Darragh, you NEED to try Round Corner Brewing’s Nitro Stout - Social Club (used to be called Reverend Hooker). The only stout that I think is better than Guinness! Their other beers are also exceptional, but this stout is sublime!
A 'session beer' here in Mid Wales has nothing to do with taste. It means you can drink aload of them because alcohol levels are moderate so it's great for a night out as you won't be too rough in the morning!!
The only Guinness I drink nowadays is Foreign Export (when I can get it). A couple of pints to finish the session - Guinness as it should be, full of flavour & body. Makes the regular stuff seem like gnats piss.
I agree with you. Had it in their Temple Bar pub too, If you're on about the Irish Stout that they brew, it does have a bit more "Poke" than Guinness though? I used to like their Oyster Stout as well but I don't know if they brew it any more?
@@johnp8131 you may be right. I haven’t been for a few months and I’d had a few so maybe it was a placebo 😂 I enjoyed it tho. Some Guinness in central is horrible
@@joetudor655 Just looked at their website, it's not there, in any form? Maybe it's changed in the last couple of years due to expansion and with IPA's etc.... and the closure of the old brew-pub in Bray? Haven't been to Covent Garden since before covid as we used to meet up there after Rugby. I also concur with you about Guinness in central London too. Quality and the price!
You've got to try the in-house stout in Sam Smith's pubs, they're fuckin weird and eccentric places but their stout is great. Looks identical to Guinness but tastes very different.
You need to try a couple Cornish stouts, 1. Mena Dhu (Cornish for black hill) really nice dark chocolate roasted stout 2. Joe expresso stout by Goodh brewing
I’m so glad to see this review. I was excited to try it, and loved it when I did but it’s a totally different taste it isn’t even comparable to Guinness as it looks like you found out anyhow, Guinness won’t ever be beaten
Guinness has been beaten a thousand times over, it's the Carling of the stout world.. overproduced over hyped and generally very poor when you enter the stout world beyond it.
I'm new to your channel, only came across it today, have subscribed. I would have loved to give you a list of questions to, to complement the one's you did ask quite diplomatically. Sorry for boring you with some of my background, but I wanted to put my questions in context. I served my time in the wine trade in London, 1st working for a Company called 'Phillips Newman' a wine importer and bottler under the arches in Waterloo, so your video location is a very familiar setup. I then worked in the 'Civil Service Stores wine department in the Strand London, before moving to Tipperary, in 1976 to run my father's country Pub. At 12.27 your host states 'clean lines' is everything. An absolute I cleaned mine every Sunday Lunch time. I am retired now with a 20 cider apple tree hobby orchard. In my youth, UK Guinness was made in Park Royal (until 2005) and was quite different to James Gate Guinness, and the kegging and taps thus method of pouring were also very different. So I expect the comment at 4:15 'settles very quickly' could be down to a different tap system? I like your remark 'goes down easily' very good concept as was your hosts 'sessionable' I would have like to have known do they roast their own barley? Do they Sulphate? What kind of yeast do they use? When making my cider I make two different styles, a flat cider which I let the wild yeast do the job, this is fine but if I want a bottle conditioned cider as in my second style I have to Sulphate and use a propriety yeast, other wise the bottle will foam everywhere on opening. The other down side of bottle conditioning is the remaining film of yeast at the bottom of the bottle, causes the end of pour to be cloudy. I use old Guinness bottles as they are rated for 3bar pressure. Guinness(until very recently) bottle conditioned and they developed a strain of yeast that stuck to the bottom of the bottle when pouring no cloudiness and a white film of yeast was left behind, now there is no white disc and the bottles are disposal. Will be watching your other videos with no long diatribe afterwards. Cheers
GG, I’m being serious now. Please go to Stockport near Manchester & try Robinson’s ‘PITCH’. If you like ‘Gravediggers’ or ‘Mulligan’s’ Guinness, you will love, ‘PITCH’. Slainte!
The good thing about beer is that it doesn't have to be either/or. You don't have to choose one and never have anything different. You can have a beer and 5 minutes later, have a different one. You can even choose which beer you'll have next whilst drinking a beer. You can have lots of different beers in one evening and even beers on every night of the week. You can take beers home even if you have a different beer already at home. You can't say that about women.
iv wanted to try this but its so hard to find in the north of england think the closest to me is a 30 min drive n would probably not have it when i got there. did notice the glass isnt the same as the promo of it though.that was a straight glass 2.09 in the vid
I had a better stout than Guinness in the 90s - Gillespie's Scottish Malt Stout. It was glorious, but Scottish & Newcastle stopped brewing it in 1997. I've had several other good stouts that knocks Guinness into a cocked hat. I really don't understand why it's worshipped.
london black does sound nice ! I believe the very best beers are brewed in copper kettles . There is only one brewer in the uk that use a copper kettles , I cant remember the name ? It was a scottish brewery . The beer was high quality
I appreciate how Guinness has a deserved reputation. I’m less a fan however and I’ve tried for 40 years. I’m really more a Murphy’s guy. But thank Christ there’s a broad range of stouts in the world to enjoy.
I’d be interest to know your thoughts on Oatmeal Stout, tried one or two before and very smooth. Guinness will always be my go to Stout though. Great channel by the way 👍🙌🏻
@@MrCraptakular North Coast Old Rasputin, Oskar Blues Ten Fidy, Founders Imperial Stout, Left Hand Milk Stout (nitro version if you like Guinness), FW Parabola, GI Bourbon County, Founders KBS, Great Divide Yeti, Sierra Nevada Narwhal, New Holland Dragon's Milk, Perennial Abraxas, Perennial Sump, Alesmith Speedway, Dark Horse BA Plead the 5th, Deschutes Abyss, Westbrook Mexican Cake, Bottle Logic Fundamental Observation, the list goes on and on and on. Guinness is great and super consistent, and my go to at BDubs or something where most of the taps suck, but so many are better, more flavorful, etc.
There are “better” beers constantly. But Guinness is consistently really good. Low cal. Crisp. Good head. Has flavor that you can dream about after a day of work. And you can get it at a ton of places. Its nice to not be challenge the palette by a robust and heavy stout or get piss drunk after a few lol. In a league of its own IMO cuz it should be like bud or other domestics but in comparison to those, it’s not nearly as shit.
@ 10.34, totally agree with the comment about any drink down the side of the glass, awful and you know the person behind the bar has no clue how to pour Guinness. Sadly over the last 50 years I have had my fair share of them. Back in the 70's I never drank a pint of Guinness that was watery and back then it wasn't uncommon, might was well drink it on the throne!
I had a stout by Robinsons brewery called Pitch on Saturday, it was amazing so much so its outselling Guinness, they took the Guinness pump out. I will never touch Guinness again if I can get this in cans in the supermarket's soon
Great video, if you ever come to Yorkshire, there's a brewery called Sam Smith's, they have there own pubs around Yorkshire. They sell a stout and it is very, very drinkable, it would be a good one for you to try....but there's a few things that make Sam Smith's pubs different.... Cash only, there's no TV's or music, no swearing, no laptops and no mobile phones out 🤣 which could make the video awkward hahaha
We can get a few different Sam Smith's stouts/porters here in the northeastern US. They're very good. I used to have a Sam Smith's pint glass which sadly broke. It had a Yorkshire rose etched in the bottom that you could see once you'd finished the beer.
Everyone knows the schtick of a Guinness is solely down to how clean/dry a glass is. After being washed a number of times, a glass builds up a film of chemicals. Any good bar will strip this film at the end of the day/week using a product called Resolve. In turn, the head will stick to the glass better thereafter. This really isn't a good metric for how good the drink itself is.
Great to see credit given where its due, thst brewer lad looked chuffed. My only issue with these new stouts is.. Why would I want something similar to Guinness when I can just have Guinness
Never have taken to Guiness to begin with. Living in the Northwest we have a large variety of beers and ales. Guiness always felt flat and tasteless to me.
I mean with all due respect to guru he kept comparing it to Guinness when in reality irish stout in general is made differently and uses different ingredients to a traditional porter or English stout. So from looks of it, the brewer is probably biting his tongue while guru waffles about porter being too "coffee, roasted in flavor."
@@jamesk1806 I mean the reality is Guinness isn't what it used to be it's pretty dull if we are being honest, so tbh if you are used to and like that, being handed something with decent flavour is always going to be polarising.
Spoiler: Even if the other stout is crap and Guru wishes he was holding a pint of Guinness instead he will not say it to the person who gave it to him.
