I've seen this too. I have a Leinenkugel glass that's the same way. No clue if it serves any purpose, but its kinda neat to see and makes for a good anecdote.
A little while ago I bought a six-pack of Leffe Royale and it came with a free glass. The glass has the Leffe logo etched in the bottom, so bubbles nucleate and provide a consistent stream on bubbles. I'm trying to decide if this is a legit thing to help keep a consistent head or if it's just some BS marking gimmick (that looks kinda cool). Has anyone ever seen this?
They'll tell you that failure is not an option. That's ridiculous. Failure is always an option. It is the easiest and most readily available option. It's your choice though.
It's really more of a marketing gimmick than anything else. Head retention is much more about a) having a clean glass and b) decisions made by the brewer about how to brew the beer. Some beers, such as Russian Imperial Stouts, may leave little head. Also, beers like true English Ales matured and served in wooden casks have extremely low carbonation since the only CO2 comes from fermentation. Here's a nice brief article.
Head Retention
Short term goal: 17:59 5K
Mid term goal: 2:54:59 marathon
Long term goal: To say I've been a runner half my life. (I started running at age 45).
Also, beers like true English Ales matured and served in wooden casks have extremely low carbonation since the only CO2 comes from fermentation.
Man, nothing beats a good cask ale. Anyone who thinks they do not like warm, flat beer needs to try one. Sadly they can be tough to find; some of the better brewpubs will have one on rotation.
Dave
Kentucky Breakfast Stout should be arriving here for the first time tomorrow. 2 bottle limit, first come, first served, no reservations. Sometimes it pays to be the guy taking it off the truck.
The irony is that they're not really "warm and flat" and if someone is serving them that way, they're doing it wrong. Ideally, it would be served at cellar temperature which is right around 54 degrees F. Of course that compares to "mouth numbingly cold" which is what most folks are used to. The carbonation level is also fairly low because a wooden cask can only handle so much pressure. Nevertheless, there is some carbonation in the brew. You are certainly right about it being tough to find. One of the problems is that because it is stored and served at cellar temperature, it will spoil fairly rapidly. Once the cask is tapped (I know that's not the right word but damn if I can think of it at the moment), it has to be used or dumped within a few days.
Are we there, yet?
Haven't taken the time to read through the entire thread (because I'm not normally a beer drinker) but I had to sample some brews in pubs during my trip to Ireland. While I can't say I liked Guiness, I found Smithwick's okay, but a lager I tried once and couldn't find anywhere else actually appealed to me. It was called Crean's and brewed by the Dingle Brewing Company. By any chance has anyone else ever tried it and have an opinion of it?
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
I haven't had that George but here are my thoughts on Guinness and I think you'll find most beer geeks agree. Guinness draught, which is what 99.9% of people think of when they think of Guinness, is a below average stout that is relatively flavorless and bland. It rates "average" to "poor" on beeradvocate.com. There are much, much better stouts out there from all over the world. Guinness Foreign Extra Stout is one damn good beer but it's nearly impossible to find. It rates "world class" on beeradvocate.com.
My DD and SIL commented that with one exception the Guinness they had in pubs wasn't nearly as good as what we sampled at the Guiness Storehouse in Dublin.
Now that I'm done shedding a few LB's, I will be back to contributing to this glorious thread.
I purchased a Sam Adams Hop-Tour 6-pack over the weekend that contained 2 each of their Latitude 48 IPA, Whitewater IPA, and Noble Pils. According to the site, the three styles are brewed with hops from different growing regions around the world, including Germany, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Australia and right here in the States. In total, 13 different hop varieties went into brewing these three beers.
I sampled both the Latitude 48 and Whitewater. I was surprised to see that the Whitewater is actually an unfiltered wheat beer made with American hops. It maintained a thick foamy head for the duration it was in my glass. Very tasty!
Chasing Muses
Just had my first ever Foreign Extra (they have it in almost every supermartket here) and wow. Chocolatey goodness. It drank much lighter than the standard can-with-the-ball Guiness, beautiful black in the glass with a nice thin tan head. And the taste was a crisp chocolate-espresso. A true Stout experience without feeling like I just chugged a milkshake.
I should add that now that I'm having another glass of Lagunitas Sucks!, I don't really remember why the Guiness was so great after all
Guinness Foreign Extra Stout is one damn good beer but it's nearly impossible to find. It rates "world class" on beeradvocate.com.
Don't hate, but it was in a Guinness sampler here for Christmas. The boxes were exceptionally flimsy, so customers and employees broke a LOT of those 12 packs. I ended up buying at least 10 bottles of the surviving FES for $.75 each.
In other news, the KBS was really, really good. But the hype is such that nothing could live up to such high expectations, and the standard Founder's Breakfast Stout is only slightly less good but far cheaper.
This is rather tasty by O'Fallon Brewery in St. Louis. Won 2007 Best Beer by the Riverfront Times
First Race
Hot Chocolate 5K Chicago November 4, 2012 30:17
Second Race
Penguin in the Park 5K Decatur Illinois March 23,2013 27:08
Scott
At least it's oriented the same way as your avatar photo.