Back a few weeks ago, I promised to take one for the team here and sample this brew, if only to find out what the Diageo marketing stuffed shirt hyped as "zing" was all about. Anyway, the phrase "better than bad" comes most readily to mind. If this were the product of a craft brewer, I'd describe it as being a safe play, not adventurous at all, but well-brewed for what it is, a little bit different but not likely to take the person used to Guinness' usual products out of their comfort zone. Any way, here's my notes:
Served on draft at the Ballydoyle Irish Pub in Aurora, IL, about $5 for a true pint. A nice black beer with a hint or red to it. Carbonation on the order of the old bottled extra stout found in the U.S., this is not the 3/4 nitrogen beer gas. Almost-white head fades pretty fast.
Faint aromas of caramel malt and roast bitterness. Flavor is a bit intriguing with a hint of caramel sweetness that I'd not found in a Guinness before, save for the foreign extra. The extra carbonation helps keep that sweetness from throwing things off-balance. The roast barley bitterness seems a bit less prominent than in other Guinness brews.
Overall a decent beer. A little thicker than the regular draft Guinness on beer gas, so it's not quite as sessionable as their other beers, about on the order of the foreign extra stout as far as wanting to order another pint goes. This is not on the order if O'Hara's Celebration Stout or even their regular Celtic Stout, but it probably pushes just a bit on the envelope for those whose beer sights don't go much beyond the macro-brews.
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