Guinness Stout
Guinness Stout Behind the Bar
No bar is truly complete unless it's got Guinness Stout behind the bar. This Iris porter is a dark, rich beer that is almost black when it is poured. It doesn't have to be on tap, though it is always preferred by Guinness drinkers. You can also find it available in both a can and a bottle. It can be enjoyed solo or in conjunction with a few other ingredients.
Pouring a Guinness Stout
There is an actual art form to pouring a Guinness Stout that your beer distributor will teach you if you plan on serving Guinness on tap. The first thing you must do is take a pint glass and hold it at a 45 degree under the tap. You'll fill it ¾ of the way and then let it settle. You will then wait a few moments and then top it off. If you are really skilled, you should draw a shamrock in the beer foam head, too, but that may come with time.
Even if you are pouring from a bottle or a can, you should still do it for your customer (or your friends). This will allow you to get the proper amount of foam without it being all bubbles and destroying a perfectly good drink.
Shots with Guinness Stout
There are various shots that are popular at bars (and fraternities, for that matter), that involve dunking a shot of various liquors into a pint of Guinness Stout and chugging the entire contents. If you thought that Guinness was meant for sipping, then you've never tried one of these shots.
You can add a shot of Chambord to a pint of Guinness Stout and call it a Black Fog, or you can drop a shot of Jaegermeister (after you light it on fire) into it and call it a Flaming Jaeger. There are all sorts of variations where you can drop shots into the beer and begin to chug it. If you are inexperienced at full beer shots, however, pace yourself. Plenty of water and food to settle the stomach may be required.
Guinness Stout Floats
If the beer is too rich for you on its own and the idea of shots is a little too young, you may want to consider a Guinness Stout float. There is truly nothing like it. Consider it as a root beer float for grown-ups. That's right. Ice cream.
You will pour the beer into a pint glass, leaving a few inches of air from the top of the glass. You then add two scoops of vanilla ice cream to the beer, let it foam a little and then grab a tall ice tea spoon to enjoy yourself. There are a few variations where you can either add a little chocolate syrup, substitute chocolate ice cream or add a little whipped cream for garnish, but the idea is the same.
If you haven't had the pleasure of enjoying a Guinness drink, you need to experiment with at least one of these. The nutty, rich flavors of a Guinness Stout is unlike any other beer on the planet.
