Originally Posted by ajnz
I can definitely agree with the first one. I have had quite a few, uh, long nights with Guinness and can get into work the next morning. Lagers will kill me.
As far as it tasting different; I can assure you it tastes very different in North America than it does in New Zealand and Australia. I actually stopped drinking it while in Canada because I did not like the way it tasted. I've been told this is due to it being pastuerized in North America, but I'm not sure if that is correct.
I have a funny feeling the ABV in NZ is 5% for Guinness [brewed here by Lion Breweries], but I could be wrong.
aj.
I'm sure you're right. I've only had Guinness in North America and Europe, where the supply is likely fresher than it would perhaps be in Australia and New Zealand. I don't believe we get the pasturized product here. My suspicion is that perhaps they rely on the higher ABV to do something of the same job as pasteurization for shipping longer distances. That could account for the difference in taste.
Just a theory....who knows!