Weekly beer post

Well.

I was going to do a post this week about one of my favorites, the classic Guinness Draught. I was going to talk about how unique the nitro system is, the smooth chocolatey malted taste of it, etc etc etc. Now I'm not going to. Wanna know why?

I enjoy beer, and Guinness has been one of my favorites for years. About a year ago, they changed the formula, for reasons I can only guess at. Remember New Coke? Yeah, same thing - essentially, as I understand it, they changed the mix of the malts from using 100% really dark to about 75% really dark and about 25% caramel or lighter. The result is not unpleasant, per se, but it's definitely no longer the taste I'm used to. I've found a new love....or several, actually, and I've moved on.

The second thing is this. Look, I'm all for responsible drinking, and ensuring that kids aren't looking at inappropriate material. That's a good thing....but why in the name of all that's holy should I give my date of birth just to look at a site talking about their product??????

I suppose it could be a defense that they talk about actual brewing processes, how to make Guinness, etc, but come on. That stuff's not secret even in the most liberal sense of the word.

Anyway...goodbye Guinness. It was good while it lasted. I'll see you next St. Paddy's Day (can't drink anything but Irish beer on that day).