If you know me, you would know that I am not a fan of Guinness draft. I am more of a Corona girl. However, my feelings towards Guinness have drastically changed from this past weekend! The Guinness Brewery is located here in Halethorpe, Maryland…which is very close to where I go to school. I went for my friends birthday, as they are a huge fan of Guinness. Now I understand why. Upon arriving to the brewery it feels like you have arrived at an old castle in Ireland. It has such a rustic and medieval feel. From the gate with the golden harp, to the fire torches blazing and the huge stone building. Its architecture was perfectly executed.
Once inside, it had a modern pub feel, and was crowded with individuals sharing laughter and their love for Guinness, and not going to lie I felt like an outcast. We did a tour around the brewery to see how Guinness is created and the history behind the company, and let me tell you…it was extremely fascinating. Coming from a science background I was intrigued to the chemistry process that goes into making different types of Guinness. You aren’t just drinking a beer, you’re drinking a product that scientifically took a while to craft and make perfect for your enjoyment. It gave me a new appreciation to the craft. Now, having this admiration to the story, it made me excited to actually try the different kinds of Guinness, and see what all the hype was about.
Upon our taste testing the first beer was actually delightful, it had undertones of citrus, this was the Blonde Guinness, and it was really refreshing. Next we tried the dark brewed Guinness and that had a cold brew coffee taste, and the texture was thicker then the Blonde. This taste, after learning the science that goes into it was the high amount of roasted malt extract. Although with the coffee flavor aftertaste, it is still not one of my favorites, and considerably heavy for me. Trying to just keep an open mind from going to the Blonde straight to the dark brew, I was nervous. I was losing hope in the incoming drafts. Until I was presented with probably the best beer I have ever tasted. It was their Hibiscus Lime and Juniper draft. I immediately shot a smile across my face, this beer is anyone’s summer beer dream! It took me to a summer night with friends at a beach bonfire. It was fresh, and sweet, with botanical undertones. I just began to think whoever came up with this had me in mind! It was like I was drinking pure gold, it was smooth and shiny with gold reflexes. I began to think to myself, this is why all these people around me love this beer…it just all started to make sense.
They weren’t crazy for being obsessed with Guinness, it was me who the crazy one. How could I not… it was pure G(enius)UINNESS!