Front Street Brewery

Today millions of people around the world will celebrate all things Irish by consuming all things Irish.  Irish beer, Irish whiskey, Irish food and a good ole’ fashioned Irish hangover the following day.  I often find it fairly amusing that Saint Patrick was not Irish.  He was born in Britain to a Christian family, but did not have any interest in the christian faith until he was kidnapped and sent over seas to tend sheep as a slave.  While doing this in the cold, chilly mountains he became very, very Christian. 

Another funny thing about St. Paddy’s Day is that Patrick was known for banishing snakes from Ireland.  It’s true that there are no snakes in Ireland in present day.  It’s also true that there were no snakes in Ireland ever.  Cold and icy waters prevent the migration of snakes from Britain. 

One thing is for certain on St. Paddy’s Day.  People drink a lot of Guinness.  I enjoy a pint of the black stuff now and again, but the one thing that drives me crazy is when people refer to Guinness as a heavy beer with loads of alcohol.  The truth of the matter is this.  Guinness, although dark in color, is a very light beer.  I’m dead serious people.  I’ll start from the top.

Why do people think that Guinness is a thick heavy beer?  I’m willing to guess because of it’s thick, creamy head.  You see there are two ways to carbonate a beer.  The most traditional is our good friend Carbon Dioxide. Carbon Dioxide is responsible for the tiny bubbles you see in any beer served at Front St. Brewery.  The other way to carbonate a beer is with Nitrogen.  Nitrogen is far less soluble than carbon dioxide.  This allows the beer to be put under a higher pressure without making it fizzy.  Guinness is still carbonated with a portion of carbon dioxide, but much less than any other typical brew.  A high concentration of Nitrogen allows this beer to be pushed through the tap(the Guinness tap has tiny holes on the end of it) which allows a surge of nitrogen, thus creating the well known Guinness cascade effect and thick creamy head.  Experiment next time you’re drinking a Guinness.  Try to do this in a corner so you won’t be noticed and made fun of.  Take your freshly poured Guinness and scoop the head off the beer.  Once the head is all gone have a drink.  You’ll be surprised to notice that Guinness is a very light bodied beer.  Trust me on this one.  I’m not making it up.

On to another myth about Guinness.  I often hear people saying that they were drinking Guinness all night and got way more drunk than drinking what they usually drink.  This notion that Guinness has an extremely high alcohol content exists on in their head.  Guinness in fact has only 4.1 to 4.3 % ABV.  This is right on par with Miller Lite, Coors Lite and Bud Lite. Regular Budweiser is actually higher in alcohol content compared to Guinness. Look it up.  So if you’re looking to get a good buzz from drinking less beer, then Guinness is not the way to go. 

My final myth I’ll cover about Guinness is that it’s a meal in a glass.  The calorie count of a Guinness is around 195 calories per pint.  Blue Moon rings in around 175.  Budweiser around 145 and Sam Adams around 160.  So Guinness is not that high in calories contrary to popular belief.  In fact, a pint of orange juice or a pint of milk has a higher calorie count compared to a pint of Guinness. 

So there are a few Guinness myths that have been disspelled.  We won’t be serving Guinness at FSB, but we do have plenty of Irish Red to go around.  Be sure to stop in and enjoy a few pints.  Besides, everyone is Irish on St. Paddy’s Day.  Enjoy the holiday and be safe out there!!  I’ll be brewing Scottish Ale.  Not exactly Irish, but most Scots and Irish share the same sentiments about the English.  Cheers.