Happening right now in Bangsar South at S’Mores is the deal of the month!
Only $12 NETT for an ice cold Guinness Draft, all day, all nite. Goin on for the entire month of March.
Arr!
And over at Jarrod & Rawlins (D’sara Heights), today (Thu) sees a St Patrick’s party from 6pm, with free/cheap Guinness, foodstuff, stand-up comedy & more.
'Perfect pint'?? Isn't that extinct? Very misleading term, GAB. It's not "responsible".
Go delve into the darkness of Guinness. Try and survive.
Guinness Anchor Bhd kicked-off the Oktoberfest celebs for 2011 last Thursday, at Souled Out, Jln Ampang.
Party starts
To add some spice, beer fans will be pleased – GAB has introed three new German beers for the season – Hopf Ice Wheat Beer, Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier, and 111 Zwickl. Mixologist Ben Ng brought us thru a tasting.
Balloonhead got thirsty
The Hopf (ABV 5.5%) uses ice-conditioned wheat where excess water from the wheat is extracted through freezing, giving more depth to the flavor and body. Gives the beer its distinctive crisp and clean taste that is mild and refreshing.
Welcome to Malaysia
The Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier (ABV 6%) is synonymous with the Oktoberfest in Munich, and is its official beer. Its gotta rich malty aroma, pleasant taste, and a reasonably full body.
The 111 (5%) is light-flavoured, with a hint of flower, and a mild yeasty flavor.
GAB’s recommended retail prices for outlets for these beers are:
They can be scored at these outlets.
The new Souled Out, HSC tower
Some of the other games for Oktoberfest, besides drinking, is rolling the barrel, the chicken dance, and masskrugstemmen – basically holding up a stein (litre glass) up straight as long as u can.
More info on the Oktoberfest FB page here.
Steins. I like
One way to cheers in German is Eins, zwei, drei, g’suffa! (Pronounced aa-eens, zvai, dry, zuffa.) It means One, two, three, drink! Doesn’t get simpler than that.
Guinness has new glassware! And it looks better.
The new pint glass design is slimmer and shape-ier. It’s grooved, with a curvy V-shape cut into both sides. The GUINNESS wordmark and a harp in gold (as in Ireland’s coat of arms) are on one side, while on the other side is a larger, embossed harp.
New n old
The glass also seems a lil thicker, which would help the drink not get warm so quick.
The harp, symbol of Ireland
The ‘half’ pint, which Guinness Anchor (GAB) used to label ‘perfect pint‘ looks great – sleek, with the height more evident. It’s also done away with the inaccurate label. A perfect UK pint is actually 568ml, and not 360ml which the Guinness glass holds.
In fact, most ‘pints’ here are unique (including Guinness) – 500ml, which is considerably below a UK pint, and closer to a US pint (473ml).
So the perfect pint label was probably breaking two laws – the Trade Descriptions Act 1972, and the Weights and Measures Act 1972. (I called GAB a few years back to complain about their marketing method, and didnt get a good answer, but i decided not to pursue the matter with the authorities.) I guess alcohol companies need to be more responsible, and have more respect for consumers.
The new glasses are being introduced in phases, and all bars should have them real soon.
Had a tour. A tour of a brewery. Followed by brews.
Tho i’ve been to The Tavern (the brewery bar) quite a few times, this was the first tour of Guinness Anchor Bhd’s brewery in Sungai Way.
Toured Carlsberg Malaysia’s brewery in 2009, where, even while sober, i showed Steven Gerard how it’s done.
Ambik kau! In yor face
No footballers to abuse at GAB tho.
The event was in conjunction with Guinness Malaysia winning the BEST Guinness outside Ireland for four years in a row! Congrats Malaysia.
It’s called the Guinness League of Excellence, and has been around since the ’90s.
Some of the stuff that beer's composed from
The award covers both Guinnesses, the Foreign Extra Stout and Draught. And the competition was between breweries in 50 countries.
We take our black stuff seriously eh?
Ad
The judging was by an independent panel, and there are four parameters – Process control (GAB is usually tops here), analytical conformance, dress code (look of the bottle), and taste test (also always top).
Some of d stuff that Guinness is made from - roast barley and hops (pellets)
The tour by Alan Pinto provided an insight on the processes at the brewery. The bottling and canning lines are real impressive. Super hi-tech and fast.
The brewery has some amazing output: It can produce 70,000 cans of beer every hour! And 350-400 kegs/hour, for a volume of 45,000 liters of beer every seven hours.
The superb canning line. What every home needs
The brew is tested daily before being released, and there are nine parameters that are tested. By a bunch of lucky guys. (Unless they’re fed up by now.)
What gives Guinness its uniqueness is among others, a special Guinness Yeast, and the addition of a secret essence called the Guinness Flavor at the end.
Pix weren’t allowed at the production area. Just in case alcos figure an angle to break in.
The zero-gravity ride that guests can partake in
After the tour, i wuz thirsty, obviously, seeing all that brew moving around the brewery floor. But i had to wait. A lil while longer. Mixologist Ben Ng gave a demo on the two-part draft pour that Guinness recommends.
Just kidding. Its one of 'em stainless steel beer tanks
Pour three-quarters first, chill-out, then pour d rest later. Ben explained the rationale.That it has to settle well to taste better.
Ben pulling one
The pouring routine takes a minute-plus, tho personally i prefer the single pour coz it tastes creamier. And arrives colder.
To each his own.
Straight
We soon got rid of Ben and tested the beer. It sure hit d spot.
Cashless bars rock!
So if we have the top Guinness in d world, then the Malaysian bar that pours your favourite Guinness has the best Guinness in the world! You’ll probably enjoy your next glass more now. It’s quite a trip to know this aint it?
From the old to the new...
Brain damage: 8/10
