I have anaemia, low iron levels in my blood, which no amount of taking pills or eating green veg seemed to solve. However, my problem seems to have gone away, thanks to the recommendation from an Irish friend that I take to drinking Guinness, an Iron rich stout available in most pubs.
How did Guinness come about? Well, I realise this isn't a history lesson, but thought I'd tell you anyway. When the Archbishop of Cashel died, little did he know that after he'd popped his clogs, his godson would use his inheritance of £100 to found what is today one of the biggest and most famous brewing businesses in the world. He signed a 9000 (yes, that's correct0 year lease on a dilapidated brew house and founded his empire. As he set up, there were already 200 breweries in Ireland, (and ten on the same street as him) and people thought that because of the competition he was unlikely to be successful.
But successful he was. After 12 hard years, Guinness was unleashed on the world, and the Guinness family continued to run the business 227 years (not surprising as he himself fathered 21 children, ten of whom died).
It's also worth noting that at the time, Guinness was one of the best places to work, with wages 10-20% above local average, guaranteed widow's pensions, paid holidays (unknown at the time), free medical care, homes, education and a load of other benefits, making a brewery worker pretty well off in comparison to others .as if that wasn't enough, the workers received free Guinness every day, and if they didn't want to drink it, they could opt instead to receive an additional "beer allowance" in their pay packet.
Guinness is an Irish stout, and is widely available. Wherever you find an Irishman in a bar, be in no doubt that there will be Guinness aplenty nearby. It's one of the most recognised alcohol brands in the world, and certainly the best known stout, even giving birth to a clothing and toiletries range (don't believe me? Check out woollies at Christmas, there you will find fleeces, t-shirts and Guinness shampoo!)
Guinness are also well known for their unusual adverts, featuring puffins and penguins in past years, and resulting in a huge range of collectable Guinness antiques (I have a set of juggling balls and a Guinness bath towel!)
Costing around £2.20 a pint, Guinness is definitely an acquired taste, especially for people like me who previously only drank lager, and the 'commercial' brands at that, with never a sniff of real ale or stout. It is a dark, hearty full-bodied beverage that is very bitter in taste. It is a heavy drink with a heavy flavour, that at first reminded me of dirty dishwater, but has now grown on me immensely.
It's definitely not a drink to be necked, with most people unlikely to drink more than two or three pints at once, purely due to the heaviness and richness of it. However, Contemporary Guinness Draught and Extra Stout are weaker than they were in the 19th century, when they had an original gravity of over 1070. Foreign Extra Stout and Special Export Stout, with ABV over 7%, are perhaps closest to the original in character.
The drink seems to glide down your throat like silk, in a very pleasurable way, leaving a rich bitter aftertaste that leaves me wanting another sip.
Labelled as 'Pure Genius', I think it's a great beverage, although I certainly would recommend anyone trying it for the first time to only buy a half at first, and give it time to grow on him or her.
A decent pint of Guinness will take several minutes to pour. The stout has to be allowed to settle when the glass is 80% full, from a pale brown to a rich ruby colour (not black!). Then the glass is raised once more to be filled to the top, and again you must wait for a creamy white head to develop. The head should be thick enough, and the way to test this is to draw a shamrock into it, and see if it stays there until the end of the drink. If it does, your Guinness has been well poured.
As you drink the drink, there should be rings of foam around the glass, showing where each gulp ended, and it's a great way to count how many sips the pint took you to drink. One Irish bar in Nottingham even uses the rings to predict the possibility of the drinker getting laid...not an exact science I'll happily admit, but certainly fun.
The taste to me is very refreshing, but hard to describe. I would say the predominant taste is definitely barley, and this is one of the four main ingredients (the ones that are listed anyway-many people speculate that Guinness has a secret ingredient.) the other three being water, hops and yeast, the water coming from springs fed by the St James Well in County Kildare , and the Barley of course being Irish grown
Overall, Guinness is a drink I'd heartily recommend you try. It may take a while to get used to, but once you do, it's heaven in a glass (no wonder they have a harp for a logo!).
*********************************************************************** How to drink Guinness
1. Choose your pub carefully. A pint of Guinness does not appreciate loud music, loud people or bright flashing lights.
2. Ask politely for a pint of Guinness. Depending on the pub, it is possible to catch the barman's eye and mouth the word "pint", he will translate this accurately. If you want to go all out Irish, try saying Pionta Guinness led thoil - a pint of Guinness please.
3. The barman will fill the glass between 70% and 80% capacity. It will then be put to the side for a few moments to allow it "to settle". Once the Brownish liquid has almost turned to a solid dark ruby colour the barman will then fill the rest of the glass. NB: do not under any circumstances take the glass before it is filled. Some virgins seem to think that the settling stage is the final stage and walk away with an unfinished pint. At this point experienced Guinness drinkers DO understand the predicament, but I assure you it causes endless mirth as well.
4. Once you have received your pint, find a comfortable stool or seat, gaze with awe into the deep blackness, raise the pint to your mouth and take a large mouthful. Be firm.
5. A good pint can distinguished by a number of methods. A smooth, slightly off- white head is one, another is the residue left on the inside of the glass. These, surprise surprise, are known as rings. As long as they are there you know you're okay. A science of rings is developing - the instance that comes to mind is determining a person's nationality by the number of rings (a ring is dependent on a swig of Guinness each swig leaving it's own ring). An Irishman will have in the region of 5-6 rings (they pace themselves), An Englishman will have 8-10 rings, an American will have 17-20 (they sip) and an Australian won't have any at all as they tend to knock it back in one go!
6. As you near the end of your pint, it is the custom to order another one. It is a well-known fact that a bird does not fly on one wing. Slainte - cheers. **********************************************************************
Overall, Guinness is a drink I'd heartily recommend you try. It may take a while to get used to, but once you do, it's heaven in a glass (no wonder they have a harp for a logo!).
Random Facts! **************** Guinness have a wonderful website that I do recommend you visit at www.guiness.co.uk. I had a look so I could find out more info about the history for this op, and I must say that I had a great time browsing, its fun as well as factual. Here are a few little snippets I found in the unusual facts section for your enjoyment. It's also where I gained the little snippets of Gaelic.
A group of sailors torpedoed off the coast of Sierra Leone during World War II were revived by a bottle of GUINNESS® supplied by the Headman of a remote village.
Approximately 162,719 pints of stout are wasted in the UK each year by getting caught in drinkers' moustaches!
To all of you who've read this op, Go raibh maith agat - thank you
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