Brilliant!

Ah, St. Patrick's day, the one day of the year people enjoy something resembling good beer. Guinness has long been the beer of choice for those seeking Irish status on the St. Patricks day. It's also a beer that's taken a ton of abuse from beer geeks like myself. The claims of being a meal in a glass have always made fans of real stout chuckle. The fact is, Guinness is fairly thin and low on flavor compared to most other stouts. I had heard of a Foreign Export version of the legendary beer for many years, but it was never available in the states, until now. I put off trying this for a while(been on the shelves around here for almost a year), thinking it just wouldn't live up to the hype, as well as being priced the same as other "craft" stouts. Finally broke down and picked up a 4 pack and I was not disappointed. The smell is typical Guinness, but with a noticeable hop aroma, something the regular version is sorely lacking. As far as flavor, typical Guinness, but much more full, and again, a nice bitterness from the hops. Overall a very good beer, and much more than just amped up Guinness draught in a can with the silly widget. I won't get into weather or not it tastes better in Ireland, but it might just taste better on St. Patrick's day.......