Guinness took over Ned Devine’s (1 North Market St, Faneuil Hall) for a stop on their Guinness Believer Tasting Tour. The tour is to inform Guinness enthusiasts and newcomers about the brand.
When we first arrived we got a coin to use at one of the two head bars for frothy glass of the original Guinness. The social media check in was on point with a step and repeat that went directly to your Facebook wall. The process was a bit clunky, but the photos came out pretty great.
The Fab Empire's Tiffany Probasco
After the stint with paparazzi I headed over to the chocolate chip cookies and browines table that actually paired very well with the rich dark ale. I’m going to have to pair my chocolate cake with a nice cold glass of Guinness in the future.
Our Guinness Ambassador was clever, witty while very rehearsed for his role of guide through our experience. He started off by dispelling the “meal in a can” rumor with the fact that a pint of the beverage only contains about 125 calories. (To compare, some of Samuel Adams varieties are upwards of 209 calories). He also cleared up the fact that all of the Guinness distributed here in the US is distilled in Ireland, so there isn’t a change in recipe. (You’re drinking real Irish beer!)
Guinness Ambassador
We first got to try the original stout, the oldest brew, which was a bit on the bitter side for me. Each of the tastings were half pints, so in trying to pace myself I didn’t finish it. The next portion of the evening was all about the pour. To make the perfect pour it takes 119.5 seconds. (Keep that in your memory banks for if you’re ever on Cash Cab). Two volunteers got up to show if they could pour like a professional. Neither of them did that well, but one guy had a lot of audience supporters so he won. Both of the participants got some Guinness swag (t-shirt and zipper sweat shirt) and got to keep the pint they poured.
Our last tasting was of the dark ale – which was my personal favorite. It lacked the spiciness of the original ale and has a very smooth finish; plus we got to keep the half pint glass!
Then just as quickly as we arrived, the tasting was over. It only lasted about an hour in total, which I think was good, but having almost 3 beers in a matter of an hour was a bit much for me. They did offer to get anyone a cab if needed and gave a list of other bars where they would be sponsoring that night for those who wanted to keep the good times rolling.
The only draw back to the event I would say was the lack of servers and places to put your drink. They had some tables and benches available, but not enough for the amount of people that RSVP’d. But, since it was short, it wasn’t all that bad.
So, if you find you want Guinness to make you a believer, or have some trivia to show off to your friends, I recommend signing up on their mailing list for the next time the tour is near you!
