alcoholic content of Guinness

[fel bautista]

Hey-anyone know what it is??We are at thanksgiving dinner at our house and the conversation turned

[SteveShaw]

It isn't excessive. Somewhere around 4.0% to 4.3%. Just nice for a long drink. Doom Bar bitter, my favourite English brew, is similar. Some of my fellow sessioneers drink Abbot's Ale, which is over 5%. That's too much for me over a long evening's partaking of the jorum.

[djm]

There are something like twenty or so different variations of Guinness made world-wide, and they taste different from each other as well as differ in their alcohol content; anywhere from 3-8%.

djm

[brianholton]

Guinness Export Extra is available here in Hong Kong, and at 7.5% it demands caution....

b

[Coffee]

At one microbrewery in Scotland they make "historic" ales, including one called Fraoch, in which the flavouring agent is heather flowers rather than hops. Its alcohol content is about 5%.
Another one they make, which is a recipie brought by the vikings to the northern and western isles, is a pine ale. It's called "Alba" and has an alcohol content of 7.5%.

Both are very good and I reccomend anyone (that's not pregnant or nursing) to try them.

(For the record, Guinness is great.)

[anniemcu]

"alcoholic content of Guinness"

Well... I suppose you'd have to count the bodies in the vat.

[Brian Lee]

One important point to note: Are you asking about content by volume or by weight.

Here in Utah, there is a 3.2% cap on beer when measured by weight - However, when measured by volume it is actually 4%. An average beer outside the state may run approx. 6% by volume. To my knowledge, Utah is the only state that likes to do things backwards like this and go by weight. However, there may well be other states/countries who do it this way.

Be interesting to note how these measures of Uncle Arthur's medicine compare when using the same yardstick.

[Henke]

Another one they make, which is a recipie brought by the vikings to the northern and western isles, is a pine ale. It's called "Alba" and has an alcohol content of 7.5%.

What the Vikings brought? Sounds like mead, am I wrong? I suck at viking history though, but I think mead is what they drank predominantly.
BTW, I have a friend of mine who was very fond of brewing his own mead. The first few tries were horrible, but after a while he started to get the hang of it. One of my favourites was when he used honey to flavour it, very strange at first but when you got used to it it quickly became addictive (the taste, not alcohol related of course)

To my knowledge, Utah is the only state that likes to do things backwards like this and go by weight. However, there may well be other states/countries who do it this way.

I was under the impression thjat the whole US of A liked to do everything backwards

[Innocent Bystander]

No, Alba is not mead. My local "Tree House" does a presentation pack of three bottles of ale: One Fraoch, one Alba and one Kelpie - the last being made using seaweed. They are all very agreeable, but Fraoch is probably the most agreeable. The Tree House also sells mead, in various guises, including Metheglyn.

During the First World War when resources were scarce, Norwegians (I think it was) started making ale from lichen. So it's no great jump to imagine Scandinavians making ale from heather.

[chrisoff]

The cans of guinness I was drinking last night had 4.1% ABV stamped on them.

[Coffee]

During the First World War when resources were scarce, Norwegians (I think it was) started making ale from lichen.

Here we go again with the lichen...

[Wanderer]

What the Vikings brought? Sounds like mead, am I wrong? I suck at viking history though, but I think mead is what they drank predominantly.
BTW, I have a friend of mine who was very fond of brewing his own mead. The first few tries were horrible, but after a while he started to get the hang of it. One of my favourites was when he used honey to flavour it, very strange at first but when you got used to it it quickly became addictive (the taste, not alcohol related of course)

Honey to flavor it? Mead is honey..essentially, honey, water, and yeast plus any little knicks and knacks you want to add to flavor it. But only little knicks and knacks..add too much (grape juice, apple juice, fruit, etc) it becomes a melomel, cyser, pyment, metheglin, hippocrass or braggot, and it isn't really a mead any more at all.

I've been brewing my own mead now for about 16 years

[Wanderer]

During the First World War when resources were scarce, Norwegians (I think it was) started making ale from lichen.

Here we go again with the lichen...

Booze and lichen just seem to go together in my mind...

[Henke]

Right you are wanderer. I'm no expert at these things

[anniemcu]

What the Vikings brought? Sounds like mead, am I wrong? I suck at viking history though, but I think mead is what they drank predominantly.
BTW, I have a friend of mine who was very fond of brewing his own mead. The first few tries were horrible, but after a while he started to get the hang of it. One of my favourites was when he used honey to flavour it, very strange at first but when you got used to it it quickly became addictive (the taste, not alcohol related of course)

Honey to flavor it? Mead is honey..essentially, honey, water, and yeast plus any little knicks and knacks you want to add to flavor it. But only little knicks and knacks..add too much (grape juice, apple juice, fruit, etc) it becomes a melomel, cyser, pyment, metheglin, hippocrass or braggot, and it isn't really a mead any more at all.

I've been brewing my own mead now for about 16 years

hmmmm... cooks and brews... your significant other is quite lucky...