It tastes like Guinness

Last night we were at Kroger and I saw an ad on a shopping cart for the no-alcohol Guinness. Advertising apparently works on me because I brought a 4-pack home, even though I had no intention of buying beer, with or without alcohol, when I entered the store.

I've tried a couple of the newer no-alcohol beers, and although none of them were bad, none felt like something I would want to drink regularly. This Guinness is different.

It comes in the famous nitrogen charged Guinness can, and pours exactly like a normal Guinness, midnight black with a long lasting, frothy head. I noticed when done that the pint glass was laced with foam, just as you would expect from a pint poured at your favorite pub.

My initial taste reaction was...wow, this tastes like Guinness. After drinking two pints, that reaction holds. The mouthfeel is a little different, it's thinner, but not dramatically so. The finish lacks the creamy smoothness you expect from a Guinness. It's not bad though, more like a nondescript dry stout than that classic Guinness smoothness. The taste holds up. It basically tastes like Guinness, which is exactly what you want your alternative 0% alcohol Guinness to taste like. At only 60 calories per pint, it's very middle-aged metabolism friendly too. That unfortunately, is becoming a more important factor for me.

The bottom line is that it tastes like Guinness, and I plan to start drinking more of this. Now to find a really good no-alcohol IPA.