Guinness Red Harvest Stout (6/10)

Guinness is well-known for its stouts.  Red Harvest is an irish dry stout.

It’s shipped in a can with a device inside to provide serving-time carbonation.

It pours with a  thick whipped-cream-like head that lasts for a very, very long time.  The beer itself is a deep mahogany (reddish brown).

The aroma mixes coffee and chocolate, which you’d expect for a stout.

The flavor differs a bit from the aroma.  It pretty much tastes just like a standard Guinness stout.  The difference is that the flavor is very, very subtly more smooth.  Mouth feel is thinner and more watery than a standard Guinness.  The head gives it a bit of a milkshake-like creaminess.  In the end, it’s nothing I’d rush out to buy again but it’s not a beer I’d turn down if someone offered it to me.  I find myself asking much the same question Marc Bona of the Cleveland Plain Dealer did… Why did Guinness bother to brew this, given that it tastes exactly like their signature stout?  If they wanted to impress me, they’d come up with a stout that tastes like Jamaica’s Dragon Stout or Dragon Stout Spitfire.  Now that’s a beer I’d rush out to get…

Beer Advocate rates it a 72-75 or “okay” while Rate Beer was much tougher, giving it only a 31.  My rating of 6/10 is closer to Beer Advocate’s in this case.

I purchased the can used for this review at Kenny Road Market in their single beers section for about $2.50.  You can probably find it at other local retailers.

Flavor Profile:

Sweet, Malty, Dry, or Bitter:  Dry
Spice Level:  None
Hops Level:  Mild
Dominant Flavors:  Standard Guinness stout
ABV: 4.1%
IBU:  Unknown
My Rating: 6/10