Pouring pint of Guinness is sort of a recreation of chess: it takes minutes to study, a lifetime to grasp. Chances are you’ll be considering “it’s simply liquid in a glass”. That it tastes the identical whether or not it’s consumed from a branded glass or a canine bowl. “So what if it doesn’t have a lot head, that’s extra Guinness for me, proper?” Ah so naive.
As anybody who’s been served watery Guinness in a crap pub, or has spent any time scrolling the feed of @shitlondonguinness, can attest, pouring a pint of the black stuff™ is an artform. However not like artwork, the distinction between and unhealthy Guinness isn’t subjective. An excellent pint will probably be poured in a branded glass and topped with a thick, white foam domage. A foul pint is watery and stagnant. It is going to sit there with a 3in head or no head in any respect. It is going to mock you and your life choices.
It’s additionally close to unimaginable to provide one outdoors of an excellent pub – however that will have modified with the Guinness Nitrosurge. This Guinness gadget claims to make use of ultrasonic tech to recreate the traditional two-pour pint. Merely clip the round machine to the highest of a Guinness can, push a button, pour, and a pub high quality pint is there so that you can get pleasure from. Supposedly.
The Nitrosurge shouldn’t be the primary Guinness-based innovation for dwelling supping. It was Guinness, in spite of everything, who patented the widget, a ping pong ball-like machine that also is available in cans of Guinness right this moment. We’ve additionally seen the ‘Surger’, a beer mat-style contraption that used ultrasound waves to activate the froth head.
A more moderen invention was the MicroDraught, a house bar faucet that (Guinness says) delivers a ‘freshly poured, deliciously easy’ pint with ‘a superbly domed head and exquisite style always.’ At £750, although, the MicroDraught is just a little overkill for the common Guinness enjoyer. However a Nitrosurge bundle, which incorporates the machine, eight pint cans of Guinness and two pint glasses, prices a way more affordable £70. Is Nitrosurge the important thing to at-home Guinness excellency? Let’s discover out.
Slightly disclaimer first. We’ll be testing three types of Guinness – common Guinness, 0.0 alcohol free Guinness and the newly (ish) launched Guinness Chilly Brew Espresso Beer. Every can will probably be poured horizontally right into a branded glass at a 45-degree angle, left to settle, then topped off. Simply because it’s alleged to be. We’re searching for a black beer with a 2cm domage.
We gained’t be judging on style. This isn’t masterchef, we’re not beer critics, and it’s a pint of Guinness, not a taster menu at The Fats Duck. Pints will probably be judged by three markers – pour one, pour two and domage. Let’s go.
The machine
The Nitrosurge makes use of ultrasonic waves to interrupt down the nitrogen bubbles in a can of Guinness, thus mimicking a pub pour. The machine is powered by a Micro-USB/USB-A charging cable, with a full cost (round eight hours) fuelling round 100 pours.
Within the field, you get a tool, a USB cable, a nozzle and a small brush for deep cleansing, and the lifespan of a tool actually depends upon how nicely you take care of it.
It’s adorned with the golden Guinness harp on the high, and is marked with branding across the circumference. It feels sturdy, and is weighty sufficient to reassure it’s nicely made. To organize it for the pour, the directions inform me, I need to connect a nozzle, rinse the machine by earlier than use and clip it to the highest of the can. It’s really easy even an 18 12 months previous child may do it.
Alongside the Nitrosurge machine comes the Nitrosurge cans. These are designed completely to be used with Nitrosurge, however at a retail worth of round £14 for six pint (568ml) cans, high quality comes at a value.
Guinness unique
Pour one
Yep, that’s Guinness alright. The bubbles circulate from the underside of the glass and rise upwards like a creamy cloud. It settles superbly, taking simply over a minute to finish its first section. It’s just a little bubbly, however that may be all the way down to my pouring. Wouldn’t it get up in a mean pub? To date, I feel so.
Pour two
The second pour is arguably the make or break level for a pint of Guinness. Pour one leaves some room for human error, however an overzealous pour can lead to a huge head and a moist, beer soaked hand. Naturally, although, I nail it. My abilities are wasted right here. I must be in Dublin. However I’m not. I’m in my kitchen analysing beer foam with a tape measure.
The Nitrosurge performs very nicely, delivering a creamy pint that I’d fortunately settle for in my native. I’d most likely order one other.
Domage: Very spectacular. Few individuals would flip this away if handed it in a daily pub, I feel. At first, I believed the Nitrosurge could also be one thing of a fad gadget for anoraks, however I’m completely happy to be confirmed improper.
0.0
0.0 is Guinness with out the alcohol, and it’s the most effective zero % beers on the market. It seems to be like Guinness, smells just like Guinness, and there’s sufficient of a Guinness flavour to trick your mind into believing it’s near the true deal. It additionally isn’t meant for use with the Nitrosurge.
Guinness are very clear that Nitrosurge cans and Nitrosurge cans solely have to be used to attain the specified consequence. With that in thoughts, it’s honest to take this check with a pinch of salt. Nonetheless, within the title of science, let’s press forward.
Pour one
The 0.0 pours easy, with a milky color earlier than settling into a really darkish ruby tone. It absolutely settles in only a few seconds, however the foam is noticeably extra honeycombed than the Guinness Authentic. Fairly than a easy crust there are massive bubbles within the foam, however the Nitrosurge does give it an additional pep in comparison with a normal pour.
Pour two
Little adjustments to the 0.0 on the second pour. The 0.0 solely is available in 440ml, and thus scuppers my as soon as hermetic Guinness score system. It seems to be just a little unhappy and lonely in my glass, like a baby wearing an outsized go well with at a household marriage ceremony. There isn’t a wind beneath its wings. It’s incomplete. Nonetheless, it tastes good so I’m completely happy.
Domage: Take a look at incomplete resulting from inadequate glassware.
Guinness Chilly Brew Espresso Beer
I’m no purist. Fairly, I’m a sucker for a gimmick. That’s why I greet the Guinness Chilly Brew Espresso Beer with anticipation. Will I crack open a can to find a wealthy, aromatic tipple that may be sipped by the hearth as snow falls outdoors my window? Or will I pour into my glass an artificially sweetened concoction of syrup and extract? Both method, I’m right here for it.
As soon as once more, the Guinness Chilly Brew Espresso Beer isn’t meant for the Nitrosurge.
Pour one
I’m immediately overcome with a scent of espresso, which surprises me greater than it ought to. Perhaps my mind tricked itself into considering it’s a daily Guinness, I inform myself. The primary pour is someplace between the Nitrosurge can and 0.0, not fairly a fantastic Guinness however an enough first pour.
Pour two
As soon as once more, this check is skewed because the Guinness Chilly Brew Espresso Beer doesn’t come as a full pint however we obtain an optimum pour with a 2cm foam. To our shock, although, the Chilly Brew Espresso Beer offers us essentially the most aesthetically pleasing head of all three beers. It’s creamy and thick, and tops our drink with a stunning shade of burnt cream. The glass was barely soiled once I poured it, which is why there are slight marks across the glass that just about seem like condensation, however apart from my errors I’m more than happy.
Domage: Unfair check resulting from inadequate glass. Didn’t move peer assessment.
Guinness Nitrosurge verdict
Guinness enjoys sufficient of an avid drinker-base that the Nitrosurge will doubtless seem in numerous stockings this Christmas. For the informal drinker, although, it will not be well worth the cash or effort. These £14 a pack beers will doubtless deter just a few of us, and also you undoubtedly don’t get the identical outcomes with common cans. Some might not see the enchantment in an digital pouring machine when a hoop pull does simply positive.
However Guinness, famously, requires persistence. If in case you have that, then the Nitrosurge is value it.