Plastic Slivers found in Canned Guinness
Steve Pope
Dec. 30:
"THE PLASTIC device that produces the creamy head on cans
of draught Guinness may make the stout hard to swallow.
At least four drinkers have found small rigid shards of
plastic in their beer."
The story goes on to describe how the little plastic
bladder in the bottom of the can, which is pressurized
with (I believe) nitrogen, has in some cases cracked
and broken up.
Apparently this malfunction is pretty rare, the risk
of injuring yourself nonexistent (or nearly so), etc.
Affected cans will be notable for producing a flat
glass of Guinness rather than a properly carbonated one.
Steve
Iskandar Taib
>From a story in "The Independent", London, Weds.
>Dec. 30:
>"THE PLASTIC device that produces the creamy head on cans
>of draught Guinness may make the stout hard to swallow.
>At least four drinkers have found small rigid shards of
>plastic in their beer."
>The story goes on to describe how the little plastic
>bladder in the bottom of the can, which is pressurized
>with (I believe) nitrogen, has in some cases cracked
>and broken up.
Hmmm.. can someone tell us how this thing works? I suppose
the idea is to get a head of foam when you pour the stuff
into a glass, but wouldn't it cause the stuff to start spilling
over once you open the can?
--
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Michael Helm
>>"THE PLASTIC device that produces the creamy head on cans
>>of draught Guinness may make the stout hard to swallow.
>Hmmm.. can someone tell us how this thing works? I suppose
>the idea is to get a head of foam when you pour the stuff
It's a little canister of Nitrogen, I believe. Indeed your
supposition is correct. This has got to be the only can of beer
I have ever had that had a Manual of Instructions that you had
to read before quaffing your brew. One for the recordbook.
Anyway, you can't drink it direct from the can (unless & except and
so forth).
Craig Cockburn
In article <C0B84...@usenet.ucs.indiana.edu>, nt...@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (Iskandar Taib) writes...
>
>Hmmm.. can someone tell us how this thing works? I suppose
>the idea is to get a head of foam when you pour the stuff
>into a glass, but wouldn't it cause the stuff to start spilling
>over once you open the can?
>
and emptying it into a glass big enough (I use a pint).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Craig Cockburn (leaving Digital on 4th Jan)
New internet address: cr...@smo.ac.uk (working now)
Voice after 7th Jan: +[44] 31 554 2926
Moving to Edinburgh, yahoo!
andy rogers
excerpts from a post by someone else follow
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: matt...@ajsh.colorado.edu (Alex Matthews)
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.brewing
Subject: Re: Guiness Found - In a (patented) Can!
Date: 8 Nov 91 00:02:38 GMT
Sender: ne...@colorado.edu (The Daily Planet)
Organization: JILA, University of Colorado at Boulder
Lines: 84
Originator: matthews@ajsh
A friend writes:
----- Begin Forwarded Message -----
THE GUINNESS CAN
I had the good fortune to be invited to attend a very special beer happening
(am I dating myself with that term?) recently by Tom Dahldorf of the
California Celebrator. The event was Guinness' unveiling of their new
product, Pub Draught Guinness. Now, I can hear the lot of you saying to
yourselves "Yeah, yeah, another 'draft beer in a can', big deal". But this
one is different. For the most part this product actually does what it is
supposed to do!
Anyone who has had Guinness Stout on draught and from a bottle knows there is
a vast difference between the two brews. The brewery makes no secret of the
fact that the recipes are different not only between the kegged version and
the bottled, but also between different bottled markets. Now the folks at
Guinness have developed a system which dispenses their stout from a can in
such a way as to rival a pub tap. They have been working on this for some 20
years and the final method was preceded by over 100 failed attempts.
The problem has always been the fact that draught Guinness is (or should be)
dispensed with a mixture of Nitrogen and CO2 gasses rather than the
conventional CO2 alone. The nitrogen is used because it makes very fine
bubbles while it is not absorbed into the brew as the CO2 is, thus it does not
"over-carbonate" the beer. Also a special faucet is preferred which, in
combination with the gasses, creates that wonderful creamy brown head which
lasts to the bottom of the glass. The new can combines the original kegged
stout recipe with technology which creates the draught effect to a tee.
Dr. Alan Forage, creator of the technology, was on hand to explain the
mechanics of the new can. This is the way the system works: The 16.9 ounce
can (containing 14.9 ounces of beer) is fitted with a small plastic device
(Guinness calls it a "smoothifier") which sits in the bottom of the can. This
device has a pocket or cavity which is open to the atmosphere via a pin hole
in its top. The can is evacuated of oxygen and filled with beer. Prior to
sealing the can, a dose of liquid nitrogen is added to the beer. The can is
closed and as the liquid nitrogen warms a pressure is created. The pressure
forces about 1% of the beer and nitrogen into the plastic cavity. When the
can is opened, the pressure is released and the small amount of beer in the
cavity is forced back through the pinhole quite violently. The agitation
created by this "geyser" mixes the nitrogen with the beer in such a way as to
reproduce the tap handle character. Open up the first empty can you have in
order to see what the "smoothifier" looks like.
Prior to serving, the beer must be chilled. Guinness suggests a two hour
stint in a refrigerator, with a target serving temperature of 45-50 degrees
(if opened while warm, the beer gushes with excess force). This is the one
area where flavor will be variable since most American refrigerators hold
their temperatures closer to 35-40 degrees. We all know the colder the beer
the less the flavors are perceptible. Education will be the key here. The
entire contents should be emptied into a 16 ounce glass. The head which forms
is exactly like that of the draught version. And yes, it does last to the
bottom of the glass.
How does it taste? In my opinion, this is virtually the same as what you get
at a well maintained pub. The texture is right on. The flavor is wonderful.
I suspect there may be some slight differences as a result of the volume of
the package (14.9 ounces vs. 15.5 gallons) but I didn't notice any. According
to Declan Maguire, group marketing director of Guinness Import Company here in
the U.S., extensive taste comparisons were made throughout Ireland and England
during the development of the product. This includes side-by-side blind
tastings with the original version.
The cans come in packages of 4. The suggested price is $5.99. The stout is
4% alcohol by volume. Guinness is releasing the new product in the San
Francisco, Chicago, and Baltimore/Washington D.C. areas to begin with.
Locally, Safeway stores are carrying it at $3.00/2 cans. The cans can be
recycled just like other aluminum ones. I suspect the insert is made from the
same plastic which is used to coat the inside of the can and will burn off
during the recycling process.
----- End Forwarded Message -----
--
-Alex Matthews (matt...@ajsh.colorado.edu, matt...@jila.bitnet)
DoD #0010
"Occasionally we may try to reroute you briefly onto a particularly
beautiful side road...." - Numerical Recipes
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
reposted by andy rogers
Ken R. Dye
>In article <C0B84...@usenet.ucs.indiana.edu> Iskandar Taib,
>nt...@silver.ucs.indiana.edu writes:
>>Hmmm.. can someone tell us how this thing works? I suppose
>
>excerpts from a post by someone else follow
>Prior to serving, the beer must be chilled. Guinness suggests a two hour
>stint in a refrigerator, with a target serving temperature of 45-50 degrees
>(if opened while warm, the beer gushes with excess force). This is the one
>area where flavor will be variable since most American refrigerators hold
>their temperatures closer to 35-40 degrees. We all know the colder the beer
>the less the flavors are perceptible. Education will be the key here. The
Now if they will only come out with one tuned to be
served at room temperature, as God intended Guinness to be served....
--Ken
--
Ken R. Dye an optimist is a guy |
Interactive Systems Corp., Chicago that has never had |
(800) LAI-UNIX x341 much experience |
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Jim Hunt
an insight into the conflict between American and British views.
Guiness comes in bottles, (but they aren't as good as draft) but bottles
are a limit to profit margin, so the American distributors of Guiness
wanted to put out a canned version of Guiness.
(This is a couple years ago, before the fancy new can that started this
thread off, I look forward to trying one of the new cans.)
But the American Food and Droog Administration is very picky about
health and safety. In fact, beer must either be stored at a high
enough pressure to prevent bacteria growth, or must be Pasteurized
in the can. They have no concept of Stout, with enough alcohol to
prevent growth. Since cheap cans cannot support enough pressure,
99+% of American beer is Pasteurized. This is closely related to
the fact that 99+% of American beer isn't fit for teeth brushing,
much less drinking.
I will let one of the british posters describe their reaction to the
concept of boiled beer.
To make a long story short, canned Guiness has been available for
quite some time, but they couldn't bring themselves to call it Stout.
The can are very plainly labelled:
Guiness PASTEURIZED Stout
--
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Bill Clinton is 46 years old and Dan Quayle is an idiot.
In '96, Bill Clinton will be 50 and Dan Quayle will still be an idiot.
(temporary .sig until I remember my old one, or a better one)
Steve Pope
>Ummm, correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me that to use the
>words "draught" and "can" simultaneously to refer to a fermented malt
>bevereage forms a contradiction in terms, does it not?
Berry, you are totally correct. It's just that this usage has
become so universally corrupted I have resigned myself to it
and repeated it in my post without qualification.
But the sentiment is correct. Assuming you're lucky enough
to end of with a canned Guinness without the plastic shards,
it closely resembles a draft guinness. Just about as good,
really.
Steve
Curtis Jackson
} Now if they will only come out with one tuned to be
}served at room temperature, as God intended Guinness to be served....
Someone will correct me if I am wrong (or even if I am right; this
is the net, after all), but I believe that Guiness theirselves would
recommend, should you desire to serve their stout at room temperature,
that your room be around 50 degrees Fahrenheit (although they'd likely
express it in degrees Celsius these days).
Certainly most of your finer stouts of repute, and even fine stouts
of disrepute (merely because of their Aussie origin) recommend around
a 50-55 degree serving temperature. A prime example is Sheaf Stout
(formerly Tooth Sheaf Stout) from Australia -- as fine a stout as one
could wish and one I would definitely put up against Guiness in a bottle
vs. bottle comparison. Now, it would be difficult to beat the lower
alcohol (and thus creamier) stout served on draught in Ireland, but
then I've never had Sheaf Stout on draught.
--
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cjac...@mv.us.adobe.com '92 Collie/Golden "George"
DoD #721 '91 Hawk GT '81 Maxim 650
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Rob Ingram
|> a 50-55 degree serving temperature. A prime example is Sheaf Stout
|> (formerly Tooth Sheaf Stout) from Australia -- as fine a stout as one
|> could wish and one I would definitely put up against Guiness in a bottle
|> vs. bottle comparison.
This may be right, but who'd drink Guiness out of a bottle! :-)
Rob.
--
_______________________________________________________________________________
| | Rob Ingram |
| By request. | University of Nottingham |
| Englands Finest. | Department of Computer Science |
| | Nottingham, UK. |
|_______________________|_____________________________________________________|
| | "Women: Can't live with 'em, can't get them |
| r...@cs.nott.ac.uk | to dress in skimpy leather Nazi outfits" |
|_______________________|_____________________________________________________|
andy rogers
writes:
>Certainly most of your finer stouts of repute, and even fine stouts
>of disrepute (merely because of their Aussie origin) recommend around
>a 50-55 degree serving temperature. A prime example is Sheaf Stout
>(formerly Tooth Sheaf Stout) from Australia -- as fine a stout as one
>could wish and one I would definitely put up against Guiness in a bottle
>vs. bottle comparison. Now, it would be difficult to beat the lower
is not the Sheaf stout bottle conditioned? (even in the U.S.)
the last couple i had seemed to contain something at the bottom which i
assumed to be yeast sediments. this would explain why it's so good (especially
compared to bottle guinness).
andy
----
Chris Cooke
Hmmm.. can someone tell us how this thing works? I suppose
the idea is to get a head of foam when you pour the stuff
into a glass, but wouldn't it cause the stuff to start spilling
over once you open the can?
The instructions tell you to chill the can before opening it - when cold, the
substance doesn't spill out of the can so readily. When it's chilled,
though, all you taste is a sort of cold texture, which makes the whole
exercise a bit pointless if you ask me.
--
-- Chris. c...@dcs.ed.ac.uk (on Janet, c...@uk.ac.ed.dcs)
mnt...@ccvax.ucd.ie
>
> The instructions tell you to chill the can before opening it - when cold, the
> substance doesn't spill out of the can so readily. When it's chilled,
> though, all you taste is a sort of cold texture, which makes the whole
> exercise a bit pointless if you ask me.
Aaarrgh! tepid Guinness. should be served at 4-5 degrees celcius
It sometimes helps to mask the pints, that are served some places.
But they are usually the same pubs that don't cool the Guinness enough.
Ciaran Ruane
Mountaineering Club.
University College, Dublin. Internet: mnt...@ccvax.ucd.ie
IRELAND.
^
M M ^ ^
UCD M M M M CCC ^ ^ ^
M M MC UCD MOUNTAINEERING CLUB ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
M C ^ ^ ^
M CCC ^ ^
Conor Macken
>In article <CC.93Ja...@arran.dcs.ed.ac.uk>, c...@dcs.ed.ac.uk (Chris Cooke) writes:
>>
>> The instructions tell you to chill the can before opening it - when cold, the
>> substance doesn't spill out of the can so readily. When it's chilled,
>> though, all you taste is a sort of cold texture, which makes the whole
>> exercise a bit pointless if you ask me.
>Aaarrgh! tepid Guinness. should be served at 4-5 degrees celcius
>It sometimes helps to mask the pints, that are served some places.
>But they are usually the same pubs that don't cool the Guinness enough.
Yes, here we go. The old how-can-I-drink-nice-canned-draught-Guinness
thing. The thing is; keeping the cans in a normal fridge makes 'em too
cold (domestic fridges are supposed to be <4 degrees, normally lower),
and keeping them in a cool room, even immersed (sp?) in water, doesn't
keep them cold enough (you tend to get a bubbley bishop's collar).
I'd say, ideally, you have a fridge in which you keep the temp around
4-5 degrees, specially for beer. This gives you an excuse to fill it
entirely with beer.
I plan on doing this in the spring with our old fridge at home.
Conor Macken
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Darryl Davis (RA)
store in a cold room, and it is then at the correct temperature (hic!)
dr doom the optimist
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Brunswick St > Phone : (+44)-61-275-4561
Manchester M13 9PL > FAX : (+44)-61-275-4512
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