Beer with nitrogen capsule Guinness: description, reviews and price. Excellent product, is in a plastic case, convenient and high-quality product How to pour Guinness from a can

Beer is at the very heart of the Irish way of life, Irish culture and national identity. The beer was brewed by the ancient Celts, calling it “kurmi”, then “feed”, then, on the contrary, “smoke”. Chronicles say that St. Patrick did not disdain beer (that is, “feed”).

During the Middle Ages, Irish kings used to celebrate Sunday drinking beer with their court. And bad fame was about that king, whose guests left the palace without the smell of beer fumes.

Beer bar in Dublin

Beer was brewed, of course, by the monks, who also drank it themselves, and they did it on the days of fasting, calling it “liquid bread.” For Irish peasants, beer served as the main source of vitamins in winter, since cows were not milked in winter, and vegetables were running out.

By the early 20th century there were breweries in every self-respecting Irish city, and Guinness was considered the largest brewery in the world. Subsequently, competitors overtook Guinness in the international market, but in Ireland itself, the dominance of several large brands led to the almost complete disappearance of small breweries. Only at the end of the 20th century did the movement for the revival of small-scale beer production begin.

Stout, porter, ale, lager...

Before proceeding, it is necessary to agree on terms. Since I can't even remotely consider myself a connoisseur of Irish and English beer, it took me some time to realize that, for example, stout and porter are, in essence, for the most part the same thing, and in Ireland, famous for its stout (that is, porter), consume twice as much lager as dark beer.

When the foam settles, the beer needs to be topped up.

So, porter is the name of a dark beer once popular among London porters, hence its name (porter - porter, porter). The word stout has a more ancient origin, its original meaning is “proud”, “brave”; later - "strong". From the 18th century, both words began to be used to refer to dark beer, which, as a rule, was stronger than light. Although there are some exceptions, today "stout" and "porter" mean the same thing: a dark beer, which is synonymous with Irish Guinness (although the founder of this oldest Irish brewery, Arthur Guinness, was an Englishman). After more than two centuries, the English-origin Irish beer Guinness came under the control of the British alcohol company Diageo, but is still made in Dublin, where I tasted it and learned the art of filling a Guinness glass correctly.

Beer bar in Dublin

To be fair, today Guinness is produced and consumed more in Nigeria than in Ireland, but it is made from sorghum and not from barley, as in Dublin. In general, if you drink Guinness produced outside of Ireland, then most likely it is made from a concentrate. Therefore, the taste of Moscow Guinness bears little resemblance to Irish. If you're drinking draft Irish porter at a bar, it's good to keep in mind that Guinness's famous long-lasting silky foam is achieved by fortifying the drink with nitrogen.

Street in Kilkennen town

The good news about Guinness is that it's a relatively low-calorie drink: One pint of Irish Stout has fewer calories than a glass of skimmed milk or orange juice.

Irish beer must be able to pour

You can drink Guinness as you please, but there is one rule that allows you to get the most out of this activity: the first sip should be large, and at the same time you should try to get as little foam into your mouth as possible.

At the Guinness factory in Dublin

The art of properly filling a glass from the tap is somewhat more complicated. On the branded glass of "Guinness", as everyone knows, there is an image of a golden harp, the symbol of Ireland. In addition to the patriotic value, this image also has a purely utilitarian meaning. Bringing the glass to the tap at an angle of 45 degrees, you should pour beer in a thin stream, aiming at the harp, so that the dark liquid flows down the wall of the glass. Having filled the glass to a quarter, you completely open the tap, but do not try to pour the beer to the brim, but leave a couple of centimeters. Next, you should wait until the foam settles, for which the real Guinness will take exactly 110 seconds. And only after that the porter can be topped up to the end.

Beer bar in Dublin

At the Guinness factory in Dublin, I did all these manipulations, and then drained my glass with great enthusiasm, receiving a certificate for this.

Although Guinness is the most famous Irish beer outside of Ireland, when you get to the island, you must try the drinks produced in small family breweries. On our trip, organized by Bord Bia, I had the opportunity to visit the family business that makes O'Hara's beer in County Carlow. Unlike Guinness, which keeps score for centuries, the age of O'Hara's is simply "childish", about a quarter of a century.

In the 1990s there was a boom in small family breweries in Ireland. Unfortunately, they were born just as quickly as they immediately ended their existence. O'Hara's is one of the few businesses to stand on its own two feet. In the 2000s, the revival of family breweries revived again, but so far too little time has passed to understand which of them will remain for a long time.

Why are small breweries good?

The plant where O'Hara's is bottled is located in the southeast of the island, in a region known for its barley production. Before beer brewing resumed in County Carlow in 1998, beer had last been brewed here a hundred years ago.

At O'Hara's Brewery

At the factory, we were shown the whole process of how a bag of roasted barley turns into a barrel of foamy drink. The O'Hara brothers brew stout, red ale and wheat beer using traditional local recipes and only natural ingredients. I will refrain from further description of O'Hara's products, since everyone can form their own idea of ​​\u200b\u200bit. Unlike Guinness, which comes to Moscow stores from a factory in St. Petersburg, the drinks of the O'Hara brothers come to us straight from Ireland. More precisely so. Due to the lack of space for a bottling line, the brewed unfiltered beer goes to Britain, where it is filtered and bottled, and then it is distributed around the world.

When it comes to beer, what is the first thing you think of? About taste, about color, about salted fish? Most people see a lush thick beer hat before their eyes. Glasses of draft beer with a pronounced head of foam are served in bars. Poured beer from bottles or cans rarely differs in this feature.

But there is one beer, often referred to as nitrogen beer or capsule beer, that forms a phenomenal head. The hat differs not only in its lush volume, it has an increased density. Foam completely fills the space of the glass. Slowly settling, the foam complements the taste sensations. The main thing is that such beer retains its original quality for a long time even when transported over long distances. It's a Guinness beer.

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If this is your first time drinking canned or bottled Irish beer of this brand, it will surely seem strange to you: an incomprehensible white ball with holes floats inside. Maybe it's a manufacturing defect if a foreign object got inside the beer?

No, this is not a marriage! You will be surprised, but the beer ball is considered the most revolutionary invention in England in the last 40 years. The so-called "discoveries of British scientists" traditionally cause a smile all over the world, but not this balloon. Let's figure it out!

The Guinness company set the task: to brew such a beer for bottling in cans and bottles, so that it has a foam cap, like beer on draft from barrels or kegs. The cap is usually formed by the carbon dioxide dissolved in the beer. How did he get there? The beer wort ferments and releases this gas. But not much gas. Therefore, the manufacturer has to pump carbon dioxide into the container additionally.

Additional nitrogen is pumped into the tank with nitrogen beer, and not traditional carbon dioxide. Nitrogen does not affect the taste of the intoxicating drink, it is an inert gas. When a bottle or can of beer is opened, more foam is formed due to nitrogen, and it lasts longer. Guinness has gone further. The company's specialists came up with a beer with a nitrogen capsule.

This is a plastic ball with a small hole. The ball diameter is only 2 cm. This ball is often called a beer widget.

Prior to sealing the beer can, nitrogen is injected into the spherical capsule. The gas is in the liquid state. Next, a ball filled with nitrogen is lowered inside a can of beer and it is quickly sealed. The spherical capsule floats inside the beer can, the nitrogen inside it evaporates and exits the capsule.

The jar is hermetically sealed, gaseous nitrogen released from the capsule increases the pressure in the jar. The nitrogen evaporated in the capsule frees up space in the capsule, and instead of nitrogen, beer flows into the capsule. So, now in the jar is beer, nitrogen, and a floating ball with beer and the rest of the nitrogen.

And now let's uncork the bank. What will happen? The pressure in the can dropped sharply, the gas dissolved in the beer expands and forms foam. From the floating capsule, the remaining nitrogen escapes in a fountain-like manner through the hole along with the beer. This leads to the fact that the capsule begins to move randomly inside the jar, hit its walls, and bounce off them. This erratic movement of the capsule stirs the beer and helps create additional foam. A beautiful head of foam rises above a glass of beer. That's how the laws of physics work. But it’s better to see this process with your own eyes by buying a can of beer Ginness.

The brewers have been developing this technology for several years and spent more than 10 million dollars on it. The ball is placed only in canned beer. For bottles, a capsule of a different shape was invented. The bottle capsule looks like a torpedo.

This beer is not worth drinking warm, it is not cheap, so try to provide yourself with more pleasure and chill the beer in advance. The optimum temperature is 5-7 degrees.

Pouring and drinking this beer is a whole ritual. If you follow a few simple rules, you are guaranteed a great mood from this drink.

Important!

• You should not drink this beer from an ordinary glass, it is better to drink from a glass that looks like a tulip flower in shape. Thanks to this shape of the glass, gas bubbles circulate more actively up and down.
• 0.6 l is the traditional volume of a nitrogen beer glass.
• Hold your glass at an angle of approximately 45 degrees and slowly pour the beer three-quarters full.
• To prevent large bubbles from forming in the foam, do not hold the glass vertically!
• Let the glass of beer sit still for a couple of minutes. During this time, a high foam will rise above the beer.
• Pour the rest of the beer into a glass. The foam should take the shape of a dome.
• Seafood is good for beer, although in itself it will not leave you indifferent.

Try Irish Beer

• Buy two bottles or cans of Guinness.
• Cool one bottle to 5-7 degrees in the refrigerator, meanwhile let the other stand on the table at room temperature.
• Tilt the glass 45 degrees. Pour warm beer into the glass first, then cold beer. The glass should be half full! Wait half a minute, a foam cap should form.
• Top up with warm beer. Do not forget about the place in the glass for the resulting foam.
• Wait a couple more minutes for the foam to settle slightly. Now enjoy!

The most popular beer made using this technology is, of course, Guinness. Since the end of the 18th century, the company has been producing only beers with a dark color. But there are other brands of beer made using this technology. This is mainly beer brewed in English or Irish breweries. In Russian stores are sold:

• Kilkenny Draught;
• Belhaven Best;
• Boddingtons;
• Double Chocolate Stout);
• Murphy's Irish Stout;
• Caffrey's;
• Brains Black;
• Brains Smooth.

But having tried all sorts of varieties, you will opt for the Irish beer of the authors of the technology. Guinness is Guinness! It's not about what gas is added to beer. The brewer adds his soul to beer.

When you first buy a canned Guinness beer, you will find that there is a third-party object inside - a small (2 cm in diameter) plastic ball with a hole. This is not a gift or a manufacturer's defect. Before you is one of the greatest scientific achievements of Britain of the last 50 years. I will talk about the functional purpose of the capsule further.

The ball is called "Floating widget". This is a patented invention owned by the beer brand Guinness. The capsule retains the original taste of draft beer in a can for a long time even when transported over long distances.

The famous foam of Guinness beer

Most beers are fortified with carbon dioxide (CO2). In a closed can, one part of the gas accumulates at the top of the can, the other part dissolves in the beer itself. When you open a can and pour its contents into a glass, the pressure inside drops sharply, as a result of which carbon dioxide is released from the beer and forms the “beer hat” beloved by everyone. As the CO2 concentration decreases, the foam subsides.

Guinness beer is known for its long-lasting head. At the same time, the content of carbon dioxide in it is lower than in other varieties. In order not to spoil the unique taste of Guinness, carbonated with a low concentration of carbon dioxide, adding nitrogen. The problem is that the nitrogen does not dissolve in the beer, but accumulates at the top of the can and immediately comes out when you open it. Without the capsule, the Guinness foam was not as thick and would have held for a short time.

The principle of operation of the white ball

The capsule is a nitrogen-filled plastic ball with a small hole. It is added to a full jar just before closing. The nitrogen capsule increases the pressure inside the can, as a result, the beer enters the ball itself through the hole, completely filling it.

When opened, the pressure drops sharply. The nitrogen starts to force the beer out of the capsule back into the can. Stirring the beer (from the balloon and in the can) promotes the release of carbon dioxide, forming a beautiful persistent foam (in the video).

The first use of a balloon in a beer can was in 1989. And in 1991, the company received the Queen's Award for technological inventions. During the survey, the nitrogen capsule in beer was recognized as the greatest British invention of the last 40 years :).

Reference.- the most famous Irish beer (porter), which is used in the production of roasted barley, hops, malt and water. It has a characteristic dark color, burnt aroma and bitter taste with a long aftertaste. The brewery was founded in 1759 by Arthur Guinness. At the moment, the brand belongs to the London-based company Diageo, production facilities are concentrated in Dublin.

Food prepared by one's own hands is tastier and healthier than the one bought in the distribution network. This applies to drinks, canned foods and others.

home beer

The history of beer consumption dates back to ancient Egypt. Nowadays, beer has become one of the main low-alcohol drinks. But this drink for sale in stores is made using an accelerated procedure from a concentrate. In order to extend its shelf life, preservatives are added to beer that kill the taste. If beer is a favorite product, then it is possible to spend some time and other resources to prepare it at home.

Equipment for brewing

To make your own beer, you will need:

• enameled or stainless steel saucepan with a capacity of 30-50 liters;
• a chiller or, more simply, a coil needed to cool the beer;
• a container with a water seal of the appropriate volume for the fermentation process;
• thermometer;
• mill for grinding barley or rye malt;
• accurate scales.

Brewing Ingredients

To make beer at home, you need the following ingredients:

• malt;
• hop;
• Brewer's yeast.

And, in addition to all the ingredients, it will take a lot of patience. While you can make your own malt, it's best to shop for it if possible.

Brewer's laboratory

In order for the yeast (and this is a living organism) to sprout well, sterile conditions are necessary. Therefore, it is necessary to create sterile conditions using laboratory glassware. You will need hoses and bottle cleaners. Glass test tubes, flasks, stands for flasks with a round bottom are needed. Brewer's laboratory can be replenished with necessary items in our shop.

Homemade moonshine - a pleasant meeting

To distill moonshine at home, you must purchase moonshine stills, for example, in our store. The store has a variety of devices. Here are devices with two and one dry steamer, copper devices. They also have different sizes.

Items for making wine and canning

To make wine you need oak barrels different capacity. All products are made from dried oak. There are barrels with a capacity of three to twenty-five liters. Our barrels will allow you to age wine in them, which will have a delicate taste. They will keep it for a long time.

For canning in jars on the farm, it is necessary to have autoclaves with heating elements. Autoclave heating element will allow you to effectively process jars when cooking and preserving berries, meat, vegetables, and other products at home.

Brewed beer, wine, other drinks and products at home are always of excellent quality

This preparation requires patience. In addition, you will need brewing equipment, other items that can be purchased from us. Our managers are ready at the first request to advise, help with the choice ingredients for brewing, checkout and deliver the purchased items.

People trying Irish beer "Guinness" for the first time are perplexed by the plastic ball hidden inside the can. What is it - a manufacturing defect or a technological invention? About what taste qualities a beer with a nitrogen capsule has, why it is needed and how to drink such a drink correctly, we will tell in our article. And at the same time we will find out what other people think about Guinness beer.

Invention history

The Guinness beer brand was founded in Ireland in 1759. Today it is the most famous Irish beer, which has become a popular brand not only in Ireland, but throughout the world. The company aimed to brew a bottled beer with the properties of a draft beer, so that it retains the same thick and heady head as in the glass.

The nitrogen capsule, or the so-called beer widget, was patented by the company in 1989. The technology of foaming beer during bottling due to nitrogen release has become unique for the entire global brewing market. In 1991, the company was awarded a royal award for the invention of this device, and the widget itself was recognized as the greatest innovation in the last 40 years.

Nitrogen capsule beer has become a unique brand. And despite the fact that other producers, following the Guinness company, also began to use nitrogen to improve the quality of the foam, it is the Guinness drink that is considered the classic and most delicious drink, according to beer lovers around the world.

Why is a nitrogen capsule needed in beer?

The nitrogen capsule is a plastic ball 2 cm in diameter that floats in the bottle. Inside, the so-called floating widget is filled with nitrogen and has a hole through which the gas is released into the drink. The ball itself is added to the beer can just before sealing. Nitrogen begins to gradually release from the capsule, increasing the pressure in the can and filling with beer. During the uncorking of the can, the pressure drops sharply, the drink from the can and the ball is mixed, carbon dioxide is released and a dense and lush foam is formed.

Nitrogen capsule beer allows you to add less carbon dioxide to the drink during production, unlike other brands. Usually part of the CO 2 dissolves in the beer during storage, and the other part accumulates at the lid. When the jar is uncorked, the difference in pressure causes the gas to escape, forming a fluffy foam that settles over time. In beer "Guinness" carbon dioxide is added in a smaller volume, and the foam is formed due to nitrogen. The foam of such a drink turns out to be thicker and denser and does not settle for much longer.

How to drink Ginness beer?

The process of pouring the drink has become a real ritual. Traditionally, for this, a tulip-shaped glass is taken, which is preliminarily tilted at an angle of 45 °. The beer pours very slowly. First, the glass is filled ¾ of the volume to form a thick and dense foam, and then the remaining beer is poured. The whole drink consists of the smallest bubbles, thanks to which the beer is so pleasant to drink.

The manufacturer recommends drinking beer only chilled to a temperature of 6°C. This is how you can feel all the flavors of the drink. And this is burnt barley grain, and coffee, and chocolate. The taste is so rich and refined that it is difficult to describe in words. And it's not for nothing that beer with a nitrogen capsule "Guinness" is considered one of the best in the world. It is definitely a must try, even if you don't like foamy drinks.

Beer "Guinness" with a nitrogen capsule: customer reviews

Who would refuse a glass of quality beer with thick foam, pleasant taste and an unusual aftertaste with a slight bitterness? So people who buy Guinness beer confirm that they have never tasted a tastier drink in their entire lives. Let's dwell on what exactly they liked in beer:

• natural dark brown;
• mild aroma;
• easy to drink, unlike dark beer from other manufacturers;
• moderate bitterness in taste;
• aftertaste of dark bitter chocolate;
• thanks to the nitrogen capsule, a beautiful persistent foam is formed, like a bar beer;
• only positive impressions from the appearance, taste and smell.

In general, most buyers liked the popular one. However, there were also those who considered the beer with a nitrogen capsule to be a well-known brand, for which you have to overpay. In their negative reviews, they noted that the drink has an unsaturated, "empty" taste and a slight smell. But the foam, thanks to the nitrogen capsule, forms a good, thick and dense foam with any method of pouring.

How much is a beer with a capsule?

Original Irish beer can't be cheap. And this indicator should be guided in the first place if you want to buy a quality drink. Guinness beer with a volume of 0.44 liters is sold in Russian supermarkets and specialized stores at a price of 168 rubles per can. The strength of the foamy drink is 4.2%, the manufacturer is the company Diageo. On the packaging of real Guinness beer it is indicated that the temperature of its serving should not exceed 10 degrees above zero.