Guinness Draft Bottles - little plastic thingy?

[Medsen Fey]

So I learn something new every day.

I decided to celebrate St. Paddy's day with a bottle of stout. Much of the Guinness sold here is produced in the New World using the recipe from the Emerald Isle, but I wanted some true Irish beer and picked up some Guinness draft bottles which are imported from Ireland.

To my surprise, I find a long white plastic thingy in the bottles.... ???

Well apparently this thing is called a "rocket" and has been placed into the bottle to create agitation to produce the creamy head texture as you drink it from the bottle (which you are supposed to do). I never knew they did this - I guess those advertising dollars were not targeted to my demographic.

The beer tasted just fine but at the end I was a little perturbed by having this chunk of plastic stuck in a bottle I would like to reuse. I felt better after reading it can be extracted with needle nose pliers (or a good forceps - I've seen stranger things removed from stranger places).

 

[DaleP]

Here's a quick answer as to how they work. The "rocket" is filled with N2, there is a very small hole at one end that always points down (in the cans this is round and one side is weighted, not sure if the rocket is weighted). The bottle is filled under counter flow with a N2/CO2 mix at higher than normal pressures. Upon opening, what little beer makes its way into the rocket is forced out by the CO2, being expelled thru the tiny hole at high speed creates the foamy texture we love in a Guiness. Myself? I don't like these, I want my ale in a clear glass so I can enjoy the smell and appearance along with the taste.

 

[Medsen Fey]

I did find it less satisfying than a good pint-glass full - I missed the foam mustache too.

 

[CBBaron]

I thought you were supposed to pour it into a pint glass in one smooth pour after opening to maximize the effects of the widget?

Several English and Irish ales come with this type of widget. I remember at least a can of Boddingtons Pub Ale that had a widget.

Craig

 

[Medsen Fey]

With these bottles they actually instruct you to drink it from the bottle.

 

[wayneb]

The "draught can" widgets (actually called a "smoothifier" by Guinness) are spherical and weighted on one end, to cause the microbubbles to be introduced from a hole in the bottom of the device. Thus, microbubbles are added about an inch below the top of the liquid whether the can is right-side up or inverted. The can instructions are to open, then pour the contents smoothly and steadily into a glass, in one pour. The rocket-shaped widget in their new draught bottles (introduced around 2004, where the current can widget technology was first introduced in 1997) is shaped to hold its position in the bottle, and thus "smoothified" beer can be drunk directly from the bottle since the microbubbles are introduced lower in the liquid column, and valved to only be added as the bottle is inverted.

 

[Dan McFeeley]

With these bottles they actually instruct you to drink it from the bottle.

I think they also advise to serve the Guinness cold.

Must be advice for the Yanks across the pond. I can't see drinking a good stout out of a bottle, like it was a Bud Light or something similar. Serving it chilled is probably to keep the foaming head under control, otherwise you'd be drinking out of a bottle that's foaming out of the top.

I like it, but it's not as good as Guinness straight from the tap.

 

[gavinonymous]

It could be wrong but I read recently that the widget isn't pressurized before it goes in the can (otherwise how could they keep it from depressurizing until you open it ?)

Instead an article claims that a blob of liquid nitrogen is added just before the can is sealed. When you open the can, the pressure forces the liquid to go through the widget which I guess has tiny holes to let the nitrogen diffuse evenly into the beer. I'd guess the same thing goes for the bottle widget. I think it's just a piece of plastic with holes that the beer is forced to flow through. (Guinness used to include a syringe if you can believe it to help you to get the pub style head on your beer at home)

The bottle widget is a great idea - I'm sure they have a patent on it for a while yet. Now the new thing is the Guinness Surger. It sends ultrasonic waves through your glass to give you the 'surge'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqFAOyDNXIw

 

[GeorgiaMead]

I think they also advise to serve the Guinness cold.

Must be advice for the Yanks across the pond. I can't see drinking a good stout out of a bottle, like it was a Bud Light or something similar. Serving it chilled is probably to keep the foaming head under control, otherwise you'd be drinking out of a bottle that's foaming out of the top.

I like it, but it's not as good as Guinness straight from the tap.

i have a friend that has sources.... (i'll stop there) but we managed to get a keg and a nitrogen tank for thanksgiving... nothing beats guiness from the tap. period.;D

 

[OrganicSu]

nothing beats guiness from the tap. period.;D

Oh my lord - I miss my Guinness!!! Gotta fly home, NOW.

Nothing beats Guinness from St. James Gate Brewery in Dublin, Ireland. The bar has several taps, all perfectly tuned. There is no cash register !!!

Guinness is the most susceptible drink to travel that I know of. It hates to leave home. Even 200 miles south (where I used to live) it starts to taste different. No joke!