Everyone knows Guinness. The beautiful, black, creamy pint is enjoyed by millions the world over. From the pub nooks of the Emerald Isle to bars in Nigeria, from the USA to the UK and everywhere in between.
But Guinness is more than just the celebrated stout that we all know and love. In fact, over recent years, Guinness’s Open Gate Brewery project has brought with it a wide variety of drinks inspired by the brewers’ expertise and worldwide beer trends.
With an ever-growing roster of beers, we posed the question: which is the best? From IPAs to black lagers, we look at the best Guinness variety beers for you to try the next time you want to change it up. Here is our definitive ranking of ten Guinness variety beers ranked worst to best.
- Everyone knows Guinness. The beautiful, black, creamy pint is enjoyed by millions the world over. From the pub nooks of the Emerald Isle to bars in Nigeria, from the USA to the UK and everywhere in between.
- 10. Guinness Nitro IPA – an IPA with the Guinness texture
- 9. Hop House 13 – one of the most popular Guinness variety beers
- 8. Citra IPA – from the Open Gate Brewery
- 7. Guinness Smooth – a Guinness variety beer worth trying
- 6. Guinness West Indies Porter – packed full of hops
- 5. Guinness Golden Ale – a clean and dry finish from an explosion of flavour
- 4. Guinness Blonde American Lager – a Guinness taste like no other
- 3. Guinness Dublin Porter – inspired by an archival Guinness recipe
- 2. Guinness Black Lager – a different black stuff
- 1. Guinness Special Export – packs a punch
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10. Guinness Nitro IPA – an IPA with the Guinness texture
The Guinness Nitro IPA combines the more and more popular IPA with the nitrogen that gives Guinness its creamy head and smooth texture.
This amber-coloured IPA blends hoppy bitterness with notes of citrus, pine, and tropical fruits.
9. Hop House 13 – one of the most popular Guinness variety beers
This lager-style beer is named after a hop store at Guinness’s St James’s Gate Brewery due to its reliance on hops for its strong flavour.
The recipe employs Irish malted barley, Guinness yeast, and a mixture of hops imported from America and Australia.
8. Citra IPA – from the Open Gate Brewery
Brewed at Guinness’s Open Gate Brewery and based on the United States West Coast style of IPA, whose citrus hops give it a prominent, citrus fruit flavour with a hint of floral notes in there, too.
Citra IPA makes use of the citra hops that give it its name, along with centennial and cascade hops. The recipe calls for both wet hopping and dry hopping of these varieties for the Citra IPA’s unique flavour profile.
7. Guinness Smooth – a Guinness variety beer worth trying
For Guinness Smooth, the idea was to combine all the character and flavour of Guinness with an even smoother finish. It aims to achieve this with a milder, less bitter profile.
Does it meet its goal? Maybe not, but it’s still a delicious Guinness variety beer worth trying.
6. Guinness West Indies Porter – packed full of hops
The recipe for Guinness West Indies Porter comes from the company’s first foray into exporting their famous drink. This Guinness variety beer is packed full of hops to best preserve the beer on a four-to-five-week sea voyage to the West Indies
5. Guinness Golden Ale – a clean and dry finish from an explosion of flavour
We’re halfway through our list of ten Guinness variety beers ranked worst to best, and the Guinness Golden Alen takes our 5th spot.
A refreshingly clean and dry finish follows from a lively flavour profile consisting of malt, biscuit, delicate hops, and a slight sweetness.
Guinness brewers know a thing or two about brewing ales. Before Arthur Guinness made the decision to focus on stout, most of the brewery’s output was ale like this one.
4. Guinness Blonde American Lager – a Guinness taste like no other
Guinness Blonde American Lager combines the best of European brewing techniques with America’s finest malts and hops and the famous Guinness strain of yeast to create a crisp, light, American pale lager with a great flavour.
The light body and drastically different flavour profile make this a Guinness taste like no other.
3. Guinness Dublin Porter – inspired by an archival Guinness recipe
The brewers took inspiration for Guinness Dublin porter from an archival recipe dating back to 1796. The recipe calls for fewer hops and a shorter maturation process, leading to a sweeter malt-caramel flavour.
With its pleasant taste and relatively low alcohol content (3.8% ABV), Guinness Dublin Porter is a Guinness variety beer to enjoy cold on a warm day.
2. Guinness Black Lager – a different black stuff
While Guinness is most famous for its iconic pint of stout, it has been making waves in recent years with another ‘black stuff’ – the Guinness Black Lager.
A light, crisp first sip gives way to hints of roasted malt, chocolate, and coffee before a slightly bitter hoppy finish.
1. Guinness Special Export – packs a punch
When it comes to Guinness variety beers ranked worst to best, Guinness Special Export takes our top spot. The story behind Guinness Special Export began in the 1940s when English brewer John Martin moved to Belgium.
He approached Guinness with an idea for a Belgian-inspired Guinness that is reflected in its higher alcohol content – eight per cent.
Martin’s idea also called for less hops, a sweeter aftertaste, and a lower bitterness to suit the drink’s new Belgian market.
