Saint Patrick's Day 2011 beer brawl: Guinness 250th Anniversary Stout v. McSorley's Irish Black Lager

It is Saint Patrick's Day, and time for an Irish beer brawl. Let's get in on!

Guinness 250th  Anniversary Stout

Vitals:

• Brewery: Guinness and Company
  

• Style: Dry Stout (Category 13A, BJCP 2008 Style Guidelines)

• Alcohol: 5%

• Serving: 12 ounce bottle, served with a single pour into a chilled pint

Scoring (in solidarity with Charlie the Beer Guy):

• Appearance: 8 - A near opaque ruby-brown, with a well-carbonated brown sudsy head that fades into a thick lace.

• Nose: 4 - Teasingly faint, mainly bready and roasty malts.
  

• Taste: 5 - An unassuming bready malt upfront, fading into a faint roasty bitter finish.
  

• Mouthfeel: 4 - Thin and highly carbonated, with a bready, bitter aftertaste.
  

• Holistic: 4 - A perfectly acceptable beer overall, but a bloody disappointment as a 250th anniversary brew from one of the world's oldest, iconic breweries.
  

Overall: 25 - Really, Guinness? This is how you embody 250 years of brewing experience?! Come on.

McSorley's Irish Black Lager

Vitals:

• Brewery: Pabst Brewing Company
  

• Style: Dark Lager (Category 4, BJCP 2008 Style Guidelines)

• Alcohol: 5.5%

• Serving: 12 ounce bottle, served with a single pour into a chilled pint

Scoring (in solidarity with Charlie the Beer Guy):

• Appearance: 8 - Also a near opaque ruby-brown, with a well-carbonated brown sudsy head that fades more quickly into a thin lace.

• Nose: 4 - Again, similar to the Guinness with faint bready and roasty malts.
  

• Taste: 6 - A bready malt backbone with a hit of roast in the middle of the swallow, and again at the end, for a biphasic effect.
  

• Mouthfeel: 7 - Smooth, with moderate body and carbonation, and a pleasant roasty aftertaste.
  

• Holistic: 7 - Quite good and drinkable, and a much stronger overall creation than the Guinness.

Overall: 32 - I still can't wrap my head around the fact that Pabst makes this on behalf of the McSorley's name, and puts out something worth drinking. It's a damn solid brew that makes for an excellent session beer on this sacred day.

The Verdict

McSorley's wins. The 250 pound heavyweight Guinness just got knocked out by Pabst dressed as an angry Irish midget. That's crazy... I need a drink.