Guinness Red
New Product! According to Marketing Week, Guinness are about to launch “Guinness Red”, its first major new product since Guinness Extra Cold.
The new beer will be poured and served like Guinness, and have a similar ABV, but where Guinness is black, Guinness Red will be….red!
No details as to taste – the drink will be made from “lightly roasted barley”: perhaps Publoggers with more discerning beerbuds can comment on what this might imply.
If anyone Googling this has seen it on sale – and we know it’s out there! – let us know in the comments! Thanks!
[EDIT: Hi everyone. We've had some now and our views are here]
Tom in FT /Pumpkin Publog • 11,786 views
i think it implies that it’ll be like Beamish Red, ie shit nitro-keg bitter a la john smiths extra smooth…
Aye. It will be bobbins.
Actual real scarletty bright red might be a laugh, for a minute.
Blackness is no longer enough for the goths! They want to drink REAL ACTUAL BLUD!
Is it for Christmas? Like a SANTA HAT?
well i like shit nitro-keg bitter a la john smiths extra smooth…
Presume that if black Guinness comes from ‘fully roasted’ barley then ‘lightly roasted’ red Guinness will be less bitter and a bit easier to drink?
I love red! It is always a good idea, even for beer.
what’s difficult to dirnk about guinness? meal in a glass!!
the late red that shepherds neame were knocking out the other week was nice, so red beers in general not a dreadful idea…
Will this just be Kilkenny/Smithwicks under a different name?
From the photos it looks VERY red, so I doubt it’s exactly the same as Kilkenny.
RT: are the photos online anywhere? (NB I note that THIS PAGE is number 1 hit for “guinness red” on google uk, well done everyone, incl Guinness and Google.)
and google.com too, hurrah. i guess we should enjoy our moment in the sun before the official site is launched, we’re not even on the top two pages for baileys glide anymore…
Guinness Guinness red red red
i have tried it and it is very very nice. i think people will be pleasantly surprised. The name makes it sound like a cheapo alcopop but otherwise, job well done.
If anyone reading this has tried it, could they let me know where it’s on sale – ta!
Hi. My name is Simon and I work for Guinness and look after Guinness Red. Given that you had some questions about the colour of Guinness Red, I thought I would try and offer an answer.
If you have seen any of the pictures with it looking flourescent pink, rest assured – it doesn’t look anything like that. We don’t have any photos of it at the moment, so the pictures out there have been mocked up as people think it might look like.
It is actually a dark, rich red – like the colour at the bottom of a pint of Guinness Draught when you hold it up to the light. As soon as we do have photos, I’ll let you know if interested.
Hope this helps answer the question.
Thanks
Simon
Obviously Simon, if you’d like a focus group of well educated palettes to help you out with any market testing, you know where to find us ;)
so is it a ruby stout, or a bitter? also, what is the point of it?
Very kind offer of the tasting panel – we’ll bear it in mind! As soon as we know where and when we will be testing, we will be sure to let you know so you can find your local pub and try it yourself.
It is a red stout – same brewing process that produces Guinness but with a lighter roasted barley which gives it the balanced bitter sweet character.
Afraid i am off for the weekend now, but we’ll be giving more info next week – because of all the interest we are posting all the information in one central blog – http://www.guinnessblog.co.uk/blogs/guinnessblog/archive/2006/10/25/836.aspx – so head there if you want to know more and have more questions
Cheers
Its the new commie plot to take over the World.
Having been to Canada several times and regularly drunk a beer called ‘Rickards Red’ which I found great , I can only hope that this Red Guinness is as good
I plan to try this beer soon and review it on Stonch’s Beer Blog, my website.
Guinness Red is now available at every O’Neills bar on trial.
Found it quite light.
Amusing that people are moaning that it’s shit nitro keg without having tasted it.
Guinness is nitor as well and it tastes fine to me.
red guinness is obiousely for the thousands of irish mackems thanks to keano and quinny
If you want the full list of pubs where it is available, head to:
http://www.guinnessblog.co.uk/blogs/guinnessblog/archive/2007/02/05/1227.aspx
These are the pubs listed under London:
Fox & Hounds on Main Road, Biggin Hill
Woodman on Woodmansterne Rd, Banstead
The Marquis of Granby on West St, Epsom
Ye Olde Red Lion on Park Rd, Cheam
George Inn on High St, Beckenham
Alleyn’s Head on Park Hall Rd, Dulwich
Goose on the Green on Rushey Green, Catford
The Goat on Battersea Rise, Clapham
London – North:
Volunteer on Baker St
Crown & Crooked Billet on Cross Road, Woodford Green
Prince of Wales on Church Hill Rd, Barnet
Gate on Rickmansworth Rd, Northwood
Flag on Station Rd, Watford
French Horn on Oxford Road, Gerrards Cross
Old Moat House on Moat Lane, Luton
Well at my reckoning there’s 1 in Zone 1. So all down the Volunteer then kids.
o’neals in shep bush has it.
It also available at all O’Neill’s – find them at:
http://www.oneills.co.uk/pub_locator.php
I have just tried Guinness Red and it is DISGUSTING. I am very confused by this. I am a huge fan of Guinness … and any ale, red-coloured or otherwise.
It tastes like very weak Guinness with Ribena in it. It’s tacky in the way that alcopops is tacky. No depth of flavour, and far too sweet.
Ugh.
Had a pint of the Red stuff last night and quite enjoyed it, to be honest. It’s not going to please real-ale lovers or anyone who thinks Guinness is already too commercial and not Stout-y-enough, but to the average beer-swiller who’s looking for an alternative to a rather minging pint of Carlsberg and doesn’t want to drink the rubbish known as ‘smooth bitter’, it’s pretty damn good.
I didn’t think it tasted anything about Ribena. Or weak Guinness. It had a mainstream ‘genericity’ to it, but it just seemed like a nice mid-point between what is a fairly commercial stout and a more ale-y beer.
Tacky, maybe. Too sweet for ale lovers, probably. But for the masses? Brilliant.
Try any Wetherspoon’s place for it, that’s where I found it (for anyone in Newcastle, I was in the Goose).
I had a pint of it the other day – quite tasty – a little like Fullers Red Fox but with the texture of Guinness. I reckon it will go down pretty well in Summer when the black stuff can be a little heavy to drink – probably why they’ve started the trial roll-out just now. Just to reply to the last post – The Goose is a Mitchell and Butler pub by the way – not Wetherspoons.
Heh, that was clever of me. I was thinking of the Union Rooms and the Goose at the same time…smooth!
I tried it. I didn’t like it. Read my review by clicking on my name, or by cutting and pasting: http://stonch.blogspot.com/2007/03/guinness-red.html
I tried Guinness Red in the O’Neils near Kings Cross Station – it was absolutely delicious.. not as thick or heavy as regular Guinness… yummmmeeeeee!!
I work in an oneills and red guinness is really popular. It really really nice and i’m not a big fan of the regular stuff.
Its gooooood.
Lured by the marketing hype (and a love of Guinness) I gave Guinness Red a go this lunchtime. It was truly horrible – it was neither good bitter nor good Guinness. It was as though someone had mixed a 1/4 pint of (proper) Guinness with a can of “value” lager and, perhaps, some dark red colouring. If you fancy a lager or a bitter then get a good one, and if you fancy a Guinness then have a proper one, but I won’t be drinking Red again!
interested marketeers might be interested to know that we are STILL 4th on google for “guinness red” behind the Mail, the Sun and a diageo press release but ahead of the guardian and the official guinness blog…
Please someone Irish buy Guinness back and stop this brand dilution. If you want a red beer in a Guinness style then call it under another brand. This new beer will not stop falling sales, this is a gimmick. Guinness needs to go back to what it did best and back to basics. Guinness red is doomed to fail. Guinness is black and white and in the mind of the consumer it is black and white. what a mess
I tried it too and I have to say it’s okay, but it feels like something is missing. I reviewed it on my blog (http://blog.beerintheevening.com/2007/12/07/guinness-red/)
I don’t really think it’s brand dilution, I see it as adapting to the ever changing market. In all fairness, they’ve been around a couple of hundred years now and had to do nothing, but things change and it’s nice to see them adapting to changes. Is Guinness Red the right change? Who knows.. only time will tell I suppose! :)
Guinness isnt black FYI Jim, it ruby red. As far as diluting the brand is concerned, what I thing Diageo are doing is developing a product that opens the door to future Guinness drinkers who cant ‘handle’ a real pint of Guinness – much like they did with Guinness Extra Cold and that hasnt done too bad has is?!? Its not about the short term, its about future profitability and likewise its not about current Guinness drinkers its about future Guinness drinkers. Pretty simple really.
Unfortunately FT has now fallen to googley 6th place on this.
Hey I saw the Guinness Red advert and love the song they use in it. Does anyone know what it is???