My goodness. My Guinness 0.0!
/The alcohol-free version of the world’s most famous stout is finally here
Image credit: guinness
The crack of the can.
The hiss of the nitrogen-releasing widget.
The soothing glug-glug-glug of the dark mahogany liquid.
If these sounds are music to your ears, you'll be pleased to know Guinness 0.0 is now available in Canada.
As its name suggests, Guinness 0.0 is an alcohol-free version of the most famous stout in the world.
The brewers -- nay, alchemists -- at Saint James's Gate in Dublin have spent four years perfecting the recipe.
And perfected it they have.
They brewed Guinness as normal -- with barley, yeast, hops, and water -- and used a process called "cold filtration" to remove the alcohol without heating up the concoction and negatively impacting the taste.
(Adding fructose and natural flavour surely didn't hurt either.)
Guinness 0.0 was launched in a limited number of supermarkets in the U.K. in October 2020 but was quickly recalled due to "microbiological contamination.” It returned to market nearly a year later.
And it's finally on shelves in Canada.
When my shipment arrived, I felt like a kid on Christmas. After an agonizing wait for the can to cool down in the fridge, I took an imperial pint glass off the shelf and performed the oft-repeated ritual.
Crack. Hiss. Glug-glug-glug.
As I watched the hypnotizing cascade of tiny nitrogen bubbles, I thought I heard a choir of angels.
I took a sip.
With other non-alcoholic beers, there's always a voice in the back of my head reminding me that whatever I’m drinking isn’t really beer.
With this one, that voice was quiet. Or rather, singing a different song: More!
a vintage guinness ad c. 1925
Though it's been a while since the black stuff passed my abstaining lips, Guinness 0.0 seems to be missing only one thing that differentiates it from its brethren: alcohol.
The cloudy, creamy head -- though it may not linger as long as in a traditional pint of plain, as another reviewer pointed out (I didn't wait long enough to see) -- is thick enough to support whatever design you might dare decorate it with.
(Side note: Don’t be offended by a foam-art shamrock atop a Guinness. That’s how my complimentary post-tour pint was presented to me at St. James’s Gate.)
The bouquet is restrained to a slight floral sweetness.
The mouthfeel is luscious, smooth, and well-rounded.
And the taste is... well, it's Guinness. Roasty, refreshing, unmistakable. And heart-warmingly familiar.
As a bartender, I heard countless Irish ex-pats lament that Guinness on tap wasn't the same in Canada as it was on the Emerald Isle. Many of them resorted to drinking Guinness from the can for a comforting taste of home.
Now with Guinness 0.0, I'm similarly comforted to know that I, too, can go "home" again.
My goodness. This is my Guinness!
Editors note: Guinness 0.0 is available at Sobr Market.
Liam Ford, Contributor
Liam is a poet, writer, and editor with a decade of experience as a bartender under his belt. His mission? To find an alcohol-free craft beer that satisfies his craving for hops.
