Yes, that’s right, I recently came into some Guinness Foreign Extra Stout. As the story goes, my wife asks if I’ve ever had this beer at random one day. I respond that I haven’t, and she tells me that our friend “bought the wrong Guinness” and doesn’t like it, so she’s going to give the rest to us if we want it. Naturally, I say we’ll take it, and I’m currently the owner of three (well, now two) bottles of Foreign Extra.

I can understand the confusion. Guinness makes a number of beers that are very similar in color, style, and name. There’s the classic Guinness Draught sold in cans and bottles and on draft all over the place (which I’m guessing is the beer our friend was looking for), Guinness Extra Stout (also known as Guinness Original in some countries), and Guinness Foreign Extra Stout.

So what’s the difference?

Draught is the popular, smooth beer infused with nitrogen rather than carbon dioxide. Extra Stout is actually Guinness’ original beer; not quite as popular today but a bit different than Draught and carbonated instead of infused with nitrogen. Foreign Extra is also carbonated but hopped up more for export from Ireland. This is also key; Draught is fully brewed and fermented in Ireland, Foreign Extra is brewed in Ireland but the unfermented wort is exported and fermented locally, and Extra Stout is completely brewed locally (for North America, this takes place in Canada).

Foreign Extra has a strong scent of roasted malt, coffee, and dark chocolate. The beer is pretty much black and has a one finger sized tan head. The taste, however, is more complex than you would expect; sure, the roasted malt, coffee, and chocolate are there, but they’re more subdued. There’s also a dark fruit taste that blends in nicely. None of the flavors overpower. It doesn’t seem to be an especially thick liquid, and the carbonation is fairly light.

I’m surprisingly impressed with Guinness Foreign Extra Stout, which is good because it’s served at Raglan Road in Downtown Disney along with a number of other interesting beers. It’s a fairly common beer at the store, so it may not be your first choice but it’s a solid choice.

Abita’s description of the beer:

Spring IPA (March-May) is a West Coast-style IPA with an up-front intense hop flavor and aroma. Amarillo and Centennial hops give the brew a rich and resinous flavor of citrus and spice. This bright pale ale has a malt sweetness that will give way to a pleasant bitter. It pairs well with Mexican or spicy Szechwan Chinese food. Spring IPA is a nice accompaniment for cheeses with strong flavors, like sharp cheddar or goat cheese.

Spring IPA starts with an earthy, grassy scent with a little bit of a floral scent as well. Similar taste; lots of grass, a little pine, a little bit of pepper. I’m not getting a whole lot of the citrus Abita mentions though. Light-bodied and finishes clean.

Overall this is one of Abita’s better beers, especially if you enjoy IPAs. Another new seasonal, Lemon Wheat, is coming in the summer. This should replace Abita’s previous summer seasonal simply known as Wheat.

Fruits by the Glass: I was close on one and nailed the other. Sea Dog Blue Paw Wild Blueberry will be served (I guessed Florida Avenue Blueberry Wheat). The other one will be New Planet 3R Raspberry Ale, which is gluten free and was my guess. There aren’t too many gluten free raspberry ales as far as I can tell.

Florida Fresh will serve a former standby of the Walt Disney World resort, Orange Blossom Pilsner. My guesses came from Florida Beer Company, so it’s good to see Disney mix it up here and not repeat the Food and Wine Festival verbatim.

On the other hand, mixing it up really doesn’t work for me at the Jardin de Fiestas (Mexico) booth. Instead of Dos Equis, a beer I’m not fond of, Disney has gone with Corona Light, a beer I’m even less fond of.

The Lotus House in China will be serving Tsing-Tao. No surprise here, as that’s about the only beer the China pavilion serves.

Here’s one where I was way off. At Bauernmarkt: Farmer’s Market near the Germany pavilion, the description originally included German and domestic beers. Domestic beers to me sounds like Bud Light, etc. Instead, we have a number of interesting beers here. The German beer is Krombacher Hefeweizen, while the domestic beers include Florida Avenue American Wheat Ale, Goose Island Brewing Company Honker Ale, and Blue Point Toasted Lager.

I’ve already covered how absolutely wrong I was about Italy’s beer selection. Primavera Kitchen will serve beers that have never been served on Walt Disney World property:

• Birrificio Del Ducato – Nuova Mattina (Spring Saison Ale)
  
• Birrificio Le Baladin – Nora (Specialty Ale)
• Birra Del Borgo – Rubus Lamponi (Specialty Wild Fruit Ale)

I have to give Disney some credit for The Smokehouse: Barbeque and Brews. These are not beers found everywhere at Walt Disney World, and two of them are new to the property as far as I know. These beers are:

• Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils
• Anchor Brewing Company Liberty Ale
• Orlando Brewing Company Red Ale
• Orlando Brewing Company Blackwater Porter

Little Yella Pils is currently served at Cabana Bar and we’ve seen Orlando Brewing’s Red Ale in the past, but they’re both decent selections along with the two that are new to Disney World.

Hanami in Japan was one of the only booths that gave a clear description. They’re serving Frozen Kirin Ichiban, which isn’t much of a surprise since it seems to be Japan’s gimmick beverage right now.

Morocco’s A Taste of Marrakesh is serving Casa Beer. Although the original description was Moroccan beer, I would have been shocked if it were anything else.

It seems L’Orangerie, the French booth, has added Kronenbourg 1664 to their menu. Yay?

Pineapple Promenade originally had “cream stout beer” as their beer description. I figured it could only go one way and was so confident I made the picture for the last article this beer. It’s Samuel Adams Cream Stout, and while that’s not the only cream stout out there, it’s the only one I thought Disney would get. But don’t get me wrong here; Samuel Adams Cream Stout is delicious.

Intermissions Café will also be serving 3R Raspberry Ale by New Planet. Another new to WDW beer, Blue Point Spring Fling, will also be served here.

All in all, there are some exciting beers at the Flower and Garden Festival. There are also a couple of disappointments, but the selection around World Showcase is varied and interesting, especially at Bauernmarkt, Primavera Kitchen, and The Smokehouse. If you’re a fan of beer, that’s where I’d recommend you head to first.

1)     Birrificio Del Ducato – Nuova Mattina (Spring Saison Ale)

Nuova Mattina is an ode to spring: a light, refreshing  ale with hints of wild flowers, chamomile and green bell peppers. Traditionally, it was brewed in the winter so as to be ready to pay their farmhands in spring and summer.

2)     Birrificio Le Baladin – Nora (Specialty Ale)

What makes this beer so special is the fact that it uses an ancient Mediterranean recipe.  Nora is composed of a local Mediterranean un-malted grain, Kamut, and seasoned with fresh ginger, orange peel and myrrah.  It first bursts with orange, apricot and mango aromas, then the spices become apparent; the finish is permeated with balsamic sweetness.

3)     Birra Del Borgo – Rubus Lamponi (Specialty Wild Fruit Ale)

Rubus Lamponi is a once-a-year offering from Birra Del Borgo brewery made with wild raspberries from the Alto Adige region in northern Italy.  The raspberries are mashed into the beer and thus allowed to spontaneously ferment, which creates a deep ruby colored beer with an intense raspberry aroma. This beer leaves the drinker with a sweet, dry, tart finish.

All three of these sound delicious. If you’re heading to the Flower and Garden Festival and enjoy beer, stop by Italy and check out their unique selection!

Fruits By the Glass lists a “Blueberry Beer” and a “Gluten Free Raspberry Ale”. Although it’s not a Disney-owned location, Cabana Bar and Beach Club at the Dolphin serves Florida Avenue Blueberry Wheat. Since it’s a Florida beer, I think it’s a good assumption. Abita Purple Haze is a raspberry lager and it isn’t gluten free, so it’s not our mystery raspberry ale. However, New Planet Gluten Free Beer from Colorado brews a Raspberry Ale that’s served in Florida, so I think this is our mystery raspberry ale.

Florida Fresh will feature Florida Beer. Expect a similar selection to the Florida Local booth from the 2012 Food and Wine festival. Florida Beer Company’s Florida Lager and Key West Southernmost Wheat are likely choices.

Jardin de Fiestas will have Mexican beer. Dos Equis, enough said.

Lotus House features Chinese beer. Don’t expect anything more than Tsing Tao.

Samuel Adams Cream Stout, expected at the Pineapple Promenade

Outside of Germany (probably around where Brewers Collection sits for Food and Wine), the Bauernmarkt: Farmer’s Market will serve German and domestic beers. The German beers will probably come from the Germany pavilion supply, serving some combination of Altenmünster Oktoberfest, Hövels, Radeberger Pilsner, and Schöfferhofer Weizen. Domestic probably means standard swill such as Bud Light or Miller Lite.

Primavera Kitchen in Italy should get interesting. We heard a little about this from Eric at the Patina Group. This booth will be offering Italian beers and an Italian beer flight. Birra Amiata Contessa, Birra Moretti, and Birra Moretti La Rossa are the likely candidates.

I’m interested to see what will show up at The Smokehouse: Barbecue and Brews. “Domestic craft beers” could go a few ways. We could be talking a similar selection to Food and Wine’s Hops and Barley, which was stocked full of Samuel Adams beers, or we could be looking at something similar to Craft Beer Collection with a variety of other craft beers. Either way, don’t expect to get too deep into the craft world; I’d think some bigger name craft beers such as Abita Purple Haze and Sierra Nevada Torpedo will be served.

Hanami in the Japan pavilion is one of the few that names the beer: Frozen Kirin Ichiban.

Taste of Marrakesh is serving Moroccan beer; only one beer on property is Moroccan, and that’s Casa.

Finally, Pineapple Promenade will serve “Cream Stout Beer”. This is most likely Samuel Adams Cream Stout which is quite good. On a side note, they will also serve Dole Whips with spiced rum which sounds delicious even though it has nothing to do with beer.

Will these guesses hold up? I think many of them will; the real surprise will be what’s served at The Smokehouse. The Epcot Flower and Garden Festival will run March 6 – May 19, 2013; if you’re going and you like beer, there should be something good for you to try.

Overall, I was a bit disappointed with the drink, but only because I expected something different. It’s worth trying the next time you are in Epcot, but not really a must do every trip.

The wonder of Frozen Beer

While the beer selection can’t compete in quantity with the roughly 280 bottles of wine at Tutto Gusto, they’re hoping that the 6 unique drafts will gain a following and make us beer aficionados happy (the current offering of Bud on tap will hopefully end soon to allow room for some more good stuff, cross your fingers!).  Trying to keep the quality to a high standard, all of the craft beers served at the pavilion are either 4 or 5 star rated.  The goal is to purchase award winning beers from small producers instead of constantly going to the trusted beer giants that everyone knows.  And all of you Moretti fans, don’t fret!  In addition to the craft beers, you can always find Moretti brews at all 3 restaurants.

Most people don’t think of beer when they think of Italy and Eric is trying to change that.  Most Italian craft breweries only started after 1996 and they haven’t been exporting much until recently. There are currently 75 craft breweries in Italy with 25 more opening soon.  Most of the breweries are in the Tuscany region and create ales that follow Belgian style brewing, with a little English and German influence.  In Italy, wine is definitely king so the breweries need to compete with the wine drinkers.  Because of this, you’ll notice that many breweries offer 750mL bottles of their brews.

Despite the limited supply of Italian beer to the United States, the pavilion is planning on constantly rotating the drafts and bottles at all of the restaurants.  Since the supply of available craft beer is small, the rotation can be swapped out after as few as 10-12 kegs.

The pavilion has unofficially partnered with Amiata brewery (http://www.birra-amiata.it) to bring their unique selection of beers to the World.  Amiata brewery is run by the Cerullo brothers in a tiny brewery in Arcidosso near Monte Amiata amidst chestnut forests and vineyards. Perfect setting to create amazing beer, right?  The brothers produce Belgian-influenced beers spiced with local ingredients such as chestnuts, honey and saffron.  Gusto is currently the only establishment in the United States to offer Contessa on draft (you can find it in bottles in a select few areas, as well as Via Napoli).  As the seasons change, various beer offerings from Amiata will rotate in and out.  Just put on tap for the winter season is a chestnut ale, Birra Amiata Bastarda Rossa, which we look forward to trying in January!  Looking at Amiata’s site, there are 14 offerings that they create, each one sounding better than the last.

Italians create beer to eat with while their American counterparts create beer to drink with, hence why many of the Italian crafts pair so well with food.  There are discussions of having beer and food pairings in the new year in the Pavilion, so cross your fingers that it’s sooner rather than later.  We were able to try a coffee porter with an award winning hazelnut cake that was seriously amazing.  The cake was delicious on it’s own, as was the beer, but when paired together, they complimented each other really well.  (Looking at the current Italy beer list that was just sent to us, it looks like the coffee porter is officially on the menu!)  Another great pairing was the the cured Italian meat sampler (the Affettati), with all of the beers we sampled.

Coffee Porter & Hazelnut Cake

Affettati – Sliced Cured Meats & Foccaccia

The beer offerings are unique for each of the restaurants in the pavilion. In Tutto Gusto, there are four beers on draft and the selection varies throughout the year. While we were visting, there was Tipo Pils, Contessa, and Lenova available and also Bud Light.

We were able to try the following:

• Tipo Pils – a typical pilsner; we drank from the last keg in the United States
• Lenova – nice, a little bitter
• Contessa – only available in Disney on tap.  Hoppy but very smooth at the same time.  We even enjoyed it (if you remember from our past reviews, we’re not hoppy fans)!

In Via Napoli, there’s a great bottle program that easily bumped this restaurant up on my list of favorites.  At the time of our visit, there were four beers: Amiata Contessa, Strada San Felice, La Cinque, and My Antonia. (The offerings have slightly changed to include the winter brews discussed below.)  The bottles are all 36 oz servings, so you’ll want to have a few friends with you when you try it out. We were able to try the Strada San Felice which was a great beer that went really well with the Arancini. As mentioned earlier, all of the beers offered in the Italy pavilion pair well with food. All of the servers are educated on the beer offerenings, so feel free to ask what beer would pair well with your meal. You won’t be disappointed.

Fall Via Napoli Craft Beers Menu (Winter Menu Now in Rotation)

Coming for the winter months, there are a few unique Christmas brews that looked and sounded amazing.  We weren’t able to try them (we were still working on the Strada San Felice and there’s only so much beer that the two roving reporters could drink in one sitting!) but Eric brought out the bottles for us to take a look. How cute is the individually wrapped Birrificio Montegioco Runa Bianca? It’s like your own personalized Christmas gift!  The Noel Baladin also looked delicious, and we’re sure they all pair amazingly with the Coppa di Brutti Ma Buoni. If you guys haven’t had that dessert, run there now and order it.  We are still talking about those marinated cherries!

Via Napoli Winter Beers with Coppa Di Brutti Ma Buoni

Also teased by Eric was the addition of a Italian beer cart somewhere in the pavilion, much like the Norway and Germany ones currently in their respective pavilions around World Showcase.  Again, details are still trying to be worked out but it sounded promising.  For next year’s Food & Wine festival, also look for special offerings and additional craft beer and food pairings like the Via Napoli ones from the past few years.  They’re looking to bring in the brewers and offer other beers not available anywhere else.

Beautiful Day for Some Italian Craft Beers!

Coming in the new year is also going to be a new partnership with the Bruton brewery so look forward to those on the menu soon!  Based out of Lucca, Italy, Bruton is crafted all naturally and undergo a re-fermentation in the bottle that enhances their character, complexity and ability to improve over time.  Extremely limited, their site says that everything is handcrafted one bottle at a time!

Eric’s passion for the Italy beer program easily shone through when we were talking with him. For all of us beer lovers, it’s amazing to finally see parts of Disney stepping up their game and offering us something unique. While we understand that Disney still needs to cater to the masses, we discussed that beer tastes are changing in the States, for the better. With the beer education amongst guests improving, this seems like the perfect time to introduce some of these unique offerings at the World. When asked what Eric would consider a successful program, Eric stressed that they want to offer customers something that they do not or would not normally have access to. The goal is for guests to enjoy and appreciate what the staff and Italian culture has to offer, whether it’s food, wine, or the up and coming craft beer culture.

Thank you, Eric, for a great experience in the Italy pavilion and for allowing us to share it with our readers! Looking forward to all of the new and exciting changes in Italy and we hope this idea spreads like wildfire amongst the other pavilions.

If anyone has any questions and/or comments about the program, feel free to leave them here and we’ll try to get answers as soon as possible.

With all that being said it took me a while to decide what I wanted to say about this beer. Normally I think of ESB as being non hoppy flavored beers, but this beer had a significant spice and citrus hop flavor. The malt flavor was also not as balanced as I would have expected for this style. The beer did feel and taste a bit on the watery side but don’t take that took mean it did not have any flavor just that I would have expected a more prominent malt flavor and a more subtle spice. The drawback of these beers I drank were that the spice from the hops did drown out the malt and even the citrus flavors in the beer. I appreciate a spice flavor being in the beer I just don’t want to drink spices with a hint of beer.

Enjoy

This actually was really light and kinda reminded me of a champagne cider, if there’s such a thing.  Just a little less carbonation.  After drinking it for a bit, it didn’t get too sweet like other ciders have in the past.  I could definitely drink a few of these and enjoy!

Looking at their site, looks like ACE has about 5 different ciders, including a pumpkin one.  Hmm…now if only I could find this back home!

Looking for some info  about Prestige, I found out that this is the #1 selling beer  with a 98% market share in Haiti and one of their only brews.   They only started exporting the beer to the States in 2005.

This really reminded me of a Red Stripe.  Maybe it was the shape of the bottle, who knows.  Regular basic lager but it was easy and refreshing to drink.  And on a hot day like it was back then in April?  It was definitely needed and very welcomed.