Looks like another St Patrick’s Day has crept up on us (unless, of course, every pub around you has a St Patrick’s Day countdown clock). St. Patrick’s Day, of course, is that day when everyone, it seems, discovers a little Irish in their blood…which brings us to this handy guide to that most Irish of beers….Guinness!

 Guest blogger James Beaver is an associate at our Ocoee store.

 Guinness goes with everything!

 Well, not really… but there is a great deal of other brews that Guinness can be added with to make a spectacular drink. Many people feel left out on St. Patrick’s Day because they don’t enjoy Guinness to the extent that others do (or at all). Though, by itself, it is a spectacular stout with coffee and malt notes that never really goes out of fashion all year around. These upcoming mixes are for the folks that maybe want to enjoy a “Guinness Light” that doesn’t have the full body of a pint of Guinness. Hardcore fans may also enjoy these if they have not tried them (however, if they are like me, they may have already tried almost all of them).

 Perhaps the best-known way to enjoy Guinness is as a “black and tan” (with variations sometimes called “half and half”). Your choice as to whether it lightens the Guinness or improves the flavor of the other beers!

Black & Tan

• 1/2 Guinness 


• 1/2 Bass Ale

Hold your pint glass at an angle as you would when pouring a Guinness. Fill just over halfway with Bass Ale. Pour Guinness over an upside-down spoon to disperse the flow. Let settle.

 Half & Half

1/2 Guinness
1/2 Harp’s Lager

 Some people believe this is the true version of a Black & Tan. Smithwick’s can be used in place of the Harp’s. Pour as above.

Less usual ways to enjoy your Guinness:

 Guinness Float

• 1 tall glass Guinness or other dark stout


• 1 large scoop vanilla ice cream

 Place ice cream in Guinness. Drink.

Poor-man's Black Velvet (aka Snakebite)

• 1/2 pint Guinness


• 1/2 pint hard cider

 Any hard cider will do, but if you want to be a hardcore Brit fan, use Strongbow. (Some domestic hard ciders are a bit sweeter.) At a guess, this is called Poor-man’s Black Velvet because the “original” Black Velvet was made with Champagne, and cider would have been a much cheaper drink back in the mid-19^th century when the Black Velvet was invented.

Black & Red (aka Black Cherry)

 Guinness & Kriek (or my favorite Framboise, which will make the end of the drink sweet indeed).

Kriek is a Belgian lambic fermented with sour cherries. Framboise is a bit sweeter. ABC carries a couple different brands, including Boon and Lindeman. Mix like a Black and Tan, but to taste.

These are some of my favorite Guinness mixes and I hope you will try them out this St Patrick’s Day and all the rest of the year. Guinness has also come out with other variations of the their stout including their “Extra Stout” which is even more full bodied than the draught and should be used in these mixes with extreme caution. Guinness has also recently released a “Foreign Extra Stout” which is not as full bodied and has a more chocolate overtone though you may want to try it by itself before you incorporate it into any of these combinations. Remember to enjoy your libations safely this St Paddy’s day and as the Irish say, Sláinte!

--James Beaver, Ocoee