Who Did it Better? UK Brewed Guinness Foreign Extra vs. Irish Brewed Guinness Foreign Extra

A while ago Guinness moved the brewing of its Foreign Extra (FE) stout from St. James's Gate in Dublin to an anonymous big brewer in the UK. This was due (allegedly) to capacity issues in Dublin at the time but it certainly seems a little strange to have moved that provenance to across the pond, even if this beer is maid in other countries too.

Anyhow, I wondered if the beers were in any way comparable, and I finally found a lonesome bottle of the Irish brewed version sitting amongst the Foreign Foreign Extras (F²E?) in an off licence so I could finally do a comparison. The Irish version is best before July 2026 and the UK one is November, so close enough in age for this experiment.

The Irish version when poured had a nice tight fluffy head, while the UK one has a looser head with bigger bubbles and was a little darker in colour. That head on that UK brewed one starts to disappear quite quickly too.

The UK one was up first for a taste and I got bitterness and a touch of sourness, with a coaldust-like aftertaste. Sure, there were the generic back notes of a stout but there was something else there too? It was certainly a little acrid, and I perceived a dryness that I normally get in my historic homebrews that have sugars added maybe?

Next was the Irish brewed one, and it is completely different by comparison. Sweeter, smoother, softer, more like cola mixed with rich coffee. It was a much more pleasant experience, and although there are similarities to both beers they differences are quite pronounced.

Both are drinkable of course, and they are both so-so beers in fairness, but the Irish FE was the best freely bought stout that Guinness had to offer and it's a shame they have degraded it in such a way. As it's pretty much a different beer.

If I didn't know better, and I don't of course, I would say that the UK one was made by brewing a strong ale or lager with sugar, and then adding Guinness Syrup (Not what it's actually called!) to it?  It also seems to be more hopped regarding bitterness which should be something that's easy enough to get right? Of note is that the UK version has less calories via the recipe—62kcal per 100ml vs 64kcal. 

Another very minor quibble is that they are also using a slightly stumpier, non-embossed bottle, but that hardly matters.

With their new brewery up and running in Kildare hopefully they will pull the production back to Dublin.

They can clearly brew a much better version of FE there.

Liam K