It’s no secret that here at ninjarefinery.com we love coffee. And whilst it’s likely not as apparent, Guinness is good in our book, too! So when I was told about the latest Guinness Cold Brew Coffee I got some cans in straight away.
What’s not to love here? Guinness and cold brew coffee combined.
I dove into my first couple of pints to see what we’re dealing with, and got onto the standard Guinness, too.
Guinness and Coffee notes
Honestly, before I got some cans of Guinness to compare to the Cold Brew edition, I thought I had it sussed. I mean, those dark, caramel notes that carry some hints of coffee are always present in a good pint. So I initially suspected that this might be a re-labelling and selling of the same drink, perhaps with a slightly enhanced flavour.
I don’t always keep Guinness in the house, so you can hopefully forgive me for thinking I could do it from memory. The deep coffee flavours of the cold brew version were prominent and lovely, but I wouldn’t let go of the fact that I thought this was how Guinness tastes.
But I’m better than that! How on earth could I possibly do a taste comparison between the two based purely off memory? Ninja Refinery doesn’t half-ass coffee reviews (which is why they take so damn long!), so why would this be any different.
It transpires that normal Guinness, whilst lovely and certainly a coffee-adjacent flavour. These tow drinks are not the same in the slightest.
Oh my. Theis Cold Brew might just be my drink of the summer…..(when not just a normal homemade cold brew).
Cold Brew
Ok, I’m not going to dance around this. What’s been created here is the perfect blend of coffee and Guinness. It’s rich, it’s smooth, it carries that caramel and coffee flavour and yet it some how manages to stay drinkable and feels to have a really well-rounded mouthfeel.
If there was a venn diagram to show “Coffee lovers” and “Guinness Lovers”, the middle section where they join is exactly where this lands.
Served chilled, this is a lovely cold drink on a hot day. Oddly, you could even consider this for a breakfast drink (we neither condone nor condemn this….) because the coffee is so prominent, I’d wager it would be nice with a pastry. I’m not against a breakfast beer, though…..
Of course a pint of Guinness can feel heavy and, that doesn’t really change here. A few of these instead of a few coffees will certainly be a heavier experience.
What’s more surprising here, is just how flavourless it ultimately made normal Guinness taste. I know people claim it tastes metallic and too “irony”, but it’s usually a smooth and subtle drink. Here, the Cold Brew version ramps it up in all the right ways.
Honestly, I can’t find more ways to bang on about it.
Have yourself a cold one in the back garden on a hot day, and tell me it isn’t hitting that caffeine requirement, the coffee flavour hit AND that smooth Guinness experience.
Excellent work here. Time to get a couple more in the fridge, because these are going down way too quickly.
