We generally regard Guinness as a beer that arouses extreme passions in its fans. So when we asked last month for opinions on where the world's most famous black beer was headed, forward to the future of drink or backwards to mediocrity, we expected a suitable heated response.

     We didn't get it.

     Rather than pouring in, responses trickled in and were, for the most part, fairly muted. Even more surprisingly, not one reply voiced confidence in the famous stout. A few examples:

First, about the Guinness. Not that I drink the stuff anymore anyway, except for a symbolic pint on March 17th, but that brand as you know has already lost a lot of credibility with the serious beer lovers, and I think that sentiment will only trickle down. I would be curious to see what the sales figures for bottled Guinness in the US are these days - much lower I'm sure, since nobody in their right mind would drink that vegemite-spiked Blue that is Labatt's Guinness. Guinness lives by its reputation - based on tradition (St. James' Gate) and being a beer that novices and experts alike can appreciate. Take away those things and what have you got? I think Tim Webb's article about the decline of Belgian beers is a pretty good analogy for what is happening with Guinness.
- Josh Oakes

About Diageo and Guinness - I think it is plain to see that the drive of Diageo is to sell more Guinness, as quickly as possible - hence the debut of the fast pour, colder beer lines, and aggressive marketing tactics on premises. It's sad to see a classic beer get such rough treatment - the whole concept of sipping a Guinness stout slowly seems to be disappearing as fast as gassy beer foam! Will all these changes degrade the perceived quality of Guinness - undermining consumer interest - that's the real brand challenge Diageo faces. Good for you to bring it up...
- Lucy Saunders

I had more than a few emails from around the globe re: the 15 second pour for Guinness...shocking stuff!!
- a former Guinness sales rep

We're sure that there are more impassioned World of Beer readers out there, so we'll leave this topic open for one more month. Email your thoughts on Guinness to beaumont@worldofbeer.com

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