So think Guinness, blacker than the ace of spades (to the eye, but held up to the light a deep red), cold, rich and beautifully heavy. One of the drinks I will choose if I’m out all day like a meal in a glass!

But now Guinness have released a lager called Hop House 13, named after the hop storage house within the Guinness brewery. In my eyes its a big step for Guinness to release a lager, obviously renowned for their dry stout. In the late 18^th century, the then singularly named stout grew so successful that Guinness stopped brewing other varieties of beer, focusing instead on porters and stouts. Until now!

Created as part of the Brewer’s Project, a program run in the legendary St. James’s Gate Brewery, the Brewer’s Project allows their best brewers to experiment with recipes old and new. Creating this double hopped lager with the distinctive Guinness yeast and 100% Irish grown barley.

On the nose, a lot of malty tones, very distant hop character, the typical lager smell.

On the tongue, highly carbonated, tastes of apricot jam, sweet but reminding me of a pilsner. The hops are there but very distant. I cant quiet lay my tongue on them, a little too carbonated to pick them out. As it reaches the back of the tongue it leaves a very bitter, but at the same time sweet taste, leaving you wanting more.

My verdict? Hop House 13 is a nice, refreshing, crisp clean drink.

Would I buy it again? If I were to walk into a bar and it was on draught next to its older brother, no, I don’t think I would. If I were to walk into a bar and they didn’t have Guinness or anything else except for Carling or Fosters, I would choose Hop House 13.

Give it a whirl and let me know what you think of Hop House 13. Leave me a note in the comments box below!