Guiness is great!
A fantastic mass-produced stout by any rate. It is in fact thinner as you described and I am not sure why people think it is bitter considering thefact stouts have very little hops and no bittering hops to my knowlege. Sure doesnt taste bitter to me. Color is something that depends on the intention, you dont want a black IPA or pilsner. I have tasted piss-beers that were as black as midnight and light beers that rival Guinness's hearty flavors.
One light colored beer that you Guinness fans might enjoy (if you havent already come across is Belhaven's Scottish Ale. It comes in a similar pint can that guinness comes in and also has a wiget. What you will imeadiatly be enthralled by (if you are like me) is that it is light as a pilsner but has that wonderful cascade that guinness has. The flavor is exceptional, even non-beer drinkers say its great. We used to say if Guiness is the "Beer that eats like a meal" Belhaven is the "Beer that eats like a desert". Belhaven also makes a good Wee Heavy that will put lead in yer pencil, if ya got someone to write to.
I just had a Bayhawk chocolate stout a couple weeks ago that was brewed last year and good old guinness paled in comparasin. I also have a fondness for He-Brew (the Chosen Beer) Genesis stout, though its flavor is different, opting for more speacial ingredients than just malt, grains, n hops.
Kinda like knives in a way; The big producers are about consistency and marketing over quality. The smaller producers are better quality and offer a taste of customs at a production cost and availibility. And then there are homebrewers like myself, when you need the beer custom tailored and juuuuust right.
BTW this is my first post in the Busse forum. (I usually lurk nowadays) but I have to say I am very impressed of what I have seen of bot Busse and Swamp Rat and look forward to owning some someday soon.
