# Guinness cans and the floating widget issue.



## twofor1 (27 Oct 2020)

This story was covered By Joe Duffy on Liveline and most of the newspapers last week.

https://www.joe.ie/news/diageo-confirm-guinness-cans-no-longer-have-the-floating-widget-706829

https://www.independent.ie/irish-ne...ing-widgets-in-cans-of-guinness-39652053.html

Anyway, I have just tried my first 470ml fixed widget can of Guinness and like many, I am not impressed.

Not only is the can smaller, the head is much flatter, not as creamy to drink and tastes totally different. No way is it the exact same as claimed by Diago.

What do others think ?

I normally stick a 24 slap in the garage as it  works out substantially cheaper per can, when this slab is gone I will happily pay the 25% more per can  for the 8 pack as it still has the floating widget.


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## lledlledlled (27 Oct 2020)

Why didnt they offer people a few bob to bring their used widgets back, clean them, and pop them back in new cans? 
Win-win, no?


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## Leo (29 Oct 2020)

lledlledlled said:


> Why didnt they offer people a few bob to bring their used widgets back, clean them, and pop them back in new cans?
> Win-win, no?



Numbers just wouldn't come close to working for a temporary measure.


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## Drakon (29 Oct 2020)

I drink draught Guinness and bottled Guinness. The canned stuff doesn’t hold candlelight to either.


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## Duke of Marmalade (29 Oct 2020)

Dunnes Stores have dropped the price of a slab (24 cans) of draft Guinness from €30 to €28, which is just about right to make up for the lost 30mls.


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## Purple (29 Oct 2020)

Drakon said:


> I drink draught Guinness and bottled Guinness. The canned stuff doesn’t hold candlelight to either.


I drink draught Guinness and while the can't aren't the same thing they are still nice. Bottled Guinness is manky.


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## Purple (29 Oct 2020)

Duke of Marmalade said:


> Dunnes Stores have dropped the price of a slab (24 cans) of draft Guinness from €30 to €28, which is just about right to make up for the lost 30mls.


You should reprimand your staff for bothering to concern you with such trivial matters.


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## Deiseblue (29 Oct 2020)

Drakon said:


> I drink draught Guinness and bottled Guinness. The canned stuff doesn’t hold candlelight to either.


The large bottle is your only man - draught and canned don’t do it for me


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## deanpark (29 Oct 2020)

Not been embroiled in current issue but any time previously I have bought a slab (last xmas maybe) approx 25% of the widget cans were duds. The duds poured a thin/ anaemic head - thats a fairly high proportion of rubbish Guinness.


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## Purple (30 Oct 2020)

Deiseblue said:


> The large bottle is your only man - draught and canned don’t do it for me


It must be a left wing thing. Maybe drinking through the beard?


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## Purple (30 Oct 2020)

deanpark said:


> Not been embroiled in current issue but any time previously I have bought a slab (last xmas maybe) approx 25% of the widget cans were duds. The duds poured a thin/ anaemic head - thats a fairly high proportion of rubbish Guinness.


I think I've only had that happen once or twice and I've had hundreds of cans, maybe thousands.


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## Betsy Og (30 Oct 2020)

Deiseblue said:


> The large bottle is your only man - draught and canned don’t do it for me



The Waaahte-fud propensity for bottles emerges again. I thought it was big bottles of Carling though?, small glass. Not forgetting a Ritz for the lac


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## Deiseblue (30 Oct 2020)

Large bottles of Phoenix , Harp , Smithwicks , Guinness , Bass and Carling were available in Waterford pubs until relatively recently but sadly only Guinness and Smithwicks are now readily available with Guinness hugely outselling Smithwicks.
Obviously depending on your preference you can choose your bottle offa the shelf or offa the cooler !
A small glass is obligatory and the lack  as you say would generally settle for a Ritz and a packet of crips


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## Thirsty (1 Nov 2020)

Purple said:


> I think I've only had that happen once or twice and I've had hundreds of cans, maybe thousands.


Crumbs! Folks, do you think Purple needs an intervention?


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## Leper (2 Nov 2020)

I heard a spokesperson for Diagio (Guinness) say there was a shortage of widgets for their cans of the Black Stuff. I reckon the stuff won't taste the same until a plentiful supply of widgets becomes available and I understand this will happen in early 2021.

But, all is not lost. Draught Murphys in cans was always a  superior product. I would have put the cans of Beamish on par with Guinness but in my days of taking alcohol the can of Murphys was easily better (in taste, presentation, content etc) than Guinness.

I agree with Déise Blue (above) - the large bottle of Guinness when chilled and drank from a half-pint glass beats them all.


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## Purple (2 Nov 2020)

Leper said:


> Draught Murphys in cans was always a superior product.


You've lost all credibility (on just about everything in life) with that sort of nonsense comment.  For shame...


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## Leper (2 Nov 2020)

Purple said:


> You've lost all credibility (on just about everything in life) with that sort of nonsense comment.  For shame...


If you haven't tried it don't deride it!


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## twofor1 (2 Nov 2020)

Centra have 12 packs of the 500ml floating widget cans of Draught Guinness for a very reasonable €15.

More importantly though, it is the proper Draught Guinness that looks, pours and tastes like it should.

I will be keeping my inferior fixed widget cans for christmas  visitors.


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## Purple (3 Nov 2020)

Leper said:


> If you haven't tried it don't deride it!


I did try it. Bland and watery muck (actually it's not bad but not as nice as Guinness).

On a side note I tried the famous Waterford Blaa recently. Can anyone tell me what makes it different from a soft white bread roll? I was underwhelmed.


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## Leper (3 Nov 2020)

Purple said:


> I did try it. Bland and watery muck (actually it's not bad but not as nice as Guinness).
> 
> On a side note I tried the famous Waterford Blaa recently. Can anyone tell me what makes it different from a soft white bread roll? I was underwhelmed.


As I can't convert you to trying Murphys or Beamish once again, I'll try and explain something about the Waterford Blaa. Back in the day when we lived in Waterford we used to buy our blaas on Ballybricken (corner shop across the road from the Garda Station). They were affordable, fresh and available always. It was worth driving to Ballybricken early just to get the blaas fresh for your immediate breakfast. The blaas were magnificently tasty. Some people had more fondness for the lower section of the blaa although I preferred the top.

Soft white bread rolls are insipid next to the blaas. I've seen "Waterford Blaas" recently in Dunnes Stores - they fall down on the job on taste, size, appearance, smell and feel.

I've tried baking the Waterford Blaas from a recipe using Strong Flour and still were not as good as the blaas I used to buy in Ballybricken.

You're learning though, Purple - You're coming up in my estimation. You'll be supporting Cork Hurling next (if they manage to beat Dublin shortly).


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## Purple (3 Nov 2020)

Leper said:


> As I can't convert you to trying Murphys or Beamish once again, I'll try and explain something about the Waterford Blaa. Back in the day when we lived in Waterford we used to buy our blaas on Ballybricken (corner shop across the road from the Garda Station). They were affordable, fresh and available always. It was worth driving to Ballybricken early just to get the blaas fresh for your immediate breakfast. The blaas were magnificently tasty. Some people had more fondness for the lower section of the blaa although I preferred the top.
> 
> Soft white bread rolls are insipid next to the blaas. I've seen "Waterford Blaas" recently in Dunnes Stores - they fall down on the job on taste, size, appearance, smell and feel.
> 
> I've tried baking the Waterford Blaas from a recipe using Strong Flour and still were not as good as the blaas I used to buy in Ballybricken.


So what I'm hearing is that freshly baked bread is nice and you're no good at baking bread. The rest was just blaa blaa blaa. 



Leper said:


> You're learning though, Purple - You're coming up in my estimation. You'll be supporting Cork Hurling next (if they manage to beat Dublin shortly).


 Steady on now, I'm Irish so I'd no more support Cork GAA than New York or London GAA.


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## odyssey06 (3 Nov 2020)

The Waterford Whiskey is very nice, though made by a Frenchman.


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## Purple (3 Nov 2020)

odyssey06 said:


> The Waterford Whiskey is very nice, though made by a Frenchman.


The Blaa was made by a Frenchman as well.


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## odyssey06 (3 Nov 2020)

Purple said:


> The Blaa was made by a Frenchman as well.



But then the Brothers got their hands on it... 
_Another leap in the history of the Waterford Blaa came when Brother Ignatius Rice, founder of the Christian Brothers, set up his own bakery and tailor’s shop at his newly opened school in Mount Sion, Waterford City, in 1802._


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## Purple (3 Nov 2020)

odyssey06 said:


> But then the Brothers got their hands on it...
> _Another leap in the history of the Waterford Blaa came when Brother Ignatius Rice, founder of the Christian Brothers, set up his own bakery and tailor’s shop at his newly opened school in Mount Sion, Waterford City, in 1802._


I forgot that Waterford gave us the Christian Brothers. A bit of a mixed blessing that lot. Iggie was born in Kildare but made in Waterford. I was educated by the Christian Brothers. I wasn't touched; I was an ugly child.


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## Leo (3 Nov 2020)

Purple said:


> On a side note I tried the famous Waterford Blaa recently. Can anyone tell me what makes it different from a soft white bread roll? I was underwhelmed.



Did you try it with a serving of nostalgia?


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## deanpark (11 Nov 2020)

Guinness non-alcoholic stout recalled two weeks after launch
					

Diageo says the new alcohol-free beer may be unsafe to drink due to a 'microbiological contamination'




					www.telegraph.co.uk


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## twofor1 (13 Nov 2020)

deanpark said:


> Guinness non-alcoholic stout recalled two weeks after launch
> 
> 
> Diageo says the new alcohol-free beer may be unsafe to drink due to a 'microbiological contamination'
> ...


Seems the recall has been cancelled;








						Guinness 0.0 Praised For Accurate ‘Guinness Shits’ Experience
					

A RECALL of the new Guinness 0.0 has been cancelled after it was discovered that the supposed microbiological contamination of the cans was actually implemented by design to ensure consumers get 'the full Guinness experience'.  "We …




					waterfordwhispersnews.com


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## Leo (13 Nov 2020)

twofor1 said:


> Seems the recall has been cancelled;



Perhaps they'll add some alcohol to kill off the contamination


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## odyssey06 (13 Nov 2020)

Always safer to drink beer than water if you're not sure of the sanitary conditions...


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## SPC100 (14 Nov 2020)

Is anywhere still selling the real widget Guinness?

It appears to me there is a correlation between age and preference for bottled G. If you prefer bottle is it because that was what you had when you were (much) younger?

Edited for typo selling not seeking!


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## joer (14 Nov 2020)

Or wine and forget about water altogether....


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## twofor1 (14 Nov 2020)

SPC100 said:


> Is anywhere still selling the real widget Guinness?


Don’t know if it's the same everywhere, in my local Dunnes and Centra;

It’s only the 24 pack slabs that have the inferior fixed widget 470ml cans.

The 4, 8 & 12 packs are still the original floating widget 500ml cans.

If unsure, give the pack a shake, you will hear the widget in the floating widget cans.


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## peemac (15 Nov 2020)

I've done a taste test. 

Got herself to pour different cans over a few nights into similar glasses, she poured some out of both so that there was no obvious visual difference. An equal number of 500ml and 470ml cans were used. 

They were distinguished by the time and day they were poured. 

Hate to say, I failed miserably to tell the difference.


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## Purple (16 Nov 2020)

peemac said:


> I've done a taste test.
> 
> Got herself to pour different cans over a few nights into similar glasses, she poured some out of both so that there was no obvious visual difference. An equal number of 500ml and 470ml cans were used.
> 
> ...


Keep at it; you just need more practice. Oh, and well done, you are providing a public service.


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## Deiseblue (16 Nov 2020)

SPC100 said:


> Is anywhere still selling the real widget Guinness?
> 
> It appears to me there is a correlation between age and preference for bottled G. If you prefer bottle is it because that was what you had when you were (much) younger?
> 
> Edited for typo selling not seeking!


My paternal Grandfather drank large bottles with a Powers chaser , most men in Waterford drank large bottles up until the late 80’s when lager became more popular particularly during the summer months.
Even then there was a large market for large bottles of Carling , Bass , Smithwicks and Phoenix.
I drank large bottles from the age of 15 - first sampled during a holiday in Ballybunion with 5 friends    - we were allowed a freedom to wander the highways and byways of Ireland that is probably unknown now.
As I grow older I would tend to drink an occasional bottle with a Paddy chaser but tend to stick to lager now - the gassyness of large bottles is a drawback now !


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