From the Guinness Website

[Stiofain]

A science of rings is developing - the instance that comes to mind is determining a persons nationality by the number of rings (a ring is dependent on a swig of Guinness each swig leaving it's own ring). An Irishman will have in the region of 5-6 rings (we pace ourselves), an Englishman will have 8-10 rings, an American will have 17-20 (they sip) and an Australian won't have any at all as they tend to knock it back in one go!

[Oddysee]

Arh but you see mate... You've established a sound counter argument, completely undermining what you just said... While saying it.

You see, the obvious fallacy in that statement is, that Guinness in Australia constitutes as a fluid. Something a human being might indeed be tempted to drink, let alone enjoy.

While it stands to reason that Guinness, in it's natural habbitat, is the nectar of the God's, it is a well known fact that the beverage becomes somewhat less fluid, and instead takes on some rather interesting geological qualities, much akin to pitch, the further away from Ireland we take it.

The term "Volatile metamorphosis" springs to mind...

Indeed many an unfortunate pub goer has met the buisness end of a Guinness, served on the wrong side of the Equator, as his advesery picked up the drink... And proceeded to beat him to death with what at first hand could be mistaken for a pint of stout, but on further inspection turns out to be a solid brick, wrapped in a thin layer of glass.

The presumption that an Australian would actually attempt to drink a Guinness in one go, let alone drink it at all, is further invalidated by the fact that what they drink isn't Guinness.

If you've ever had a Guinness in or about the UK, (Dublin preferably) you will quickly realise that what the Aussies drink had little to do with Guinness.
Sure it might have heard about it, or possibly read about it in a book, but in reality the "drink" (and I use this term loosely) bears more resemblance what one might expect to tap from a vat containing a 3 week old self-dead and sundried possum, than it does to what many european pub goers tend to enjoy on the weekends, away from the missus, served in frosty pints.


On a slightly more serious note, you'll actually notice that there aren't any rings the further way from Ireland you get. It's something about the water, and the way it's brewed.
Even in Copenhagen (Denmark, located just round the geografical cornor) you'd be hard pressed to get any decent rings on the glass, regardless of effort.
Guinness doesn't travel very well.

Which is a shame, cus it's the best damn drink around


Tm

[Tastyvixen]

Woot, I must be Irish at heart.

[Vallikat]

Well despite being Irish, I must be Australian at heart because the last Guinness I drank, I took in one go. Of course it was in the form of an Irish Car Bomb but I think that still counts. *grin*

[eadaoin]

Eadaoin, on the other hand, leaves only one ring . . . she takes a tentative sip, makes a face, passes the glass to Stiofain to finish, and washes out the taste with some rum.