New Guinness may meet stout resistance

Joe Sheehy, a master brewer at Guinness, smiles as he sips Brew 39, a new version of the black stout that's taken him 10 months to develop.

''Guinness has a burnt, chocolaty, slightly harsh quality," said Sheehy, at the St. James's Gate headquarters of Guinness, near the River Liffey in Dublin. ''We have given Brew 39 a smoother, clean taste."

London-based Diageo PLC, the world's largest liquor company, is trying to revive flagging demand for Guinness, the legendary black beer praised by James Joyce as ''the frothy freshener." Some pub owners say Brew 39, the first of 10 new versions of the stout to be sold by 2010, won't lure new drinkers and may alienate fans of the traditional drink.

Irish sales of Guinness fell 3 percent in the year ended in June, after dropping 6 percent in the previous 12 months. A smoking ban introduced in March 2004 deterred people from visiting pubs, and the popularity of wine and lager grew, analysts say.

''There's a variety of reasons," for the decline in Guinness consumption, said Jean Doyle, a Dublin-based Guinness spokeswoman. ''People are traveling more, developing a preference for wine, there's more competition out there, and the smoking ban hurt us of course."

Guinness sells 1 million pints of the stout a day in Ireland, and 5 million around the world.

Sheehy, 40, and his colleagues cooked up new versions of the stout by varying the mix of basic raw materials -- water, barley, hops and yeast -- and altering the brewing process.

''At best, it's going to eat into their own sales," predicted James O'Sullivan, a barman at Anseo, a pub in central Dublin. ''People are going out later, and you don't tend to drink Guinness late at night. It's hard to imagine something so similar to Guinness changing that."

The Irish economy is expanding at the fastest pace among 12 major European nations. Irish bar sales, which slumped as much as 7 percent after the smoking ban, rose 4.6 percent in July, indicating that pub drinking is gaining popularity again.

Guinness's history is littered with examples of failed innovations. The company has previously introduced Guinness XXX Extra Strong Stout, Guinness Gold, and Breo White Beer.

And in 1979, the company attempted to fight the popularity of lager beer with Guinness Light, which had less alcohol and fewer calories than standard stout. It used the slogan ''They said it couldn't be done." The product was withdrawn two years later.

''The answer isn't to mess about with the product, but rather invest in marketing the traditional heritage of the product," said Gerard Rijk, a beverage analyst at ING Financial Markets in Amsterdam, who has a ''buy" rating on Diageo. ''Versions with cherries aren't the answer."

Guinness is hoping to attract drinkers to Brew 39 who often shun the heavier draught version. In appearance, there's little difference between it and regular Guinness. And Sheehy still fills the pint glass about three-quarters full and then leaves the Brew 39 to settle for two minutes before topping it off, just like a pint of regular Guinness.

Two differences remain. First, Brew 39 uses less roast unmalted barley, which gives Guinness its bitter taste and dry palette. Second, hops are added at the end of the process, which also reduces bitterness on the tongue.

''Brew 39 is aimed at the occasional Guinness drinker," said Sheehy. ''Someone who maybe drinks Guinness on St. Patrick's Day or Christmas."

The new beer arrived in 300 bars around Dublin on Oct. 19. It will be withdrawn in a few months and replaced by a second version in what the company calls the Guinness Brewhouse Series.

Doyle of Guinness says the company won't be deterred by past failures. ''Innovation is notoriously difficult, we know that," she said.

Some diehard Guinness drinkers say they'll give the new version a chance.

''I'd try it," said Brian McGovern, a Dublin lawyer. ''I'm not saying I'd like it. Guinness is almost perfect as it is, but I'm open to new versions."