Beer of the week: Guinness 1798 Double Extra Stout, 9% abv, 750ml — €20

There is nothing like a bit of competition to shake up a market and Guinness and Heineken have both produced a range of “crafty” draught beers and ciders to counter the wave of microbreweries. 

Stockists: The Loop, Cork and Dublin Airports

Most of these are fairly innocuous but Guinness has had more success with its bottled products such as West Indies Porter.

This limited-edition Guinness 75cl is only at airports and has classic bottled Guinness aromas of dark chocolate and burnt caramel but with an extra hint of oak.

Creamy and reasonably complex with lots of bittersweet chocolate and spice flavours and a light carbonation.