Guinness Surger: December 2010

Bring back the Guinness Surger

The original idea of this blog was to try and raise awareness of the Guinness Surger unit, in the hope that Diageo UK would see that there is still consumer interest in the unit.

Whilst the goal of having Guinness Surger cans reintroduced to the UK retail market hasn't yet been realised, there has been a push by Diageo UK towards the On-Trade market. This has seen Surger Units appearing in more and more smaller venues across the UK. The upside of this is that there are a larger number of suppliers, both online and offline, holding stock of Surger cans. This is now making it much easier for the general public to get a hold of the cans.

I would obviously still like to see the cans reintroduced to the retail market. Please help me achieve this goal by visiting this Blog for updates and by becoming a follower. The more followers I have signed up the better chance we have of getting the Surger cans reintroduced.

Thursday, 2 December 2010

New design Surger cans with "ready to pour" indicator

As you can see from the attached picture the Surger cans have had a bit of a revamp to coincide with them going on sale to the general public via a number of online sites, including Amazon.co.uk

The new design brings the Surger cans into line with the new "widget" can design which was introduced late in 2009.

The new can also has a colour changing band on the can indicating that the can is at the optimum temperature for pouring. Guinness GB told me earlier, "a band around 'step 1' of the serve instructions on the back turns light blue."

What is Guinness Surger?

Guinness Surger is a version of Guinness Draught which comes in a can, but doesn't contain a widget. Instead the can contains liquid versions of nitrogen and carbon dioxide.

How does it work? The Guinness Surger unit works using ultra-sonic technology. At the touch of a button, the Surger sends an ultra-sonic pulse through the pint glass, releasing the gases in the Guinness beer, which then settles into a smooth velvet pint with a creamy head.

Get a cold can of Surger Guinness, pour a little water on to the plate of the surger unit. Next, pour your can of Guinness into a pint glass at a 45º angle. Now, place your glass of freshly poured Guinness onto the plate of water on the Surger unit. Now hit the button on the unit. Watch as the gases are activated and the beer starts to surge. Wait for 119.5 seconds and then you can enjoy a Guinness just as good as any pub in Dublin.

Guinness Surger History

1977 - Guinness experimented with a primitive version of the system in 1977 in New York.

2003 – Japan & Singapore - The bar-top Surger Unit was launched in Japan and in its first year of use showed 60 per cent growth in sales of Guinness.

March 2006 - Guinness introduced the home version of the Surger Unit in the UK. Backed initially by a £2.5 million marketing spend, the device was available at larger Tesco stores and retailed at £16.99 in a pack containing a pint glass and two 520ml cans of Guinness Surger. Four-can packs of Surger also retailed at £4.99.

In 2007 there was a similar home Surger pack made available through Isetan stores in Singapore. This pack contained 2 pint tumblers and retailed at $49.90 (SGD)

14^th November 2007 – Bar-top Surger announced for the USA. Brewmaster, Fergal Murray travelled around various locations in the US promoting the use of the unit.

April 2008 – Home version of the Guinness Surger Unit within the UK is withdrawn. Sales of Guinness Surger cans are also withdrawn from Tesco stores.

2009 - The bar-top Surger unit is now available worldwide, including countries such as UK, USA, Italy, France, Spain, Austria, Australia, Japan. Guinness Surger cans are available to licensed premises in the following sizes – UK and Spain 520ml, USA 14.9 Fl Oz, Europe 330ml, Japan 350ml and Australia 375ml.

Where can I buy Guinness Surger?