GUINNESS UK is to test market a black lager in a number of outlets in the north of England.
The lager, which is called Strang's, is black but, according to Ms Gillian Fanning of Guinness Ireland, "tastes just like a regular premium lager".
Dark lagers are nothing new in European brewing, but lagers have come to be regarded as exclusively honey hued in the past 50 years. Strang's is given its tint by a brewing process using black and crystal malts.
"They must have identified some kind of market," says Ms Fanning. "Guinness always has a number of products in development at any one time ... Possibly, given the popularity of designer beers, it may find its market there.
There are no plans as yet to market Strang's in Ireland.
