I bought a 4 pack of Guiness Stout Draft cans tonight.

[OAITW r.2.0]

After consumption, I see that each can as a roughly 1" (25.4mm) plastic ball in the can. What is up with that?

[soothsayer]

1. Nitrogen! Keeps it really draft-like

[sfstaxprep]

2. Here You Go

https://www.guinness.com/en-us/our-craft/guinness-draught-can-ball/

[OAITW r.2.0]

3. Thanks! That's the beauty of life.....you learn something new every day!

[The Wizard]

4. Common in British

canned beer

[Doreen]

5. Nitrogen

My ex is an extreme Guinness fan and he taught me everything I could give a shit about about Guinness.

[OAITW r.2.0]

6. -snort-

My last boss was from Belfast, NI and he was obsessive about the beer. Me, I like, a good dark, but normally drink local.

[Doreen]

11. I do not like bear at all yet I know Guinness.

My ex is a dark beer person also. I learned some about them to again unwillingly.

[OAITW r.2.0]

12. Clear as a dark beer! nt

[Doreen]

13. Made me chuckle.

[Major Nikon]

7. I prefer Murphy's to Guiness

It's a bit harder to find. The cans also have the nitro widget.

The purpose of the nitro is to create a creamy foam head when poured into a glass. So if you don't pour right after opening you are missing the effect. I went to a restaurant once that had Murphy's so I ordered one and asked for a glass. The bartender opened the can at the bar and by the time the waiter brought it, the effect was gone. I sent it back and the waiter delivered another the same way. After the 3rd try they finally sent one over unopened.

[OAITW r.2.0]

9. Funny, I drink them straight out of the can.....

because, why dirty a glass? Maybe I should have poured it, but I have to say, my local micro, Oak Pond Brewery, Canaan, ME, does a Brown Nut Ale that beats Guinesse taste every day of the week.

[Major Nikon]

14. Bottled and canned beers are made to be poured

They have additional carbonation such that when you pour them after opening, the carbonation level is ideal. In many areas of Europe where premium beers have been brewed for hundreds, if not thousands of years, drinking out of the bottle or can is almost never done. As the beverage releases carbonation in the glass, the aromas that come with it enhance the effect of the beverage in ways you don't get if drinking out of the original vessel. In the case of many dark beers you also get a creamy head which lingers far longer than other beers which enhances the effect for me.

Personally I prefer draft beer to canned or bottled options all other things being equal, particularly when poured by someone who knows how to do it, especially in the case of stouts and porters.

So to answer your question there are reasons to drink beer out of a glass, which is not to say it's wrong to do it any other way. Enjoy it however you like to enjoy it.

Some people like Guinness and it's safe to say there's a good many of them given their sales volume all over the world. Fortunately for me Texas has a strong brewing tradition, so it's easy for me to find variety that goes well beyond the mass produced options.

[TexasProgresive]

10. Ah another Murphy's man

Cans are good but a pint drawn in any tiny West Cork pub is divine. The ijits here can ruin Guinness on draft. They have no patience.

[TomSlick]

8. It's a widget. One of the great advances of modern civilization.

I don't have a clue how it works but there is nothing like nitrogen gassed stout.

Sláinte Mhaith.

[Baitball Blogger]

15. What does stout taste like?

I always thought it was a harsh beer. But, now I hear it's sweet. I purchased chocolate flavored stout for my kids for VD, and they enjoyed it. But I thought it was just a dessert version.