| Black ‘n’ Black, Arthur Narf, widget… such terms are used (and understood) only by true Guinness beer connoisseurs.
Take Wayne Kainu, local Guinness lover and a finalist for Guinness’s Minister of Good Times contest. He, like so many others, truly loves a good pint of Guinness (or two or three…).
"My mom was born on St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin. It’s in my Irish blood to love Guinness," he explains.
Kainu has always preferred the full-bodied beers to the light ones and, as is the case for so many others, Guinness is the beer that quells his pint-pounding appetite. "I find Guinness to be one of the nicest-tasting beers," he says. "I grew up with my dad drinking Guinness, so my first sip came when I was quite young. The first time I had a pint was my first year of university, and I have to say, I acquired an immediate taste for it."
Which seems to be the case for most devotees who dared to try the thick, dark beverage. One sip and you’re hooked. The addiction is spreading – since Guinness originated in the late 1700s, its makers have had a long time to perfect the stout. "I think Guinness has an incredible tradition that has been passed on from generation to generation," says Kainu. "It’s a beer that just keeps on tasting better with every pint – you can never get tired of it."
Although Kainu confesses that he has never tried Guinness from a bottle, he does love pouring a pint from the can. Either that or enjoying a pint from the tap at his usual haunt, the Kilkenny Irish Pub in Brentwood, or occasionally at the James Joyce on Stephen Avenue. "It’s best to enjoy a Guinness in an Irish pub," he says.
What Kainu also enjoys is sharing his knowledge and dispelling myths about his favourite beer.
"Most people believe that Guinness is a dark, heavy, high-carb, meal-replacement type of beer. But it is actually one of the lightest-calorie beers on the market. It is a dark beer, but it has fewer calories than most other beers. In fact, a pint of Guinness has less calories than a pint of orange juice."
But do other Calgarians love Guinness as much as Kainu? Seems so, if you ask Andrew Baird, bartender for the past two years at Ceili’s Irish Pub.
"Guinness does have very loyal drinkers – they drink it and they love it," says Baird. "Many Canadians like their light beer, but if they are going to drink a stout, it’s going to be Guinness. Especially on St. Patrick’s Day, those rye and wine drinkers, who don’t normally drink beer, will have a Guinness just to get in the spirit."
The beer also goes flying out of the liquor stores on March 17. "We sell mass amounts at St. Paddy’s Day," says Dave Gingrich, beer-room master at the flagship store of Willow Park Wines & Spirits, Canada’s largest privately owned liquor outlet. "We have six skids (about 700 flats) in this store alone, in anticipation. And it sells like crazy all year-round, too. It’s always a best-seller."
However, few Guinness fans show the dedication of Kainu, whose love of the beer has led him to acquire Irish citizenship and make the pilgrimage to its source – the original St. James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin – where he learned how to "pull a pint" first-hand. "I ended up pouring pints for over an hour in the Guinness pub at the very top of the brewery," he recalls. "They said I was a natural."
Being such a huge fan of Guinness, Kainu felt that he had to run in the Minister of Good Times race – a lighthearted promotional competition being held by Guinness, with the winner to be announced March 17 at the Guinness Party of Canada Convention in Montreal. Given all this knowledge and experience, Kainu feels he’s the ideal candidate for the position. Besides, he appreciates the most important aspects of attaining the title. "I like to party and of course, always have a good time," he says. "And, I could win some really cool prizes."
As part of his duties as a finalist, he will argue his case for St. Patrick’s Day to be named a statutory holiday in Canada before members of Parliament. Not a bad idea, and what better guy than this true lover of Guinness to make the plea? Heck, even his cat is named Guinness. Enough said. |
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