The Guinness "widget"
Curiosity got the best of me tonight and I decided to cut open a can
of
Guinness in order to have a closer look at the "widget".
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The "floating widget" found in cans of beer is a hollow
sphere, 3 cm in diameter. The can is pressurised by adding liquid
nitrogen, which vaporises and expands in
volume after the can is sealed, forcing gas and beer into the widget's
hollow interior through a tiny hole - the less beer the better for
subsequent head quality. In addition some nitrogen dissolves in the
beer
which also contains dissolved carbon dioxide. The presence of
dissolved
nitrogen allows smaller bubbles to be formed with consequent greater
creaminess of the subsequent head. This is because the smaller bubbles
need
a higher internal pressure to balance the greater surface tension,
which is
inversely proportional to the radius of the bubbles. Achieving this
higher
pressure is not possible just with dissolved carbon dioxide because
the much
greater solubility of this gas compared to nitrogen would create an
unacceptably large head. When the can is opened, the pressure in the
can
drops, causing the pressurised gas and beer inside the widget to jet
out
from the hole. This agitation on the surrounding beer causes a chain
reaction of bubble formation throughout the beer. The result, when the
can
is then poured out, is a surging mixture in the glass of very small
gas
bubbles and liquid, just as is the case with certain types of draught
beer such as draught stouts. In the case of these draught beers, which
also contain before dispensing a
mixture of dissolved nitrogen and carbon dioxide, the agitation is
caused by
forcing the beer under pressure through small holes in a restrictor in
the
tap. The surging mixture gradually settles to produce a very creamy
head.
The original widget was patented in the UK by Guinness.
The word "widget" as applied to this device is a trademark
of the Guinness
brewery.
Background
Draught Guinness as it is known today was first produced in 1964. With
Guinness keen to produce Draught in package for consumers to drink at
home,
Bottled Draught Guinness was formulated in 1978 and launched into the
Irish
market in 1979. It was never actively marketed internationally as it
required an initiator which looked rather like a syringe to make it
work.
Development
The initial inventors of generating draught Guinness from cans or
bottles by
means of a sudden gas discharge from an internal compartment when the
can or
bottle is opened were Tony Carey and Sammy Hildebrand, brewers with
Guinness
in Dublin, in 1968. This invention was patented by them in British
Patent No
1266351, filed 1969-01-27, complete specification published
1972-03-08. Development work on a can system under Project ACORN
focused on an arrangement whereby a false lid underneath the main lid
formed the gas chamber. Technical difficulties led to a
decision to put the can route on hold and concentrate on bottles using
external initiators. Subsequently, Guinness allowed this patent to
lapse and
it was not until Ernest Saunders centralised R & D in 1984 that
work
re-started on this invention under the direction of Alan Forage.
The design of an internal compartment that could be readily inserted
during
the canning process was devised by Alan Forage and William Byrne, and
work
started on the widget during the period 1984/85. The plan was to
introduce a
plastic capsule into the can, pressurise it during the filling process
and
then allow it to release this pressure in a controlled manner when the
can
was being opened. This would be sufficient to initiate the product and
give
it the characteristic creamy head. However, it was pointed out by Tony
Carey
that this resulted in beer being forced into the 'widget' during
pasteurisation with consequent very poor head quality. He suggested
overcoming this by rapidly inverting the can after the lid was seamed
on.
This extra innovation was successful.
It is important that oxygen is eliminated from any process developed as this can cause flavour deterioration when present.
The first samples sent to Dublin were labelled "Project
Dynamite", which
caused some delay before customs and excise would release the samples.
Because of this the name was changed to Oaktree. Another name that
changed
was 'inserts' - the operators called them widgets almost immediately
after
they arrived on site - a name that has now stuck with the industry.
The development of ideas continued. In fact over 100 alternatives were
considered. The blow moulded widget was to be pierced with a laser and
a
blower was then necessary to blow away the plume created by the laser
burning through the polypropylene. This was abandoned and instead it
was
decided to gas exchange air for nitrogen on the filler, and produce
the
inserts with a hole in place using straight forward and cheaper
injection
moulding techniques.
Commissioning began January 1988, with a national launch date of March 1989.
This first generation widget was a plastic disk held by friction in
the
bottom of the can. This method worked fine if the beer was served
cold; when
served warm the can would overflow when opened. The floating widget,
which
was launched in 1997, does not have this problem.
Comments and faves
Geo's "The Gal-0-Re-ah" (75 months ago | reply)
WOOT you caught that little bastard!
slworking2 (75 months ago | reply)
Geo: Hahahahaha. And to think I was still able to do so AFTER drinking the Guinness. ;-)
DragonDrop (75 months ago | reply)
I've always been in mixed minds about those. Yes they make your genius a bit more pub like, but the end result of said widget is that you get less of the black stuff .
I'm off over to Dublin next week. The birthplace of the black stuff.
exiter™ (75 months ago | reply)
so that's what it looks lie!
~Kimberley~ (75 months ago | reply)
I remember when those first came about, most of the breweries back home would advertise "with widget" a la "redbull gives you wings". The first version that came about didn't look like that though.
pjcondon (75 months ago | reply)
wow that is very cool looking
Su℮ ❥ (75 months ago | reply)
You should start a collection!
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Dodgeram (75 months ago | reply)
it's ok Kevin....we all do it sooner or later! hahaha
ryan 623 (75 months ago | reply)
haha, I did the same thing.
MIGUEL™ [deleted] (75 months ago | reply)
sounds like too much work. just finish drinking and grab another!
Neoslv - (M. G.) (75 months ago | reply)
Nice history Kevin!.
BTW, how many Guinness did you drink before your search about widget process?. lol!
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John Bollwitt (75 months ago | reply)
Dude, I never thought to look up the wiki. Nice!
ruby's mama! (75 months ago | reply)
good work! i love the widget!
ruby's mama! added this photo to her favorites. (75 months ago)
NoNo Joe (75 months ago | reply)
Good job, I've done something similar, but it involved a shovel, more drinking of Guinness and a handful of dares.
Good job in bringing this into photographic report.
next project for you: photograph the research behind knowing "how does the fridge know when to turn on the interior light?"
:)
Dea©on Blues Three Point OH! (75 months ago | reply)
ok how odd...
7D7 Studio (Omar) (75 months ago | reply)
I never thought it would be that BIG! Now I feel like I'm not getting all of the fl. oz. worth in my purchase
ginger.jengibre (75 months ago | reply)
Wow, news to me, never knew they existed. I just downed a six pack of Michelob looking for some. I didn't find any "widgets", but now I'm seeing "midgets".
slworking2 (75 months ago | reply)
LKM Photo (75 months ago | reply)
Was that legal? I think Guiness can is as sacred as the federal tag on matresses.
norcaljeff (75 months ago | reply)
Holy crap this was a long read!!!
Phils Room (75 months ago | reply)
wtf!?! All I want is to drink beer, get drunk, and forget how I lost my under wear...nothing more.
slworking2 (74 months ago | reply)
BgKahuna: It's okay to do this to a Guinness can ONLY after consuming a sufficient amount of the product first.
NorCalJeff: It was an interesting read though, wasn't it?
Phils Room: Hahahahahahahha.
George M. added this photo to his favorites. (67 months ago)
slworking2 (67 months ago | reply)
George M.: Thx for the fave.