What Exactly Is a ‘Turbo Guinness?’

Guinness is quite possibly the hottest beer on the planet right now. Despite the brand’s 250-plus-year history (or perhaps because of it), Guinness is more popular than it’s ever been, with a combination of viral social media challenges and its great taste expanding the brand’s consumer base. And as this new generation of Guinness drinkers grows, so, too, does the number of ways to enjoy the beer itself.

There’s splitting the G, which challenges drinkers to chug enough beer on their first go to split the “G” in the Guinness logo printed on the pint glass. There’s also the Gonster, a nightmarish combination of Monster Energy Nitro layered with the Irish stout that gained notoriety in the spring of 2024. But if bright green energy drinks aren’t for you, there’s one Guinness variation that sees caffeine added in a different way that might be more your speed: the Turbo Guinness.

Making a Turbo Guinness is an inherently simple task. All one must do is dump a shot (or two or three) of espresso into a pint of Guinness after taking a few sips of the beer. The trend appears to have started with Olly Rogers, a U.K.-based man who posted a video of himself making the drink and chugging a few sips to his TikTok profile in November 2024. To this day, it’s the only video Rogers has posted to the account, and it’s garnered over 1.3 million views.

While the combination may seem a bit uncouth — with one user commenting “you can go to jail for stuff like that where I’m from” — if you think about it, the one-two punch of espresso and Guinness actually makes quite a bit of sense. The beer itself tends to carry lush notes of chocolate and roasted coffee, meaning a shot of espresso would likely feel right at home mixed in. And Rogers’ video inspired thousands of others to give the flavor combination a try by making a Turbo Guinness for themselves.

Some on social media took to combining Guinness challenges, like user @masonmcdonald5 on TikTok. Rather than simply adding a shot of espresso to his stout, McDonald kickstarted what he calls the “Turbo Challenge.” First, one must successfully split the G before replacing the lost liquid with a triple shot of espresso. To round out the challenge, the remainder of the contents are chugged as fast as possible.

Even the Irish Independent got in on the action, posting a video to its social media pages of journalist Édaein O’Connell giving the Turbo Guinness (sans challenge) a try. And while there are a fair share of comments lambasting the combo and insisting that people “stop f*cking around with Guinness,” as it turns out, the drink isn’t that far off from a version of the stout Guinness itself launched a few years back.

In April 2021, the brand debuted Guinness Nitro Cold Brew Coffee, a 4 percent ABV Guinness Irish stout brewed with cold brew coffee extract and “coffee flavors.” According to Diageo, the beer has a rich, smooth, and creamy palate with notes of chocolate, caramel, and, of course, espresso. While the beer is still available in the U.S., it has since been discontinued in the U.K., which is likely why the Turbo Guinness — and the majority of its backlash — are more popular across the pond than here at home.

Some other versions of the Turbo Guinness have made the rounds on social media, including this version made with what appears to be Jack Daniel’s Blackberry. Another shocking variation claiming to be a Turbo Guinness combines the Irish stout with half a pint of Smirnoff Ice in what we can only imagine is an even worse iteration of the Gonster. That said, it’s relatively agreed upon that a true Turbo Guinness sees just espresso added to the mix.

So while we can’t say we’ll be running to try any Smirnoff Ice or Blackberry whiskey Turbo Guinness anytime soon, we surely wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to sample the caffeine-spiked stout should it end up in front of us.

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