I won't be able to drink to spread covid

Culture
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For me personally the best pint of the blackstuff I ever had was in the Fox and Hounds, Ballyvolane in the outskirts of North Cork City. The new extension to this bar has brought some rough and tumble to the pub from the surrounding areas of Mayfield and The Glen and reminds me somewhat of the friendly to locals only atmosphere that some working class Dublin boozers are renowned for. Nevertheless the old bar, which I sat in for the evenings drinking session, hasn’t changed once since it used to be surrounded by fields and had a clientele of mostly farmers. The barman in this section of the pub is built like a tank, a friendly man but the kind that you wouldn’t cross. Two Guinness was the order, my Corkonian cousin, although proud to be a rebel, knows only too well how disgusting Cork brew is. Expertly poured one glass at a time by the experienced local barman and left settle at the bar until the silky pint was completely black in colour before he topped it up thus completing the two part pour, properly and not rushed! To describe the pint I’ll simply say that I rated it 9.5/10 any Guinness drinker reading this will know what I mean! I’m still on the search for that glorious 10/10 orgasmic pint; some say that a pint that delicious has to be a myth, although I for one think my standards are too high.

In Dublin, my favourite Guinness spots would be Liam Walshes, Parkgate Street; O’Neill’s, Pearse Street and Crowes, Merrion Road, Ballsbridge. Outside the pale, JP Morans in Westport town, The Railway House in Ballina and The Railway House in Portarlington and The Cartoon House, Rathdrum would have dished out good pints to myself over the last few years.

Anybody else have any good Guinness experiences?

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Yeah one night after 10 pints I ventured to the bar for my 11th, that was the business.

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Outside Dublin i.e. Leitrim:

  1. Duignans, Drumsna, Leitrim (the best I have ever tasted - anywhere)
  2. The Green Rootser (aka Cusacks), Mohill, Leitrim
  3. Carrolls Public House, Mohill, Leitrim

In Dublin:

  1. McDaids, off Grafton Street
  2. Mulligans, Poolbeg Street
  3. O’Donughues, Baggot Street

Also excellent - Rody Bolands, Rathmines (particular credit here for a so-called ‘superpub’), Brogans Dame Street, The Dropping Well Milltown, The Terenure Inn, The Two Sisters Terenure, The 51, Sackville Lounge

Best place outside Leitrim and Dublin is a place called Shoot the Crows in Sligo town.

Places in Dublin to avoid Guinness:

1.Anywhere with extra cold i.e. Q Bar, Messrs McGuires
2.Kiely’s in Donnybrook
3.The Duke

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Seriously Farmer, you think the Duke is bad? My first time there on saturday and in fairness my first pint wasnt the best but the the other 3-4 that followed weren’t half bad.

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The first pint of the night is the most important, it’s when your tastebuds are most alert and thirsty. If the first pint is useless then the pub is useless for Guinness, end of! Nobody ever judges the 2nd or 3rd pint of the night, unless they’re in a pub crawl situation. I personally think Mulligans Guinness is well overated, I’d give it 6/10 on a good night.

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I do enjoy my Guinness but I’m not fanatical enough to have made a list of the pubs I most enjoyed it in.

What I do want to ask though is why no pub does the second pour with the handle pushed forward anymore? I thought the first pour was with the handle down, and for the topup the handle should be pushed forward. But nowhere does that anymore. New taps, or just laziness?

Anyway best Dublin pints are probably in:

  • Mulligan’s
  • Sackville
  • Long Hall

but they’re probably pubs I like more than the Guinness. As long as it’s not a shit superpub or whatever I’m happy enough with the stuff generally.

Out Foreign
Best (only enjoyable) pint of Harp I ever had by the way was in The Irish Times Pub in Essen, Germany. Not sure what it was but that was a cracking pint of lager for some reason. Alt is the way forward when in Deutschland though - lovely stuff.

There’s a cracking boozer in Glasgow called Scotia Bar that sells ales from small breweries around Scotland. Lovely stuff that is as well.

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I have definitley see the push forward on the tap to complete a pint when Ive been out. In fact I see it a good bit.In my opinion the best places for a pint would be, in no particular order:

Mulligans, The Bachelors Inn and The Conrad Hotel(absolute quality)

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[quote=“Flano”]I have definitley see the push forward on the tap to complete a pint when Ive been out. In fact I see it a good bit.In my opinion the best places for a pint would be, in no particular order:

Mulligans, The Bachelors Inn and The Conrad Hotel(absolute quality)[/quote]

I should have mentioned The Conrad myself, truely excellent pint to be had in there. I really don’t think the Bachelor or The Sackville are top quality for Guinness, they are cracking pubs though and super places to enjoy quiet pints. The proper way to pour the 2nd part of a pint of Guinness is to push the tap forward, I doubt it makes any difference if the barman pulls the tap back though.

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Dublin - Mulligans, hands down. Make it my business if in the Big Smoke to go there for a few.
Kilkenny - Stepps Bar, Callan. Well I don’t get out much at home but had a few there last week and they were sweet (before the wagon came into town)
Cork - Shortts, Castlemartyr. Great pints of whatever, full stop, but the Guinness is smooth as silk
Cork - The Maple Inn, Midleton. Always a great pint, especially on a Sunday night with NFL on in the corner.

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[quote=“Flano”]I have definitley see the push forward on the tap to complete a pint when Ive been out. In fact I see it a good bit.In my opinion the best places for a pint would be, in no particular order:

Mulligans, The Bachelors Inn and The Conrad Hotel(absolute quality)[/quote]

I’ve seen them push it forward the odd time but it used to be all the time, now nowhere seems to bother - not even Mulligans. Does it make any difference to the pint - presume it alters the speed of the flow or something?

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I can’t find anything to indicate(on the internet at least) that you need to push forward on the tap. Here’s a guide I found.

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All those stories are myth. I agree with a tilt of the glass in the inital pour but all the rest is just rubbbish. The barman in Cusacks for instance pulls the tap to him for the inital pour and then immediately pushes it away for the rest of it. He nearly fills the glass with the inital pour as tops up the remainder by pulling the tap to him. The result - a great pint. The guy before him used to pull the Guinness like a beer, twirling around the glass and stuff. He’s let it settle but it wasn’t as nice.

It’s not in the way that you move the taps - it has more to do with the cleanliness of the pipes, their usage and the vicinity of the keg to the tap hence less pipe to go through hence less bad Guinness in the pipes. Also sufficient time should be allowed for the pint to settle and I believe in almost filling the pint on the first pour. This leads to a nice head which will last further down the glass.

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While it pains me to say it Farmer is right about Shoot the Crows in Sligo. There also used to be a super pub round the corner called Hardagan’s but that may be gone now.

In Kilkenny you’ll find it hard to beat the Guinness from O’Riada’s or Little Andy’s and believe me I’ve tried.

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Mulligan’s has dissappointed on recent visits, far too cold a pint.

The Long Hall or the Sackville would produce a superior pint as would, I venture, the Foggy Dew for example or any of the fine bars in Dalymount Park.

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[quote=“farmerinthecity”]Outside Dublin i.e. Leitrim:

In Dublin:

  1. McDaids, off Grafton Street
  2. Mulligans, Poolbeg Street
  3. O’Donughues, Baggot Street

Also excellent - Rody Bolands, Rathmines (particular credit here for a so-called ‘superpub’), Brogans Dame Street, The Dropping Well Milltown, The Terenure Inn, The Two Sisters Terenure, The 51, Sackville Lounge

[/quote]

Slattery’s in Rathmines also does a great pint of Guinness, far superior to Rody’s from my experience.

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I had 7 fantastic pints of Guinness in Houricans of Leeson Street in the leadup to Christmas. Best I ever had, although I’m not a big Guinness drinker. Sackville does a charming pint too.

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I can’t believe none of the forum have snuck a weekday pint in in O’Neills of Pearse Street. Just a ten minute walk from IFSC across Butt Bridge and down Moss Street it should be a worthy substitution for the increasingly tacky Harbourmaster.

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Harbourmaster is a fook. The worse pub in Dublin hands down. Didn’t have my leaving drinks there and will not return there unless someone is leaving from my old workplace. Terrible pints, shit service and gobshites of barmen. Nothing going for it at all.

Heard about Slattery’s before alright Jack. Had a pint in there years ago. Also heard about Houricans as well. Must sample at some stage.

Someone said that the mark of good Guinness is the effect it has on you the next day. I have never been hungover after pints at home, and Mulligans, McDaids etc. Had pints in Bradys in Terenure recently which went down well but woke up with a raging hangover.

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Bumping this thread ahead of “Arthurs Day” next Thursday. Events in nearly every pub in Dublin to mark the occasion.

Personally, the nicest Guinness I ever had was in the Storehouse, closely followed by the Brazen Head. Mulligans is ok. None of the pubs at home would be that memorable for Guinness - good efforts but not in the same class as the first 2 mentioned.

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Moks, Bandon Road, Cork City.
Had many a fine pint in Dublin, too many places to mention or remember.