Guinness shortage

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Johnny Mars Bar said:
I'll trust your beer barrel knowledge on that -

But none of that applies now. The whole thing in a modern pint is pure brand indulgence that gets drummed into pub landlords by brewery reps (often Carlsberg in the UK as they distribute it).
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OK, thanks, appreciated.

But I can honestly say I can tell a good pint of Guinness from a bad one before I've put it to my lips, just by watching the pour, in most cases.
A good one will have a thick, deep creamy head, with tight bubbles and zero froth. There will be no gassing up the inside of the glass. (This indicates a dirty/ greasy glass)
If you tilt the glass the head will move as one with the beer, without overflowing (holding its own)
Honestly, a one part pour won't achieve this, it's not a gimmick.
Anyway, I've bored you enough, I could talk about Guinness all night (it reminds me of my dad if I'm honest)
At least we can agree it's a bloody lovely pint.
 
roman totale said:
Quick true story: In the 90s I worked for Bass Brewers in Burton. We used to ask for volunteers to try new beers that were in the pipeline. Had to drink so many, at a certain pace, log how we felt during the night and the morning after too etc. When it launched, Caffreys had a reputation for being rocket fuel, but you should’ve tried some of those development-stage brews. The stuff drank well, but was an absolute killer the morning after, never known a hangover like it. It was something to do with an interaction with the nitrogen dispense IIRC.
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And I bet you would shit through the eye of a needle.
 
Northerndave said:
TikTok is full of these wankers.

I've drunk Guinness for more years than I remember, you definitely see more people drinking it in pubs now.
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Surprising how many younger people are drinking it in my local boozer now. Mind you some of these young upstarts have probably seen me bouncing off the walls and asked the landlady what I was drinking. ;) HIC.
 
roman totale said:
Quick true story: In the 90s I worked for Bass Brewers in Burton. We used to ask for volunteers to try new beers that were in the pipeline. Had to drink so many, at a certain pace, log how we felt during the night and the morning after too etc. When it launched, Caffreys had a reputation for being rocket fuel, but you should’ve tried some of those development-stage brews. The stuff drank well, but was an absolute killer the morning after, never known a hangover like it. It was something to do with an interaction with the nitrogen dispense IIRC.
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Tbf, that’s my recollection of Caffreys too. The abv definitely didn’t tell the full story with that stuff! A drink with ‘something of the night’ about it.
 
crublue1 said:
OK, thanks, appreciated.

But I can honestly say I can tell a good pint of Guinness from a bad one before I've put it to my lips, just by watching the pour, in most cases.
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But that's the easy part. The question is whether you can tell a 'good' pint from a 'bad' pint without looking at the pour. I assumed someone would have done it, but no-one has properly done a blind taste test. There was one bloke on Youtube, and he couldn't even tell which was from a can, nevermind distinguish between the one and two-part pour. But that's just one bloke. I'd like to see it done with self-professed Guinness connoisseurs.

This video shows some footage of the early beer pouring:



So obviously the origins of the two-part pour have legitimate reasoning, but the question is whether Guinness have held onto it for marketing reasons when you could quite happily pour it like any other beer in the bar nowadays.
 
I'm With Stupid said:
But that's the easy part. The question is whether you can tell a 'good' pint from a 'bad' pint without looking at the pour. I assumed someone would have done it, but no-one has properly done a blind taste test. There was one bloke on Youtube, and he couldn't even tell which was from a can, nevermind distinguish between the one and two-part pour. But that's just one bloke. I'd like to see it done with self-professed Guinness connoisseurs.

This video shows some footage of the early beer pouring:



So obviously the origins of the two-part pour have legitimate reasoning, but the question is whether Guinness have held onto it for marketing reasons when you could quite happily pour it like any other beer in the bar nowadays.
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I can only speak for myself, but I'm confident I could do a blind taste test and differentiate between a poorly poured pint and a properly poured one, purely on the texture of the head and how thick it is, its just experience. But then I know what I'm looking for. I'd certainly know a can from draught, blindfolded, however poorly poured, I'd put my mortgage on that, if I had one.
I grew up with my old man having test rigs in our garage, and at his unit.
There is a lot of uninformed talk about Guinness, some of it is true, a lot of it is bollocks, but the 2 part pour isn't one of them.
Edit.
I've seen my dad pour several hundred pints of Guinness over a 35 year period, I never saw him do anything but a 2 part pour, even when he wasn't on duty.
 
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crublue1 said:
I can only speak for myself, but I'm confident I could do a blind taste test and differentiate between a poorly poured pint and a properly poured one, purely on the texture of the head and how thick it is, its just experience. But then I know what I'm looking for. I'd certainly know a can from draught, blindfolded, however poorly poured, I'd put my mortgage on that, if I had one.
I grew up with my old man having test rigs in our garage, and at his unit.
There is a lot of uninformed talk about Guinness, some of it is true, a lot of it is bollocks, but the 2 part pour isn't one of them.
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The thing about taste is there are so many factors. I read about one study where expert wine tasters were unable to tell that two wines were the same when they were served at different temperatures. And that wasn't someone trying to trick them, it was a wine grower demonstrating some of the factors that affect taste. Anyway, if you do it, video it and put it on Youtube. There's a dearth of content for something that everyone is so fussy about.
 
I'm With Stupid said:
The thing about taste is there are so many factors. I read about one study where expert wine tasters were unable to tell that two wines were the same when they were served at different temperatures. And that wasn't someone trying to trick them, it was a wine grower demonstrating some of the factors that affect taste. Anyway, if you do it, video it and put it on Youtube. There's a dearth of content for something that everyone is so fussy about.
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Each to there own mate, I know where to get a decent pint of Guinness in my town and I know the places to avoid. It's not difficult, they know how to keep it, pour it, in a decent glass.
Wine is completely different and isn't relevant to the subject of keeping beer, with respect
 
crublue1 said:
Each to there own mate, I know where to get a decent pint of Guinness in my town and I know the places to avoid. It's not difficult, they know how to keep it, pour it, in a decent glass.
Wine is completely different and isn't relevant to the subject of keeping beer, with respect
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If you think you can, fair play to you. But the fact that people think they can is kinda my point.
 
I'm With Stupid said:
If you think you can, fair play to you. But the fact that people think they can is kinda my point.
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Yep, I understand mate, like I said, there's a lot of bollocks spouted about it.
I like to think I have the experience to know what I'm talking about.
A lot of people have had a bad pint of Guinness and it's put them off for life, and I don't blame them. A bad pint is easier to find than a good one in the UK I'd argue (sounding like a Guinness rep)
Then they try a good one (possibly in Ireland.. ) and they love it.
It's because they love it and respect it. Go to Ireland and sample a glass or two. Then tell me it's the same shite that's served up in wetherspoons here. It just isn't.
 
crublue1 said:
Yep, I understand mate, like I said, there's a lot of bollocks spouted about it.
I like to think I have the experience to know what I'm talking about.
A lot of people have had a bad pint of Guinness and it's put them off for life, and I don't blame them. A bad pint is easier to find than a good one in the UK I'd argue (sounding like a Guinness rep)
Then they try a good one (possibly in Ireland.. ) and they love it.
It's because they love it and respect it. Go to Ireland and sample a glass or two. Then tell me it's the same shite that's served up in wetherspoons here. It just isn't.
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The Guinness in the local wetherspoons here is absolutely amazing. We all drink it, in several pubs, and all agree it is loads better in there. And they pour it properly, with a two pour one settle method. And its cheap
 
crublue1 said:
I can only speak for myself, but I'm confident I could do a blind taste test and differentiate between a poorly poured pint and a properly poured one, purely on the texture of the head and how thick it is, its just experience. But then I know what I'm looking for. I'd certainly know a can from draught, blindfolded, however poorly poured, I'd put my mortgage on that, if I had one.
I grew up with my old man having test rigs in our garage, and at his unit.
There is a lot of uninformed talk about Guinness, some of it is true, a lot of it is bollocks, but the 2 part pour isn't one of them.
Edit.
I've seen my dad pour several hundred pints of Guinness over a 35 year period, I never saw him do anything but a 2 part pour, even when he wasn't on duty.
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If you got a pint served straight up in a Dublin pub without the settle and top up, you’d hand it back and tell the barman to try again.
 
Uncle Wally One Ball said:
The Guinness in the local wetherspoons here is absolutely amazing. We all drink it, in several pubs, and all agree it is loads better in there. And they pour it properly, with a two pour one settle method. And its cheap
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I always find Spoons to serve a decent pint, but it's no where near as gold as a proper pint in Ireland.

As the fella above said, if you've not tried a pint in Ireland, you're basically drinking a different drink over here.

I've done my best to search for a proper pint of Guinness around Manchester and its really hard to come by. You get the odd one that passes the test, but again it's nothing like the stuff you get over the water.
 
Guinness is only one porter or stout in a world of porters and stouts.
Porter originated in London and spread around the world, including to Ireland.
Ireland's brewing tradition doesn't stop at Guinness and porters and stout.
Guinness can be enjoyable, is usually very well served in Ireland but quality can vary as you get further away from where it is brewed.
Guinness are very adept at marketing and advertising and their account is one of the most coveted by admen.
 
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