State of Guinness in Dublin

*****Serious Thread Alert*****

This ended up being longer than i foresaw, so apologies in advance.

Ok brothers, much like an aprés-pints scutter, this ones been brewing for a while.

I firmly believe that the quality of Guinness in Dublin has gone down in direct proportion to the rise in the economy. Up to about 6-7 years ago, all I drank was Uncle Arthur's cure-all tonic. Then it started getting brutal. Recently it's gotten just poxy. Nowadays, I drink Stella in pubs in town.

It's bad enough that we pay over the odds for a pint of plain, but we have to queue for it, watch it being poured incorrectly, and then have to drink this inferior quality crap. I mean it only has to come down the bleedin' quays FFS :mad:

Granted, there are still a small few places that can do a decent pint, (Conways, Brannigan's etc) but they're the old-style, manky, dusty, aul'fella's pubs, and a lot of people i go drinking with wouldn't set foot in some of these places. The VAST MAJORITY of boozers in Dublin are feckin brutal. Is it too much to ask for a decent pint and a comfortable seat? Must it be as if i'm visiting a 3rd world toxic waste dump every time i wanna go for a slash, if I wanna put the pints before everything else? (Seriously, the jax in Brannigan's is worse than that hole in the ground Saddam was found in).

I've probably said this before here somewhere, and this should probably be in the Dublin forum, but fuck it, i'm sick of this crap. :mad: :mad: :mad:

The reason i'm having a rant about this is I was away last week on a boat on the Shannon, and EVERY pub, in EVERY little sh1tbox town we stopped in, had absolutely SAVAGE pints. I swear on the grave of Arthur himself, they were going down quicker than a 16 yr old's knickers at the back of the Wesley on Junior Cert night.

Banagher - Quality
Portumna - Even better
Shannonbridge - Out of this world (nicest pint i ever had)
Even in Athlone, which is an awful, awful dump, the pints were unbelievably good.

Plus, I don't think i paid more than €3.50 once. In Shannonbridge they were €3.05. Decent pub, decent seats, clean jax, and lovely gargle. The barman was bringing them over to us as well without us even having to ask for them.

Whats the feckin story? Why can't it be like that in the capital? Whatever about rent, decor, overheads, wages etc, surely the drink is the same?

I fear it may be due to the fact that no-body drinks it in Dubland (relatively speaking) so the pipes aren't clean, no-one knows how to pull a decent pint and the keg sits there all day. I also saw mentioned here somewhere that the distance between tap & keg makes a difference.

This has been a lengthy rant, so i'll leave it at that. I'm not looking for a new pub, nor am i looking for a friendly pat on the back, I just wanna know WHY?

Or, Is it just me?


P.S. - Don't go to Athlone. Fucking kip.

You lost me at serious thread alert.

admiralofthefleet

i like cake

Alanstrainor

Totally agree, i was down the shannon myself during the summer and was once again converted back to a guinness man, every pub you went to had gorgeous pints. It's just disgraceful when you see the way pints of guinness are poured in the capital.

GAAman

Gotta agree with ya $hifty its been goin downhill somethin fierce. Its gettin to the stage that im likin the pint in derry rather then Dublin (though there are only 2 pubs here that do a decent pint)

leninbenjamin

this may seem like too much work for a brother but it can yield dividends.

one: study the barman, some can pour good while others are ****e. be selective if necessary. however more important is to also try and establish if they will walk to a different tap for regulars or people they seem to know, i've seen that happen frequently where there is a clear favourite tap even within the same bar for the select few.

two: study the layout of the pub, for whatever reason due to lines being too long and others really close to the cellar the quality of one's pint within the same premises can vary a staggering amount. in general the longer the line the poorer quality the pint.

alas this will not be of use in every premises, it applies only to the very large variety with multiple bars and floors and even then not all will subscribe. some will just have to be condemned.

the demise of the quality of pints is a sad state of affairs though. i've noticed this in Galway as well, although it's not just for Guinness. I can safely say I've had better pints in Oz than some of the one's i've had around the town... :mad:

Zaph

Beer, wine & spirits forum?

Jesus Wept

admiralofthefleet wrote:

i like cake

Join me here so brother

Irish Wolf

Good jaysus.. someone give the tl;dr version..

Me goes of to enjoy cake..

$hifty - sort it out!! You're using wimmin tactics by using 20 words when 1 will do..

jester77

ah there was way too much reading in that but I take you are not happy with the pint you are getting??
Well, I've the same complaint, pints of Guinness here suck.
Had an awful pint last Friday, although it didn't help that it was only after 5 and I was the first in the bar. She went to pull it and it spluttered, once the air was out she pulled it full and gave it to me. All I could taste was the line cleaner

Slow Motion

jester77 wrote:

ah there was way too much reading in that but I take you are not happy with the pint you are getting??
Well, I've the same complaint, pints of Guinness here suck.
Had an awful pint last Friday, although it didn't help that it was only after 5 and I was the first in the bar. She went to pull it and it spluttered, once the air was out she pulled it full and gave it to me. All I could taste was the line cleaner

Why the fcuk didn't you give it back to her and ask for a decent one ?

Tom Dunne

What's a "Serious Thread"?

$hifty, you will get more reasoned debate over on the Beer, Wines and Spirits forum. This place is full of messers who just don't do serious, myself included.

Moved from BG+RH.

jester77

Slow Motion wrote:

Why the fcuk didn't you give it back to her and ask for a decent one ?

I did, but switched over to San Miguel...

r3nu4l

I totally agree with $hifty here. Unfortunately, as pubs have become more and more crowded there have been two major consequences.

1) Bar staff don't have the time/inclination to pour a proper pint or look after the lines properly

2) Directly linked to this is the fact that if they lose your custom because of bad pint pouring, there are at least three more customers ready and willing to take your place in the queue!

There was a time in Dublin where pouring a bad pint of Guinness was a cardinal sin and if a pub got a reputation for poor pints then it rapidly lost customers. Not so today.

Conversely, there was a time when Guinness served in England (brewed in England at the time) was rotten. These days it is brewed in Dublin and shipped over (sadly not on the Lady Patricia). Anyway, I can safely say that I have had some lovely pints of Guinness in Cambridge and find it easier to get a good pint of the black stuff here than I do in my native Dublin. That saddens me...see? -->

I agree with your rant and find myself experiencing a melancholy longing for a Dublin that is gone forever, however while I want that Dublin back I don't want the mass unemployment and economic poverty that was associated with it, just the excellent Guinness

MikeHoncho

If you want a good pint of Guiness you have to be selective as to where you go. Best pints of the pubs I frequent are: The Old Stand (front bar ones in the back can be sh!t), The Long Hall and Grogans. Best pint of Guiness ever ever ever is Matt Molloys in Westport. Anyone else got suggestions?

_blank_

MikeHoncho wrote:

Best pint of Guiness ever ever ever is Matt Molloys in Westport. Anyone else got suggestions?

Yep.

Have a look at this thread.

Best Pint of Guinness in Dublin/Ireland

gurramok

$hifty, complain directly to Guinness, seriously.

Guinness sales are down, perfect time for them to weed out the bad pubs to protect their reputation

I've complained about a certain southside place before and they sent their quality rep out to them, well thats what they said they did, i didnt go back to find out if it worked yet:)

yabadabado

its all about being selective in the pubs u go to 4 a pint of plain but it is getting harder to get a good pint in the city center.many bar staff dont know/care about the right way of pulling a pint.the tips other posters gave are sound advice also when u go into a pub have a look about see wot people are drinking if **** all people are drinking stout id be doubting its nice (this more so 4 local type pubs).wot the poster said about the rep calling out to a pub is kinda right see pubs make an agree ment wit guinness about only using guinness glasses keeping quality up and so on if the rep calls in and its ****ed up the pubs can lose their discount.

yabadabado

yabadabado wrote:

when u go into a pub have a look about see wot people are drinking if **** all people are drinking stout id be doubting its nice (this more so 4 local type pubs).

The reverse is also true i'd imagine. If there aren't many people drinking Guinness, then there wouldn't be much incentive for the owner to ensure the taps are well maintained etc. Also, there's more of a chance of the keg sitting there for longer, which can't be good surely.