Best pint of Guinness Dublin city centre

Buckfast W

I know this has been done to death but haven't noticed a new thread about this in the last few years.

So best pint of Guinness around the city centre. I was thinking
Bowes
Mulligans
The Palace
Stags Head etc..........

jiltloop

The Palace gets the nod from me, I used to love the pint from Brogans on Dame st too but that has gone downhill recently. The Palace pint is consistently up there with the best!

Saipanne

I'd say Bowes, but for one not mentioned yet, the Dame Tavern.

Walter H Price

The Bores Head or the Grave Diggers for me all day long

Aongus Von Bismarck

I'm neither a regular Guinness drinker or a barfly around famous Dublin pubs, but I would have thought that the pint would be of a consistent quality? It's a mass produced beer brewed by one of the largest distillers in the world. Having such variance in quality in the capital city of their largest market wouldn't make sense.

Saipanne

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

I'm neither a regular Guinness drinker or a barfly around famous Dublin pubs, but I would have thought that the pint would be of a consistent quality? It's a mass produced beer brewed by one of the largest distillers in the world. Having such variance in quality in the capital city of their largest market wouldn't make sense.

I agree, it's complete nonsense for such variance from a product produced by a company that employs a quality team, thus ensuring that said product is consistent.

It's fun pub talk though.

Walter H Price

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

I'm neither a regular Guinness drinker or a barfly around famous Dublin pubs, but I would have thought that the pint would be of a consistent quality? It's a mass produced beer brewed by one of the largest distillers in the world. Having such variance in quality in the capital city of their largest market wouldn't make sense.

Difference with Guiness compared to most other beers is that allot of the quality of your pint is dependent on the actual pour , there is a skill to pulling a great pint of Guiness and a poorly pulled pint of the black stuff is utterly vile. It really does vary place to place around Dublin mostly based on the skill of the bar staff rather then the actual quality of whats in the Keg

MadYaker

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

I'm neither a regular Guinness drinker or a barfly around famous Dublin pubs, but I would have thought that the pint would be of a consistent quality? It's a mass produced beer brewed by one of the largest distillers in the world. Having such variance in quality in the capital city of their largest market wouldn't make sense.

I've found Guinness can vary massively in taste. I think if a bar is busier and going through more kegs then generally the Guinness is better. Freeneys in Galway has always had good Guinness and it's always busy. But I got a pint last Friday in a very busy hotel bar and it was really awful, like I couldn't finish it and I love Guinness. Friends that were with me said the same. I don't know if it has anything to do with how the Guinness is poured, I watch the bar tender pour and to me it seemed he did it the same as everywhere else. I've heard people say that leaving it to stand and then topping it up is pointless, but I don't know.

Any bar tenders here care to weigh in on this?

RebelButtMunch

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

I'm neither a regular Guinness drinker or a barfly around famous Dublin pubs, but I would have thought that the pint would be of a consistent quality? It's a mass produced beer brewed by one of the largest distillers in the world. Having such variance in quality in the capital city of their largest market wouldn't make sense.

If you were a regular Guinness drinker you would have experienced good, bad and indifferent pints.

PokeHerKing

A bad pint of Ken is also vile. The difference between a pint of Guinness/Beer in a pub compared to say a can of coke is all the external factors the pint goes through which the can of coke does not.

Person pulling the pint, quality of taps in the bar, cleanliness of the glass etc..

Lovely Bloke

Walter H Price wrote: »

Difference with Guiness compared to most other beers is that allot of the quality of your pint is dependent on the actual pour , there is a skill to pulling a great pint of Guiness and a poorly pulled pint of the black stuff is utterly vile. It really does vary place to place around Dublin mostly based on the skill of the bar staff rather then the actual quality of whats in the Keg

what, the two part or the three part pour?

Utter myth, marketing tosh that you've well and truly been hoodwinked into believing.

Have you "blind tasted" pints of Guinness, one of which is single poured the other of which is double-poured?

Also, the very reason Diageo go around cleaning lines themselves is to virtually guarantee the same blandness is available in all outlets where their procuct is served.

There maybe some slight difference in pubs, down to lines of varying length and distance from the cold rooms, but it won't be much.

All this "Pub XXX does a great pint" may be down to the ambiance and clientele of a certain establishment, but it most certainly not down to the product or any "skill" of a barman in being able to pour liquid into a glass.

GLaDOS

I've never really experienced this massive variation in the quality of Guinness that other people seem to, and I'd drink it reasonably regularly.

You can get bad pints, same way you can get a bad pint of anything, but generally I find Guinness to be fairly consistent.

SpaceCowb0y

There are a number of factors, pull, tap, tubes from keg, how the glass is cleaned that can affect how a pint tastes. Pull being the most easily remedied. Nothing worse than receiving a pint with a miserable head.

I know the bar man in my local well and he was saying that all the Guinness glasses in the bar are hand-washed now as the dishwasher was leaving a residue on them that was spoiling pints.

testaccount123

This is all nonsense. None of you could pick out your nominated "better pint" in a blind taste taste, nevermind "a pint from pub x". Id be surprised if most of you could pick out Guinness in a blind test with other Irish nitro stouts. Guinness doesnt vary "massively" in taste from location to location, its an industrially produced product designed to taste the same everywhere, QA'ed by professional food tasters and supported by a fleet of cellar 'engineers' whose job it is to ensure it tastes the same everywhere. And suggesting the pour affects the taste of the liquid in the glass is laughable.

D0NNELLY

Buckfast W wrote: »

I know this has been done to death but haven't noticed a new thread about this in the last few years.

So best pint of Guinness around the city centre. I was thinking
Bowes
Mulligans
The Palace
Stags Head etc..........

The Dawson Lounge

PokeHerKing

Baldy Conscience wrote:

All this "Pub XXX does a great pint" may be down to the ambiance and clientele of a certain establishment, but it most certainly not down to the product or any "skill" of a barman in being able to pour liquid into a glass.

Don't be so flippant. There is a good and a bad way to do anything. I could pour a pint of Guinness or beer with no head, all head or the proper ratio. Guess which will taste the best?

D0NNELLY

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

I'm neither a regular Guinness drinker or a barfly around famous Dublin pubs, but I would have thought that the pint would be of a consistent quality? It's a mass produced beer brewed by one of the largest distillers in the world. Having such variance in quality in the capital city of their largest market wouldn't make sense.

Still true though.

Walter H Price

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

what, the two part or the three part pour?

Utter myth, marketing tosh that you've well and truly been hoodwinked into believing.

Have you "blind tasted" pints of Guinness, one of which is single poured the other of which is double-poured?

Also, the very reason Diageo go around cleaning lines themselves is to virtually guarantee the same blandness is available in all outlets where their procuct is served.

There maybe some slight difference in pubs, down to lines of varying length and distance from the cold rooms, but it won't be much.

All this "Pub XXX does a great pint" may be down to the ambiance and clientele of a certain establishment, but it most certainly not down to the product or any "skill" of a barman in being able to pour liquid into a glass.

i'd be a fairly regular Guniness drinker and have drunk in allot of pubs round the city i would say you get real varience , just about anything youget in temple bar or any cafe bar is pure muck , Traditional pubs top quality from my experience

testaccount123

Walter H Price wrote: »

i'd be a fairly regular Guniness drinker and have drunk in allot of pubs round the city i would say you get real varience

Its all in your head. You associate "good Guinness" with 'Traditional pubs' before you even taste the beer.

irish_goat

PokeHerKing wrote: »

Don't be so flippant. There is a good and a bad way to do anything. I could pour a pint of Guinness or beer with no head, all head or the proper ratio. Guess which will taste the best?

It's easy to pour a lager with no head or loads of head. It's actually quite hard to control the amount of head on a pint of nitro stout.

pxdf9i5cmoavkz

Buckfast W wrote: »

Bowes
Mulligans
The Palace
Stags Head etc..........

Grogans on South William Street is decent.

My #1 pint would be JJ Smyth's on Aungier St.

Walter H Price

testaccount123 wrote: »

Its all in your head. You associate "good Guinness" with 'Traditional pubs' before you even taste the beer.

Ah right ok , i'll remember that in future

Lovely Bloke

Diegeo marketing department in full swing.

ckeego

Kehoes. South Anne st. End of.

Buckfast W

Giancarlo Rancid Boardroom wrote: »

Grogans on South William Street is decent.

My #1 pint would be JJ Smyth's on Aungier St.

Never been in JJ Smyth's

Hartigans on lesson street
Toners Baggot street
Dohney & Nesbitts
O'Donoghues Merrion row
Kehoes South Anne Street
Mc Neills Capel street
Nearys Chatman street

Buckfast W

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

Diegeo marketing department in full swing.

Not really, I used to work in a bar and if the tap has not been used all day and you get the first pint then good luck to you. Its better with the modern taps but the old ones from a few years ago you'd have to put a bucket under the tap if it hadn't been used in 24 hrs.

Peist2007

Cassidy's on Camden Street. One of the biggest difference makers with Guinness is how far the taps are from the keg and where the keg is stored.

D0NNELLY

testaccount123 wrote: »

Its all in your head. You associate "good Guinness" with 'Traditional pubs' before you even taste the beer.

youll just have to accept that you are wrong on this one.
There's plenty of all types of pubs that serve crap and lovely pints..

dont worry about it.

testaccount123

D0NNELLY wrote: »

youll just have to accept that you are wrong on this one.
There's plenty of all types of pubs that serve crap and lovely pints..

dont worry about it.

Yeah, no. This is all just silly pub talk from people who dont really know anything about beer.

But sure crack on.

D0NNELLY

testaccount123 wrote: »

But sure crack on.

thats the spirit, have a good day

Trond

These four would be my personal favorites;

Palace
Mulligans
Gravediggers
Toners

Last two pints i had O'Donoghues were yet again in greasy glasses. Does my head in....

I agree on the whole marketing thing being so OTT. The barman concerned can drastically alter the standard of your pint even if the flow etc is bang on. Some barman simply pour better pints.

My local lost a couple this year :-(

Buckfast W

testaccount123 wrote: »

Yeah, no. This is all just silly pub talk from people who dont really know anything about beer.

But sure crack on.

Whats this magic secret to beer???? Or can you not tell us muggles

culline

Fallons, off St Patrick's Cathedral, D8. Fantastic pint

RebelButtMunch

Peist2007 wrote: »

Cassidy's on Camden Street. One of the biggest difference makers with Guinness is how far the taps are from the keg and where the keg is stored.

Id agree. I was dreading a night out recently in a bar which wouldn't make it anywhere near 'best pint in dublin'. Got to the bar and risked a guinness. It was the nicest pint I had in AGES. I commented to the barman and he said that they just had the pipes cleaned the day before, and the distance to the keg was short. Lot's more pints ensued.

Aongus Von Bismarck

Trond wrote: »

I agree on the whole marketing thing being so OTT. The barman concerned can drastically alter the standard of your pint even if the flow etc is bang on. Some barman simply pour better pints.

I find this very hard to believe. Surely they pick a suitably clean glass, tilt it at an angle, and fill the drink? It's hardly the type of activity that takes years of practice or a natural intuition? It's up there with the subway sandwich artist really

magicmoves

The long hall for me has a great pint of Guinness

RebelButtMunch

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

I find this very hard to believe. Surely they pick a suitably clean glass, tilt it at an angle, and fill the drink? It's hardly the type of activity that takes years of practice or a natural intuition? It's up there with the subway sandwich artist really

Perhaps your right. I'd still rather a nice subway sambo over a sh!te one.

4zn76tysfajdxp

Buckfast W wrote: »

I know this has been done to death but haven't noticed a new thread about this in the last few years.

So best pint of Guinness around the city centre. I was thinking
Bowes
Mulligans
The Palace
Stags Head etc..........

Which city centre?

GLaDOS

Maddox Helpful Rawhide wrote: »

Which city centre?

psst, this is the Dublin City forum

4zn76tysfajdxp

GLaDOS wrote: »

psst, this is the Dublin City forum

Ha! Sorry, someone linked me the thread and I didn't check.

Brian?

15-20 years ago there were good Guinness pubs and bad ones. It was all to do with how regularly the lines were cleaned. These days pubs aren't allowed maintain their own lines or taps, they're cleaned every 2 weeks by the quality team.

A friend on mine who's family owned a pub when the quality team was pissed off because they cleaned their lines every Sunday morning religiously and had a roaring trade on a Sunday. The quality team meant the quality of pint in his pub actually went down a bit. It did mean that you can now drink a pint anywhere in Dublin and it'll be grand. The truly great Guinness pubs are no more.

They used to be The Bachelor Inn, Mulligans, The Seán O'Casey, The Duke, The Palace bar and Nearys( The Chatham lounge).

Louis Fitzgerald destroyed the Bachelor. I'd happily drink in the rest. Still decent boozers. But there was a time where you'd approach Guinness with a healthy slice of skepticism, I had many septic pints in the 90s around Dublin.

Ninap

I think the biggest factor is undoubtedly the cleanliness of the glass. Wine tasters frequently complain of detergent residue on glasses ruining the taste of wine; it's the same for Guinness. Some pubs just use hot water in their dishwashers (no detergent). Temperature also a factor. There's no way all pints of Guinness are identical. You could tell even by looking at a pint; a bad one will have a brownish, quickly dissolving head, instead of a thick creamy white one.

Ninap

Ps - the Clock on Thomas St used to have great pints, but that was many years ago

RebelButtMunch

Ninap wrote: »

I think the biggest factor is undoubtedly the cleanliness of the glass. Wine tasters frequently complain of detergent residue on glasses ruining the taste of wine; it's the same for Guinness. Some pubs just use hot water in their dishwashers (no detergent). Temperature also a factor. There's no way all pints of Guinness are identical. You could tell even by looking at a pint; a bad one will have a brownish, quickly dissolving head, instead of a thick creamy white one.

You're right. Recently I was at an event. Three Guinness drinkers. One tap. One of us said their pint tasted rotten. We did a blind taste test and were able to pick out the bad pint. Must have been a dirty glass.

Dr Crayfish

I find it varies, but not greatly. The best Guinness I know of is in suburban pubs, I'm not sure why though. I drink in Bowes and Toners regularly enough, Bowes is my favourite pub but the Guinness isn't great really. I don't know, I guess the creamier/milkier the Guinness, the more I like it. The pints that are gone in 3 gulps. 3 gulpers I call them. Yum, thinking about pints now...

lapua20grain

The best pint for me would be in Mulligans, there are various things that can affect the taste and creaminess of a pint. the cleanliness of the glass, some pubs don't change the water in their glass washers often enough or clean the glass washer period, or they use rinse aid which has always been known to leave a film on the glass that is why a lot of pubs just use hot water. Storage of the kegs also is a factor they cannot be stored in a warm area and in my experience need to spend 48 hours in the cold room with no agitation this is applicable to all beers not just stout. there is also pubs that recycle their slops and top up pints with the "Dana Tap". I worked in the industry for 15 years from barman to cellar-man to chef so i am basing my observations on experience

Dr Crayfish

lapua20grain wrote: »

there is also pubs that recycle their slops and top up pints with the "Dana Tap"

I have to call bullsh*t on that. Never in 20 years or so of drinking in pubs have I seen that for real, it's an urban myth. Maybe it was done in the 70s or something.
Interesting about the glasses thing though you were on about, my mate who was a barman preaches from the same book about having the glasses a certain way for the best pint.

NickNickleby

I definitely agree that the taste varies. Clontarf Castle bar (the old bar) has beautiful Guinness. My local serves such crap Guinness, that I sometimes use a taxi to get to Clontarf. When I drink in the local , I drink Smithwicks. This despite having spoken to a member of the quality team who regularly cleans the pipes in my local. But here's something. Gaffney's in Fairview - who serve good Guinness - have a policy about washing glasses. Nothing but glasses is allowed in the washer. ESPECIALLY tea/coffee cups. Apparently its something to do with milk residue. I do not agree that the pouring affects the taste. One time I walked into a pub in Manchester and ordered a pint of Guinness. She put the empty glass under the tap and pressed a button. When the tap stopped pouring, she placed the pint on the counter and walked off. I watched it settle, and then waited for her to top it off. Eventually she came over and asked me what was wrong. Somewhat embarrassed I explained about topping off the pint, whereupon she showed me the pint mark on the side of the glass and assured me I had received the prescribed volume. Whoops, and to make it worse, it tasted fine!!

So, there's no doubting that all pints leave the brewery tasting the same, but its what happens after delivery to the pub that affects the taste.

Zipppy

All my life I tried to get to like Guinness...I was told it was an acquired taste...a taste I failed to aquire..rounds on nights out frm work were 12 guinness and one heino..mine..
until in my 40s I tried a guinness at the gravediggers....black gold...I now love guinness...but am fussy about where I buy it...hedigans brian boru is also fab as is dice bar...won't beat gravediggers tho...

lapua20grain

Dr Crayfish wrote: »

I have to call bullsh*t on that. Never in 20 years or so of drinking in pubs have I seen that for real, it's an urban myth. Maybe it was done in the 70s or something.
Interesting about the glasses thing though you were on about, my mate who was a barman preaches from the same book about having the glasses a certain way for the best pint.

you may call bovine scatterings on that but i have witnessed it and been told that i would lose my job if i did not use this tap. you as a customer would never see it as it has to be done so as not attention to the fact that the barman is doing it.

D0NNELLY

20+ years ago we were fixing a few lights in a bar in town.
There was about 25 pint glasses all between a quarter and a half full, grouped by brand with their brand names facing out under the bar.