Why is Guinness always so bad in hotels

hetuzozaho

Strumms wrote: »

The pint in the Olympia is always fantastic...

Getting to the bar which is about 10 deep to get it however....

That's Murphys though?

Strumms

hetuzozaho wrote: »

That's Murphys though?

Yep, I stand corrected, it is !:D

mrmorgan

Murphys is a nicer pint anyway...

hetuzozaho

mrmorgan wrote: »

Murphys is a nicer pint anyway...

Strumms seems to think so

Degag

Washing glasses in detergent is a big problem. Detergent should only be used to clean the dishwasher. Glasses for the most part only cleaned with clean water.

feargale

bobbysands81 wrote: »

Nobody in Ireland says Boxing Day.

Yes they do. I've heard them. But then I get out now and then.

chooseusername

If you saw this fella drinking his guinness in the corner, and you got talking to him about the perfect pint , you would be amazed at his story
(unfortunately it's too late now,rip,Michael ash)

http://allaboutbeer.com/man-invented-nitro-guinness/

BeerNut

chooseusername wrote: »

If you saw this fella drinking his guinness in the corner, and you got talking to him about the perfect pint , you would be amazed at his story

Sounds like something Diageo would like you to believe. I spoke to him. He was a fascinating guy, but his interest in Guinness had ended decades ago when he retired. I got the impression of someone who hadn't so much as thought about the stuff until they invited him back for the Open Gate launch. I don't think he had even been to St James's Gate before: that's not where the real Guinness came from in his day.

partyguinness

Because the staff are usually Eastern European and do not get it...that is the non PC answer and a totally non scientific generalisation.

But I think it tends to be too cold for starter.

partyguinness

chooseusername wrote: »

If you saw this fella drinking his guinness in the corner, and you got talking to him about the perfect pint , you would be amazed at his story
(unfortunately it's too late now,rip,Michael ash)

http://allaboutbeer.com/man-invented-nitro-guinness/

That pint does not look great on that pic alone. The glass does not help either- something a bit too largeresque about it which may give a false perception of it being too cold ergo a bad pint.

partyguinness

I only drink Guinness in Ireland. Living in England I'll be the one drinking some ale and English lads drinking Guinness.

Had a conversation about this one night with a lad drinking Guinness (in England) and he was trying to convince the Guinness in this particular pub was fantastic. So I had some of his...now no lie it tasted like what you get at 2am in a nightclub in Ireland. Fcuking rank and cold as anything.

This was top quality Guinness to this chap- he just does not know any better. God help him is he every hits some of the well known haunts in Dublin.

ps I had a disappointing few pints in the Guinness Storehouse.

Ballso

I love these threads with "Guinness experts", they are hilarious

the beer revolu

partyguinness wrote: »

Because the staff are usually Eastern European and do not get it...that is the non PC answer and a totally non scientific generalisation.

But I think it tends to be too cold for starter.

You could train a monkey in about 5 minutes to pull a decent pint of Guinness.

Your non PC answer is nonsense.

the beer revolu

the beer revolu wrote: »

You could train a monkey in about 5 minutes to pull a decent pint of Guinness.

Your non PC answer is nonsense.

There is a lot more goes into a decent pint than how it's poured. This notion that every single pint of Guinness ever poured is identical to every other one that came before or afterwards is one that has popped up a number of times on boards...........and it is completely bizarre and at odds with the experience of everyone who's ever had more than one pint.

Ballso

[Deleted User] wrote: »

There is a lot more goes into a decent pint than how it's poured. This notion that every single pint of Guinness ever poured is identical to every other one that came before or afterwards is one that has popped up a number of times on boards...........and it is completely bizarre and at odds with the experience of everyone who's ever had more than one pint.

Guinness is one of the most tightly quality controlled foodstuffs on earth, the idea that it has wild variance from a pub to the pub next door is a nonsense. The idea that a Eastern European would struggle to operate a beer tap is a new one though, keep them coming!

Ballso

Ballso wrote: »

Guinness is one of the most tightly quality controlled foodstuffs on earth, the idea that it has wild variance from a pub to the pub next door is a nonsense. The idea that a Eastern European would struggle to operate a beer tap is a new one though, keep them coming!

a) Nobody's talking about wild differences
b) Nobody, also, is denying that, when leaving the factory, 99% of kegs are identical - doesn't mean the end product is the same
c) That wasn't me who was banging on about Polish barmen, so back in your box

Not all pubs clean their taps & lines the same, or as frequently, or store their kegs the same, or use the same detergents, or have the same distance between keg and tap, or clean their glasses the same, or use proper glasses even. I was tempted to report the old Smyths in Fairview before it became the Brú house because they served me a pint in an Amstel glass. The imperfections in the inside of the glass meant that the head was getting caught at several locations and the pint looked like a drunken painting of a cheetah.

The idea that each pint is identical and any differences are psychosomatic just doesn't bear up to any scrutiny. Yes, there is a certain mythos surrounding it, some of which is absolute rubbish (the two-part pour being a particular bugbear of mine). But the concept that each pub serves as good a pint as the next is also rubbish. I've had different tasting pints from different taps in the same bar, ffs. It smacks of snobbery, to be honest, to claim that it is all in the average punter's head.

Guinness have a quality control team which ensures the pints are as good as possible, yes?
So they call into pubs and carry out work to make sure everything is 100%, yes?
Therefore, it might have been a number of weeks/months since the last visit and same again before the next visit by the QC team, yeah?
So it stands to reason, then, that there is a noticeable difference between a pint the day before the QC visit and the day after, yeah? (otherwise, how do they know everything is 100%?)
So if there are two pubs situated at either end of Baggott street (pubs A and , and A has had their lines cleaned etc this morning, but B hasn't had a visit in 5 months, you're telling me the pints served in each are the same?
Whats the point of the QC team, then?

partyguinness

Ballso wrote: »

I love these threads with "Guinness experts", they are hilarious

The Guinness marketing team love it.

Ballso

[Deleted User] wrote: »

a) Nobody's talking about wild differences
b) Nobody, also, is denying that, when leaving the factory, 99% of kegs are identical - doesn't mean the end product is the same
c) That wasn't me who was banging on about Polish barmen, so back in your box

Not all pubs clean their taps & lines the same, or as frequently, or store their kegs the same, or use the same detergents, or have the same distance between keg and tap, or clean their glasses the same, or use proper glasses even. I was tempted to report the old Smyths in Fairview before it became the Brú house because they served me a pint in an Amstel glass. The imperfections in the inside of the glass meant that the head was getting caught at several locations and the pint looked like a drunken painting of a cheetah.

The idea that each pint is identical and any differences are psychosomatic just doesn't bear up to any scrutiny. Yes, there is a certain mythos surrounding it, some of which is absolute rubbish (the two-part pour being a particular bugbear of mine). But the concept that each pub serves as good a pint as the next is also rubbish. I've had different tasting pints from different taps in the same bar, ffs. It smacks of snobbery, to be honest, to claim that it is all in the average punter's head.

Guinness have a quality control team which ensures the pints are as good as possible, yes?
So they call into pubs and carry out work to make sure everything is 100%, yes?
Therefore, it might have been a number of weeks/months since the last visit and same again before the next visit by the QC team, yeah?
So it stands to reason, then, that there is a noticeable difference between a pint the day before the QC visit and the day after, yeah?
So if there are two pubs situated at either end of Baggott street (pubs A and , and A has had their lines cleaned etc this morning, but B hasn't had a visit in 5 months, you're telling me the pints served in each are the same?
Whats the point of the QC team, then?

None of this is unique to Guinness though? In fact, Guinness is far more likely to be uniform than any other beer on the market. Yet we don't have gob****es in pubs all over the country mythologising the "quality" of Tuborg in their local for some reason.

partyguinness

Ballso wrote: »

, the idea that it has wild variance from a pub to the pub next door is a nonsense.

This can apply to any beer or larger. My buddy drinks Heineken for example and he complains bitterly about one particular pub locally that has notoriously bad draft all round....interestingly the owners are teetotalers and they never taste the stuff themselves even to check it...and they run the pub.

I am a Murphy's drinker or Guinness in Dublin and have been for 25 years. You will get shocking variances as it is either too cold or stale or a combo of both.

Breweries will send out someone to check the system if the owner is having bad drafts. If you think about it, it really does not do Guinness any good if people will shy away from it due to variances. Apparently, that is one reason why is served so cold in England- basically to make the taste uniform.

You may be right in that maybe there is a small part in the head of the drinker...it makes you look like an expert stout drinker.

Ballso

Ballso wrote: »

None of this is unique to Guinness though? In fact, Guinness is far more likely to be uniform than any other beer on the market. Yet we don't have gob****es in pubs all over the country mythologising the "quality" of Tuborg in their local for some reason.

But....you do though?

Or, at least, I do. I've returned pints in plenty of pubs, including Guinness. I've never stated this was a uniquely Guinness thing. A decent pint is a decent pint. Same goes for a 'bad' one*. If they're not cleaning the lines on the Guinness taps, they're hardly breaking their balls on the Harp ones.



*I've never actually had a 'bad' pint, maybe sub-par is the correct adjective here.

Dyr

partyguinness wrote: »

Had a conversation about this one night with a lad drinking Guinness (in England) and he was trying to convince the Guinness in this particular pub was fantastic.

A friend of mine was a pint man in the tradition of Paddy Losty. We were all off in a far flung corner of the UK, skulling pints, having a bit of chat with the landlord and locals and generally good times. The Landlord asks why we're not drinking Guinness and my pal replies "Because it's dreadful" Landlord points out that we havent even tasted the Guinness and actually he serves the best Guinnes in this neck of the UK. My friend and the Landlord get into a long back and forth about Guinness quality. Eventually my friend is cajoled into sampling a pint. At this stage the whole pub is sitting there awaiting his opinion. A pint is carefully pulled and handed to him. He takes a deep draught, pauses, puts the pint down and declares "I wouldnt give that to my dog, and if I did he wouldnt drink it."

Pub erupts in laughter but the poor landlord is genuinely gutted.

partyguinness

I remember when I was 20-21 after Uni I would drink Guinness in my local at home for the summer every Friday night. I was the only one of the lads who also worked Saturdays so even after 4-5 pints over 4-5 hours I was ill the next day- throbbing headache mostly. Now I just accepted it as part of drinking.

Toward the end of the summer I went on a right session into Cork City in an old man's bar. I defo hit double figures in pints but it was still a relatively well paced affair. The next morning I was afraid to open my eyes with the hangover I was expecting.

Nothing. Head crystal clear. I was drinking good pints.

The usual Friday night pub was and still is a complete dive. I learned that it was the pub not me- the place is notorious for it. Even my father pointed out the number of old lads there stick to bottles. After that I went on bottles of Bulmers in that pub.

Ballso

[Deleted User] wrote: »

But....you do though?

Where has the best pint of Budweiser in Dublin? Seems silly when you put it like this. Yet people rave about the Guinness in Mulligans or whatever.

No chance people are picking out the mulligans pint on a blind test with a random other bar.

BeerNut

If good and bad tasting pints of Guinness were real there'd be a discussion on *how* they're good or bad, but there never is.

"The food in that place is rank."
"How?"
"Ahh it just is. If you were a food-eater you'd understand."

Ipso

partyguinness wrote: »

Because the staff are usually Eastern European and do not get it...that is the non PC answer and a totally non scientific generalisation.

But I think it tends to be too cold for starter.

The fairy dust can probably sense the bar man isn’t Irish.

Ballso

The expert Guinness drinkers foodie equivalent is someone who exclusively eats Birds-Eye fish fingers and insists the ones from the shop whose freezer works properly is miles better

Ballso

Or maybe Diageo gradually reducing the flavour profile of the draught to its current level of blandness over the last 30 years has inadvertently produced a mutant race of supertasters capable of picking out the tiniest off flavour despite smoking 80 Rothmans a day

BeerNut

BeerNut wrote: »

If good and bad tasting pints of Guinness were real there'd be a discussion on *how* they're good or bad, but there never is.

"The food in that place is rank."
"How?"
"Ahh it just is. If you were a food-eater you'd understand."

Again, it's not 'bad' exactly......more 'less nice' than other pints. I don't like too much of a bitter aftertaste and sometimes it's more pronounced than others, for whatever reason. Your average punter (me included) might not know why that is, but they know what they like. Saying they don't know what they're talking about or it's all in their head is bad form.

I accept the point that certain places are known for having good Guinness, often without foundation. It's not always the case though. I'm not a fan of gaffneys, for example, don't understand why people rave about their pints.

Labelling people as sheep who don't know what they're talking about because they think the pints are creamier in the gravediggers vs the Gresham, or because they can't pinpoint why they prefer x pub over y is pure elitism / snobbery, though.

Ballso

Ballso wrote: »

The expert Guinness drinkers foodie equivalent is someone who exclusively eats Birds-Eye fish fingers and insists the ones from the shop whose freezer works properly is miles better

Good example.

If a shop let them defrost first before cooking them, then fried them using 2-day old oil in a fryer that hadn't been cleaned in a week would you stand over them going 'you're talking out of your hole, they're the exact same as every single fish finger ever eaten you mug, it's all in your head, stop listening to the idiots who tell you that Grogans do the best fish fingers'"?

Ballso

Look, there are hundreds and hundreds of pubs in Dublin alone serving exactly identical Guinness. Sure there are probably pubs whose environments are so poor it affects the quality of their beer, but this has nothing to do with Guinness stout.

There are probably disfunctional McDonald's out there serving slightly lower quality big Macs too but we don't get dopey aul lads analysing the burgers pretending they are experts. The Guinness nonsense is sad ****e pub talk, end of.

Dyr

Deleted User wrote: »

Labelling people as sheep who don't know what they're talking about because they think the pints are creamier in the gravediggers vs the Gresham, or because they can't pinpoint why they prefer x pub over y is pure elitism / snobbery, though.

You see this type about a bit, too much time on the internet.

Was sitting at the bar in Hedigans once nursing a 25 yr old rebreast, and some smug young hipster comes up to the barman and orders a pint of Guinness, informs the barman ( Who himself is only a callow youth not out of his teens) that its to be pulled straight, no pause to settle. I'd imagine his nibs was a member of some craft beer facebook group and knows the two stage pull is all just marketing and nostalgia. Isn't he the smart boy not falling for that guff and so forth. He wanders off very happy with himself and me and the young lad just look at each other and go :rolleyes:

Ipso

Ballso wrote: »

Look, there are hundreds and hundreds of pubs in Dublin alone serving exactly identical Guinness. Sure there are probably pubs whose environments are so poor it affects the quality of their beer, but this has nothing to do with Guinness stout.

There are probably disfunctional McDonald's out there serving slightly lower quality big Macs too but we don't get dopey aul lads analysing the burgers pretending they are experts. The Guinness nonsense is sad ****e pub talk, end of.

Mainly bars that don't rely on returning customers, just people on the rip that will neck anything or tourists who most likely won't return.

L1011

Bambi wrote: »

You see this type about a bit, too much time on the internet.

Was sitting at the bar in Hedigans once nursing a 25 yr old rebreast, and some smug young hipster comes up to the barman and orders a pint of Guinness, informs the barman ( Who himself is only a callow youth not out of his teens) that its to be pulled straight, no pause to settle. I'd imagine his nibs was a member of some craft beer facebook group and knows the two stage pull is all just marketing and nostalgia. Isn't he the smart boy not falling for that guff and so forth. He wanders off very happy with himself and me and the young lad just look at each other and go :rolleyes:

And have you actually blind tasted one part and two part pulls - and got the right answer more than half the time - to actually have any basis to criticise this?

jt69er

Deleted User wrote:

Guinness have a quality control team which ensures the pints are as good as possible, yes? So they call into pubs and carry out work to make sure everything is 100%, yes? Therefore, it might have been a number of weeks/months since the last visit and same again before the next visit by the QC team, yeah? So it stands to reason, then, that there is a noticeable difference between a pint the day before the QC visit and the day after, yeah? (otherwise, how do they know everything is 100%?) So if there are two pubs situated at either end of Baggott street (pubs A and , and A has had their lines cleaned etc this morning, but B hasn't had a visit in 5 months, you're telling me the pints served in each are the same? Whats the point of the QC team, then?

Every outlet serving draught beer in the country is visited by the QDT of the Breweries supplying them for a line clean and routine maintenance every 25>26 working days, unless the outlet refuses the service, which is free btw.

Ballso

The two part pour is a pain in the hole. It's cheap bland macro beerswill I'm ordering, not fine wine, just put it in the glass ffs. Last time I ordered Murphy's stout the woman behind the bar refused to do this and i had to stand there like a spa while it "settled" 😂

Load of ridiculous nonsense

andekwarhola

[Deleted User] wrote: »

There is a lot more goes into a decent pint than how it's poured.

Yes, marketing.

jt69er

Ballso wrote:

The two part pour is a pain in the hole. It's cheap bland macro beerswill I'm ordering, not fine wine, just put it in the glass ffs. Last time I ordered Murphy's stout the woman behind the bar refused to do this and i had to stand there like a spa while it "settled" 😂

We're you in a particular rush at the time?

Ballso

jt69er wrote: »

We're you in a particular rush at the time?

I wasn't in a rush no, it was just myself and herself at the bar. I get that the stout super tasters can taste every micron difference in the dome of the head or whatever but surely it should be optional at least.

You'll often find that Guinness etc is the least worst option in a pub down the country with their ****e taplists, it's always fresh and in good nick and is pretty inoffensive stuff all in all. Standing around waiting for it like a spa is annoying.

andekwarhola

I must be lucky. I've drank Guinness all over the country and Dublin and can't remember the last time I got one of these subpar pints that seem to be such a risk.

Big Nasty

IMO the two part pour is essential as otherwise the meniscus will be flat or concave. Allowing the pint to settle enables the server pour a pint with a head that is proud of the glass, hence sealing it.

Guinness control everything about their beer until it comes out of the tap. The only other factor that can affect the taste is the glassware. That doesn't necessarily mean dirty glasses, in fact a place that uses too much / strong a concentration of detergent can also result in a below par pint.

A glass that has a residue of detergent or grease (often found in places that serve a lot of food) will result in a sub par pint. This goes for lagers and ales too but is far more evident in stout.

Feisar

Ballso wrote: »

The two part pour is a pain in the hole. It's cheap bland macro beerswill I'm ordering, not fine wine, just put it in the glass ffs. Last time I ordered Murphy's stout the woman behind the bar refused to do this and i had to stand there like a spa while it "settled" 😂

Load of ridiculous nonsense

As it settles the head thickens and allows the head to sit proud of the glass meaning the head is the correct thickness.

irishgeo

while i dont drink Guinness , i was in a hotel in cornwall last year and they had a non widget can and vibrating base to serve it.

The Guinness expert in our company nearly ran a mile when the barman got a can out, but when the barman put the half poured glass on this vibrating guinness tap, he had the whole groups attention.

The expert said it wasnt bad. This is what Guinness give to hotels in the UK who dont sell enough to warrant a keg.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Zjx0rTyZys

jt69er

Ballso wrote:

You'll often find that Guinness etc is the least worst option in a pub down the country with their ****e taplists, it's always fresh and in good nick and is pretty inoffensive stuff all in all. Standing around waiting for it like a spa is annoying.

Ballso wrote:

You'll often find that Guinness etc is the least worst option in a pub down the country with their ****e taplists, it's always fresh and in good nick and is pretty inoffensive stuff all in all. Standing around waiting for it like a spa is annoying.

Big Nasty wrote:

Guinness control everything about their beer until it comes out of the tap. The only other factor that can affect the taste is the glassware. That doesn't necessarily mean dirty glasses, in fact a place that uses too much / strong a concentration of detergent can also result in a below par pint.

Big Nasty wrote:

A glass that has a residue of detergent or grease (often found in places that serve a lot of food) will result in a sub par pint. This goes for lagers and ales too but is far more evident in stout.

Big Nasty wrote:

IMO the two part pour is essential as otherwise the meniscus will be flat or concave. Allowing the pint to settle enables the server pour a pint with a head that is proud of the glass, hence sealing it.

100% correct, however an awful lot of bar staff do the double pour incorrectly. The second pour should be pushing the handle back instead of pulling it forward.

hetuzozaho

Bambi wrote: »

You see this type about a bit, too much time on the internet.

Was sitting at the bar in Hedigans once nursing a 25 yr old rebreast, and some smug young hipster comes up to the barman and orders a pint of Guinness, informs the barman ( Who himself is only a callow youth not out of his teens) that its to be pulled straight, no pause to settle. I'd imagine his nibs was a member of some craft beer facebook group and knows the two stage pull is all just marketing and nostalgia. Isn't he the smart boy not falling for that guff and so forth. He wanders off very happy with himself and me and the young lad just look at each other and go :rolleyes:

It's gas that the guy who wants the liquid just put in the glass without 45degree angles, domes, settling etc is referred to as 'his nibs'

BeerNut

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Your average punter (me included) might not know why that is, but they know what they like.

No doubt. It's ones who present good and bad Guinness as a matter of fact rather than opinion that I'm questioning. And by golly they don't much like being questioned.

andekwarhola

irishgeo wrote: »

The expert said it wasnt bad.

Wonder if they did one of them up on the sly in Mulligans and gave it to him, what would he have said.

Probably would have put it up on Instagram with a Ronnie Drew quote.

Ballso

Big Nasty wrote: »

IMO the two part pour is essential as otherwise the meniscus will be flat or concave.

Flat or concave! The horror!

You know I'm going to slurp it right into my mouth as soon as I get it right?

Mongfinder General

andekwarhola wrote: »

I must be lucky. I've drank Guinness all over the country and Dublin and can't remember the last time I got one of these subpar pints that seem to be such a risk.

You are lucky. I had two pints of the stuff one evening and my arse was spewing chocolate lava all night. I had an arse like a Japanese flag the next day.

Ballso

Mongfinder General wrote: »

You are lucky. I had two pints of the stuff one evening and my arse was spewing chocolate lava all night. I had an arse like a Japanese flag the next day.

Second mention of this now. What do you think is in Guinness that isn't in other beers that causes people to **** themselves?!?

andekwarhola

Feisar wrote: »

As it settles the head thickens and allows the head to sit proud of the glass meaning the head is the correct thickness.

Is the nitro head an aesthetic thing or does it affect taste? Not claiming to be an pint of plain scientist like some on here although I've drank Guinness on and off for years.

In a blind test, with one 'bishops collar' and one with the 'perfect head', would anybody here taste the difference in what, a centimetre of nitro head?