Your last Pint?

[Tommy G]

5 hours ago, Samilktray said:

Guinness is class and you can definitely taste the difference place to place between a good and bad pint of it 

You’re one of those knobs he’s referring to in the skit then 

[Stadt]

18 hours ago, Samilktray said:

Guinness is class and you can definitely taste the difference place to place between a good and bad pint of it 

Which is true of pretty much all beers but because Guinness has exploded in popularity people act as if there is a greater complexity to it. 
 

I like Guinness and drink it fairly often but the connoisseurs and purveyors of the best pint of Guinness in _______ are annoying 

[Stuntman_Mike]

Guinness is just ridiculously popular so it's always going to attract more annoying types that have made it their whole personality. That doesn't take away the fact that it definitely does taste better in certain places though. 

[boots60]

I realise this is probably a psychological imbalance but whenever I go into a pub when the weather is freezing, like it has been this past few days, I really enjoy a Guinness far more than when the weather is warm even though the drink is at about the same temperature as a lager or a cider which is more enjoyable when it's warmer.

[Chris_OGrady]

Ultimately, you would need to do blind taste testing to know the answer. I've done blind taste testing on mates who had very strong opinions on macro lagers and, without fail, every time it has proven to be all in their head.

 

A lot of the current "Guinness Connoisseurs" are just following the latest fad and don't know what they're talking about. There will be a new trend in a couple of years time as one of the big breweries' marketing team will come up with something clever. 

 

Most people who have always drank Guinness know its just a bland, sessionable, mass produced beer (not some kind of artisan, craft product worthy of fine inspection). They'll be the ones still enjoying it once the trend is over!

[Tommy G]

11 minutes ago, Chris_OGrady said:

Ultimately, you would need to do blind taste testing to know the answer. I've done blind taste testing on mates who had very strong opinions on macro lagers and, without fail, every time it has proven to be all in their head.

 

A lot of the current "Guinness Connoisseurs" are just following the latest fad and don't know what they're talking about. There will be a new trend in a couple of years time as one of the big breweries' marketing team will come up with something clever. 

 

Most people who have always drank Guinness know its just a bland, sessionable, mass produced beer (not some kind of artisan, craft product worthy of fine inspection). They'll be the ones still enjoying it once the trend is over!

Don't forget splitting the G perfectly is up there with some people's greatest life achievements 

[Chris_OGrady]

4 minutes ago, Tommy G said:

Don't forget splitting the G perfectly is up there with some people's greatest life achievements 

If you want to witness something utterly cringe inducing, check out theblackmap_ on insta 

[Tommy G]

46 minutes ago, Chris_OGrady said:

If you want to witness something utterly cringe inducing, check out theblackmap_ on insta 

I daren't.

 

EDIT: I have, thanks for ruining my day. I heard the word domeage when describing the pint, and they have a rating system, microphones aaaarrrghhhhhh

Edited 8 January by Tommy G

[Stadt]

Diageo have marketed Guinness superbly in fairness.

 

The tap is different and unique, the glasses are different (and expensive), you HAVE to let it settle (you don’t), the colour is obviously different. I’m surprised they haven’t leant into splitting the G more tbh. The retro breweriana is everywhere. 

[bovril]

I think the key thing with the Guinness marketing is the down-to-earth, communal Irishness of it. That it's an earthier and more authentic pint than anything else produced by huge multinational alcoholic bev companies. That why 'shit London Guinness' was clever - the implication that soulless Anglo pubs in the big bad global London couldn't pull a pint like O'Donoghue's back home, which is ironic when you think that there is very little in the beer world more globalised and lacking character than Guinness and the "Irish pub". 

[Chris_OGrady]

49 minutes ago, Stadt said:

Diageo have marketed Guinness superbly in fairness.

 

The tap is different and unique, the glasses are different (and expensive), you HAVE to let it settle (you don’t), the colour is obviously different. I’m surprised they haven’t leant into splitting the G more tbh. The retro breweriana is everywhere. 

It's a brand that has genuine heritage and history. It's a shame it's now owned by a multination corporation (like most historical beer brands), who is most likely using bottom of the barrel ingredients and trying to make it as cheaply as possible each year.

 

It will be a shame if the corporate nitro stouts become the new lager, and you have identical, mass produced stouts like Guinness, Murphys, Beamish taking up all the taps. TBH that will only happen in the kind of places a lot of people on this thread avoid. It's cool in Ireland because it feel slightly authentic, whereas here it's just a bit naff. 

Edited 8 January by Chris_OGrady

[Chris_OGrady]

1 minute ago, bovril said:

I think the key thing with the Guinness marketing is the down-to-earth, communal Irishness of it. That it's an earthier and more authentic pint than anything else produced by huge multinational alcoholic bev companies. That why 'shit London Guinness' was clever - the implication that soulless Anglo pubs in the big bad global London couldn't pull a pint like O'Donoghue's back home, which is ironic when you think that there is very little in the beer world more globalised and lacking character than Guinness and the "Irish pub". 

It funny how "the best pint of Guinness" isn't at the Guinness Storehouse or their brewery. It's some random pub in the suburbs of Dublin or the Devonshire in Soho. If you go to somewhere like Adnams or Harveys, the best and freshest pints are from the brewery tap. This is because they are actually fresh and do vary from venue to venue...

[Stadt]

33 minutes ago, bovril said:

I think the key thing with the Guinness marketing is the down-to-earth, communal Irishness of it. That it's an earthier and more authentic pint than anything else produced by huge multinational alcoholic bev companies. That why 'shit London Guinness' was clever - the implication that soulless Anglo pubs in the big bad global London couldn't pull a pint like O'Donoghue's back home, which is ironic when you think that there is very little in the beer world more globalised and lacking character than Guinness and the "Irish pub". 

There is an element of vacuous Hibernophilia with it too. Spicebags (just salt and chilli chips in a bag) are cool. Kneecap (shit) and Fontaines (reasonable but not groundbreaking) are hugely popular because of the pro-Palestine crowd. Dublin is obscenely popular as a city break for 20 somethings despite near Scandinavian pricing.

 

It’s a bit like the Place, Japan meme but Thing, Ireland.

[bovril]

12 minutes ago, Stadt said:

There is an element of vacuous Hibernophilia with it too. Spicebags (just salt and chilli chips in a bag) are cool. Kneecap (shit) and Fontaines (reasonable but not groundbreaking) are hugely popular because of the pro-Palestine crowd. Dublin is obscenely popular as a city break for 20 somethings despite near Scandinavian pricing.

 

It’s a bit like the Place, Japan meme but Thing, Ireland.

everything is just vibes

[Chris_OGrady]

28 minutes ago, Stadt said:

There is an element of vacuous Hibernophilia with it too. Spicebags (just salt and chilli chips in a bag) are cool. Kneecap (shit) and Fontaines (reasonable but not groundbreaking) are hugely popular because of the pro-Palestine crowd. Dublin is obscenely popular as a city break for 20 somethings despite near Scandinavian pricing.

 

It’s a bit like the Place, Japan meme but Thing, Ireland.

I think Dublin is good fun, but you could arguably do a more interesting pub crawl in Leicester I've done a lot of the rated pubs there (the atmosphere and vibes are great) but the beer selection is identical in every one, and you can basically only drink Diageo or Heineken products... 

Edited 8 January by Chris_OGrady

[CosbehFox]

Stick Cheltenham down as another town with a better pub scene than Leicester 

[Chris_OGrady]

Was in Lough last night. Castle Rock sold the Swan in the Rushes to Punch last year. They’ve just refurbed it (it probs needed a bit of a facelift) and all the hand pumps have gone to be replaced by those big, standalone Madri, Cruzcampo and Beamish taps. It was obv pretty dead, as I presume none of the old crowd will go there anymore and it was early Jan. I suppose their only hope is students (the perfect Beamish!), but it’s a shame to see a half decent pub become another completely pointless pub. 

[Stadt]

1 hour ago, Chris_OGrady said:

Was in Lough last night. Castle Rock sold the Swan in the Rushes to Punch last year. They’ve just refurbed it (it probs needed a bit of a facelift) and all the hand pumps have gone to be replaced by those big, standalone Madri, Cruzcampo and Beamish taps. It was obv pretty dead, as I presume none of the old crowd will go there anymore and it was early Jan. I suppose their only hope is students (the perfect Beamish!), but it’s a shame to see a half decent pub become another completely pointless pub. 

Castle Rock did neglect it and I say that as a fan of theirs. No reason it couldn’t be Loughborough’s equivalent to the Newhouse in Notts, the lay out is similar.

[SemperEadem]

A Murphy's in the Dog and Partridge, Sheffield.

Fast becoming my favourite pub in the city. Landlord seems a good bloke, determined to to do well there. Great selection with Guiness, Murphy's and Beamish all on,  then Paulaner plus  Mahou as your lagers on tap with bottles of Augustiner Helles and Modelo in the fridge. The refurb in the back room got has softened down now a bit more which is plus.

[Dollfhin]

Went to Everards brewery last night, a personal favourite.

 

Their "Guinness" is Cast No Shadow and honestly is one of the nicest pints I've ever had. 

 

It's a shame they only usually have it there but really recommend.

[Stadt]

Just now, Dollfhin said:

It's a shame they only usually have it there but really recommend.

Huge own goal that they brew alone excellent stuff and then don’t distribute into their 100+ pubs, most with stale selections.

 

Their tank lager is great, stick a tank in their flagship pubs and it’d do well 

[Dollfhin]

Just now, Stadt said:

Huge own goal that they brew alone excellent stuff and then don’t distribute into their 100+ pubs, most with stale selections.

 

Their tank lager is great, stick a tank in their flagship pubs and it’d do well 

Yeah it's pretty mental to me.

 

Before matches we usually go in the Black Horse, they typically have 1-2 of their specials on draft so always keep an eye out.

 

They had something called Lamplighter (Ruby Ale) before the WBA game and it was amazing. 

[Stadt]

3 minutes ago, Dollfhin said:

Yeah it's pretty mental to me.

 

Before matches we usually go in the Black Horse, they typically have 1-2 of their specials on draft so always keep an eye out.

 

They had something called Lamplighter (Ruby Ale) before the WBA game and it was amazing. 

Although I am sceptical of some of their small batch stuff, sometimes I think it’s just barrels of the core range gone wrong and rebadged. Lots of breweries do it 

[bovril]

On 14/01/2026 at 18:15, SemperEadem said:

A Murphy's in the Dog and Partridge, Sheffield.

Fast becoming my favourite pub in the city. Landlord seems a good bloke, determined to to do well there. Great selection with Guiness, Murphy's and Beamish all on,  then Paulaner plus  Mahou as your lagers on tap with bottles of Augustiner Helles and Modelo in the fridge. The refurb in the back room got has softened down now a bit more which is plus.

Great pub. I think Sheffield is the only city in Britain bar maybe Edinburgh where I've never met anyone that dislikes the place. 

[Chris_OGrady]

16 hours ago, bovril said:

Great pub. I think Sheffield is the only city in Britain bar maybe Edinburgh where I've never met anyone that dislikes the place. 

Still need to do the Sheffield pubs. Looks superb