The perfect pint

The perfect pint of Guinness is an alchemy of many elements. I don't claim to be an expert, but there was plenty of discussion in each of the pubs I visited and after 30 pints over a thirty day period, I feel a bit better qualified to make some judgments.

Temperature: To me, this has the greatest effect on the overall taste of the pint, and I like my pints as close to room temperature as I can get. The overall perfect pint was the only pint I found served at room temperature. Guinness Extra Cold failed for a reason.

Flow: Simply put, the more Guinness that is flowing, the better. It's better to grab a pint in a busy pub later in the night. You really don't want to have the first pint of the evening, and this is probably the reason why pints at restaurants and hotels generally didn't fare as well. I could discuss "freshness" separately, but the better the flow, the fresher the Guinness is. This might not stop someone from selling Guinness that is out of date and I had one pint that I can say bordered on "spoiled."

Clean lines: It would make sense that the lines leading to the tap should be cleaned often. You may have heard of the Guinness Quality Team that travels to all the pubs in Ireland and perform checks and routine maintenance. Some claim the length of the lines to the tap is also a consideration, the shorter being better.

Clean glasses: Many swear that a good pint leaves a nice film the whole way down the glass. This may have more to do with whether the glass is clean and what it has been cleaned with. I will say the better pints of Guinness left rings down the glass. Also, serve Guinness in a real pint glass. I was turned off at Cromleach lodge and their goofy shaped glass.

The pour: Guinness mentions a six-part pouring process and I posted about the time it takes. We already talked about the right, clean glass. Next you keep the glass on an angle and when making the first pour. You're not supposed to let the tap touch the beer at any time. Then the glass is set to settle. Once settled, you top up the pint and present it. Guinness has in its guidelines a two-pour process, but I love the old-style, three pours and the head cut off with a bread knife.

Atmosphere: No, it has nothing to do with the pint, but a great pint of Guinness is a state of mind. A great looking pub, in a fantastic locale can't make up for a lousy pint, but I do believe it can tip the scales between good and great, or great and perfect. However, I've had some excellent pints in what would be considered pretty lousy pub settings.

For me, the overall perfect pint was Conlon's in Geevagh. Not much of a pub, but a great glass of Guinness.

Home sweet home

#30. Foley's, Drumnacool, Co. Sligo. €3.50

I had always planned to have the 30th pint of Guinness at the local. I've never been to the local pub as to try and avoid any gossip in the neighborhood. It's been said "what they don't know about you, they'll make up." I purposely took it easy on the pictures and even took an Irish contingent with me for cover.

(You may remember the sheep incident. Well, the "shepherd" came into the pub midway through my pint. I'm sure he had a few words to say when I left.)

This was a fine pint, and David and I agreed that if it wasn't as cold, it would have been right there at the top. Still, I can't complain that three of the best pints I had were within ten minutes of the house.

It's no secret where the best pint of Guinness was on my tour, but I'll dedicate a post to the perfect pint shortly.

Hey good looking

#29. J. Stanford, Dromahair, Co. Leitrim. €3.50

I was expecting a lot from this pint based on how great this pub looked both inside and out. I ended up being most entertained by an info graphic on the men's room hand dryer, but more on that in another post. This pint of Guinness falls unmemorably into the big middle, but was a great place to sit and read the Sunday paper.

We had just come from the Abbey Manor Hotel and their fine Sunday Brunch, which was made even finer by watching Sligo defeat Galway in football to win the Connacht title, which hasn't happened for 32 years. Up Sligo!

It is beginning to settle in that tomorrow is the 30th pint. Off to the local ...

#28. Roddy's, Keadue, Co. Roscommon. €3.70

Keadue is the next village down from Ballyfarnan. It is a beautiful town, and the locals take obvious pride in its recognition of two overall Irish Tidy Town awards. (It won't win any website awards.)

Keadue may be best known as the resting place of Turlough O'Carolan, the famous blind harpist. The wikipedia entry places his family in Ballyfarnan, though Keadue hosts the annual O'Carolan Harp Festival.

Roddy's was pleasant, with lots of the original features of an old bar still in tact, along with the quirky touches of the current owners. I imagine there must be some good traditional music here on certain nights. The pint of Guinness, however, falls in the big middle.

Nice service

#27. H. Moran, Ballintogher, Co. Sligo. €3.70

The service was very nice at H. Moran's s but the pint was disappointing. Too cold and slightly bitter. Place this one at the back of the big middle. Everything else was nice about this cosy, updated pub.

"I could have been a contender ..."

#26. The Waterfront, Rosses Point, Co. Sligo. €3.60

Lisa and I passed on a meal here last weekend and opted for the Beach Bar, a perennial favorite over at Aughris Head. Good call. I've had bangers and mash at each place and the Beach Bar wins hands down. Gavin, who only had the pint at Biddy's to compare this one to, could pick up on the fact that Biddy's was the superior pint. Sorry, but stick to the lovely views.

(David and I did have a lovely cup of soup here for lunch one day.)

Mind the gap

#25. Biddy's o'Barnes, Barnesmore Gap, Co. Donegal. €3.80

The drive from Sligo up through Donegal is scenic and often stunning. Right before Ballybofey is Barnesmore Gap, where you pass between two very scenic hills. Right before that over the right ridge of the road is Biddy's. I had seen Biddy's on a few trips up and back but finally got to stop for a pint today.

This was a fine pint and I had a good chat with a local patron and the bar staff about cheap, expensive and good pints. I've already sampled the cheapest, as €3.20 appears to be rock bottom for where I have traveled to date. Harvey's Point (where I only ate once) tops out at a staggering €4.90.

The woman behind the bar did offer to let me pull a pint, but we didn't have the time hurrying back to Sligo. That was a disappointment. Biddy's was worth the stop though.

#24. Davis's Pub @ Yeats Tavern, Drumclif, Co. Sligo. €3.80

I had to do it. Try at least one pint in a "tourist trap." The parking lot here is always filled with vehicles, yet from the crowd, not entirely tourists. Drumclif is famous as the burial place of William Butler Yeats and Sligo is often referred to as Yeats Country.

The pint held its own, though joins the myriad of pints in the big middle. Gabe came across a kitten playing behind the cigarette machine (you don't see many of those) in the lobby. Apparently the little rascal hitched a ride under the bonnet of a vehicle. The owner was suprised to see the kitten and placed it safely into the car for the trip home.

#23. Jordans Bar, Maugherow, Co. Sligo. €3.90

Gabe and I set off in search of "Helen's" pub with little more than the directions to turn left after the Yeats Tavern and continue for ten or so miles ... needless to say we found ourselves circling Raughley Harbour which was a treat. We passed a renovated, inhabited castle that would have been exciting to see the interior.

We stopped at Jordans, tracing our way back to Sligo. A little pricey for a small, out of the way pub, but a decent pint nonetheless. A few people have asked what is on tap in Ireland and this was fairly representative. Carlsberg, Heineken, Bulmers, Smithwicks and Guinness. (I have come across a bit of Budweiser as well. Can you believe it?! And no, I'm not linking to the Budweiser site.)

Mary had a little lamb

#22. Abbey Manor Hotel, Dromahair, Co. Leitrim. €3.50

We have been to the Abbey Manor Hotel before for Sunday dinner and this past Saturday we stopped in for dinner and and a pint. Simply put, I had the best lamb joint I ever had in my life. Delicious. And if I wasn't driving, I easily would have had a second pint. Good temperature. Rich and smooth. Folks have said hotels don't serve the best pints, but that wasn't true with the Abbey Manor.

Coincidentally, there was a hen party going on at the bar and while photographing the front of the hotel, we met a returning patriot from Alaska. She is taking over the family pub in Ballybofey ... wouldn't it just be McKelvey's, where I had a pint the weekend before.

Catching up

The phone line is back. I'm behind on posts. Instead of placing the pints on their respective days, I'm just going to post them in order on the same day. I did have two two-pint days in order to stay on my 30 pints in 30 days schedule ...

Watering hole

#21. Quigley's, Collooney, Co. Sligo. €3.50

I had high hopes for another find at Quigley's in Collooney. Many times the small, local pubs that double as a shop and a petrol pump, serve a fine, slow pint in the back. This was a slow pint, but I've experienced this taste that I can only describe best as "watery" with a touch of fermentation. Age?

Twenty-one pints into my thirty, it is simply amazing how different Guinness can taste. There are so many variables from temperature, to the lines, to the pour, to the age of the beer, to how they wash the glasses, to who knows what else. A perfect pint is partly magic.

Can't beach about this pint

#20. The Beach Bar, Aughris Head, Co. Sligo. €3.20

Though not one of the best pints on the tour, the combination of elements make for a memorable pint. Ingredient one is location. The Beach Bar is situated on the ocean and features one of the most dramatic walks in the Northwest. Ingredient two is the pub itself, a charming little thatch, weather beaten by salt air and maintaining a comfy authenticity. The third element is price. This was clearly the best cheap pint so far.

You could argue that there was a fourth element, which is the food. This is pub food at its tastiest, and I couldn't resist having my third plate of bangers and mash in three visits. Good to the last (gravy) drop.

Two-a-days

#19. Kelly's Bar, Ballygawley, Co. Sligo. €3.70

I've mentioned the big middle several times now, and it is beginning to fill up with lots of pints. There are certainly some pints so far that rank as the least satisfying, and one that was light years ahead of the rest.

Kelly's falls into the big middle. Though I do like that pic with the stain glass windows in the background. This pub is much larger than it appears from the outside.

#18. The Runway Bar, Ireland West Airport, Charlestown, Co. Mayo. €3.90

The pints at the downstairs bar at Ireland West Airport were not as good as my pint upstairs. It may have been that upstairs pint was the first and had little context to compete against. Perhaps I was lost in the euphoria of the idea that would take me to thrity pints in thirty days. Either way, the pint downstairs was unmemorable.

There appeared to be one system refrigerating all the beer, and I don't like my Guinness too cold. The condensation was dripping off the taps.

A regal pint

#17. Markree Castle, Collooney Castle, Co. Sligo. €4.00

I have to admit it is pretty cool to head over to the local castle for a pint. It was a fine pint, which was to be expected since it was pulled by a local Geevagh lass, and we know they know their pints in Geevagh. Maybe not in the top five pints overall, but certainly in the upper end of the big middle.

For a bit of trivia, that dashing portrait of me in the profile was taken by Gabe at Markree last summer during the festival. This was also the first pint to break the €4 mark.

Semi-sweet Sixteen

#16. S. Mc Dermott & Son, Riverstown, Co. Sligo. €3.60

The first pub we stopped by was closed, so we took the back roads into Riverstown. The staff and patrons were very friendly and the pint was tasty. In the scheme of things, this pint falls in the big mass in the middle. Not a perfect pint, but certainly worth the effort.

Gabe finishes up school tomorrow and will be going to Coola Post Primary School next year, just up the road.

The mid-way pint

#15. Hennigan's, Wine Street, Sligo. €3.60

It would appear that Hennigan's has long lost any of the charm it may have had when it was founded in 1787. The crowd was rowdy on a Sunday afternoon and a few sang along to "Eye of the Tiger" and shadowboxed at their friends. The pint was OK, but lets just say a pub crawl in Sligo wouldn't be lacking if you skipped Hennigan's.

Fifteen pints into my thirty, I'm very happy to say there are many fine pints to be had within minutes of my house ... and I haven't been to the local yet.

Cheap, not cheerful

#14. McKelvey's Bar, Ballybofey, Co. Donegal. €3.20

The best thing about this pint was the price. At €3.20, this was the cheapest Guinness by 30 cent so far. (And yes, it is pronounced 'cent', without the 's'.) If you're looking to get pissed without draining the wallet, this could be the place.

Baker's Dozen

#13. The Strand Bar, Strandhill, Co. Sligo. €3.75

Their site claims the best pint in Sligo, and though very fine, not the best on my tour so far. Clearly one of the best views to have a pint, looking out at the sun setting over the ocean. This is a great pub, with great atmosphere, and a great pint. Your visit to Sligo would not be complete without a pint at the Strand. Consider a perfect day a flight into the Strandhill Airport, followed by some surfing, break for lunch and a pint at the Strand, followed by a walk along the beach and a relaxing seaweed bath in the afternoon. (Our friend Jonathan met us after taking a flying lesson.)