Category: The Guinnesslove Blog

The Oslo, Salthill, Galway – July 2015 (3/4)

Guinness time

This place is “the home of Galway Bay Brewery” so when I went to the bar all I could see were the craft beer/ local stout taps which gave me a bit of a fear. Fortunately the barman could see my wandering eyes & my grimace & let me know that they had a Guinness tap to cater for those like myself. If they didn’t have Guinness on tap, I woulda just gone for a beer as I can’t stand any other stout (some of them taste like there’s a fish in them; God they are bad).

Upon delivery, the pint seemed to be holding up well & the taste didn’t disappoint either; bit o’the cream, nice taste: as it should be. The place is nice & the people seem friendly, not a bad spot for a nice pint-o-G.

Actual Pint
Actual Pint

Mulligans, Dublin – June 2015 (4/4)

My goodness! Now that’s Guinness!

Special mention goes out to this place as this pub serves the most consistently amazing Guinness in the city. I have never got a bogey pint here, in fact, I’ve never got anything less than a 4/4!

This visit was no exception. The pint settles outrageously creamily, it’s delight to behold. The glass is cold & damp to hold & the floppy-touch of that cream on the upper lip is like landing face down in a cloud. The flavour is exactly as I expect from my pint of Guinness; pure tasty blackness, so cool & drinkable. If St. Peter lets me through the pearly gates, I want to be met by a freshly poured Mulligans pint on the other side. This is Guinness as it should be. If you want to taste Guinness, this is the place for you, this is G-heaven.

Pearly Gates2

Donoghue’s, Portlaoise – June 2015 (4/4)

My goodness! Now that’s Guinness!

This is a really cozy local, right on Market Square in the centre of Portlaoise. The proprietor, Seamus Donoghue, knew everyone that came in & was pouring the pints himself. This is always a good sign, & by-Jaysus did he deliver. I could see the quality creaminess once the first pint was laid in front of me & just knew it was going to be great. The feel & the taste of those first gulps was pure tasty refreshment & that lasted right through to the final, creamy finisher. Obviously, I went back to the well a couple-o’times more.

This place is quiet & friendly & serves as good a pint of Guinness as you’re likely to find. Guinness drinkers; this place deserves your custom!

Seasons Restaurant, Portlaoise – June 2015 (2/4)

Not Guinness time, not here anyway.

As it’s a restaurant, I was a little reluctant to order a pint of Guinness here but the waiter/ proprietor could see I had something to say & he got it out of me. I would have preferred if they sold widget-cans, which generally taste pretty good, but he advised me that the Guinness was good & that I just had to try it to see him proven right, which I obviously did.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t proven right; the Guinness wasn’t up to standard. The head was frothy rather than creamy & the taste was sub-par. I finished the pint but by the end I was squirming somewhat, as is always the case when finishing one of these dodgy ones. You feel like you have to finish it anyway, seeing as how you’ve already paid for it & you think they’ll say you’re bullshitting if you just tell them straight out that it’s not good enough.

This place is fine, just don’t order a Guinness with your meal.

The Killeshin Hotel, Portlaoise – June 2015 (1/4)

My goodness! Is that Guinness?

When yer down the country you just expect the pint to be of a decent standard; not so. When this pint was topped-up, the head was minuscule & it didn’t get any better once it had settled. As ever, you’re just praying that a head will develop, but it rarely does. It ended up with a pencil-tache head & I just knew the taste wasn’t gonna be up to scratch. From the first gulp this pint was atrocious & it didn’t improve at all. The head was non-existent after my second slurp &, consequently, there was obviously no head-retention on the glass. It was so bad that, in a rare turn, I had to leave it after having only drank a third of it; it was actually the worst pint I had ever tasted (in Ireland. I wouldn’t even venture to rate any off of this island), it was anything but Guinness but the bar still charges as though it is. This is the pint that set this blog in motion; pure muck!

In fairness to the place, which is nice, & got a 4/5 for the hotel off me of Tripadvisor, once it had been highlighted to them via the aforementioned medium, the general manager advised me that it had been highlighted to the food & beverage manager so hopefully next time I check the Guinness will make the grade. It has a long way to go from this pint.

Pencil Tache
Pencil Tache