Guinness time.
This is a little bar situated inside the hotel. I had just experienced a brutal pint in the function room so was absolutely gagging for a saviour (see previous post) & I got it here. The pints were as they should be; bit o’cream, nice taste, no complaints. No issue drinking a pint of Guinness here.
My goodness! Is that Guinness?
Let me begin by stating that I am only referring to the function room of this hotel when I rate the pint here but I just have to forewarn anyone who loves their Guinness. Fair enough, it’s a function room, & may not get as much use as the actual bar, but the establishment has no problem charging full whack for the “pints” they serve so they need to be called out on it.
The attempted pints of Guinness here had the classic frothy head which very quickly dissipates to nothing. The “Guinness draft” becomes an awful tasting version of Guinness Extra Stout. I wasn’t the only one who had this experience & a fellow G-Man who mentioned it to the bar staff was told that they thought it was grand & that no one else complained so he’d have to live with it. This is no way to treat a Guinnesslover, rather, they should be falling over themselves to take his advice. This is the kind of shit that pisses me off; you get served full-price muck & the establishment won’t hear a thing about it. No love for the G! Do not buy pints of Guinness in the function room, take the time to pop to the bar upstairs & get a decent pint.
My goodness! Now that’s Guinness!
Seeing as how this is a place well known for its trad sessions, you’d be expecting the Guinness be up to standard. Oh, it is. For me it was just a sneaky one after a wedding ceremony so it was about 3 in the afternoon of a Friday. There were 3 people in the place, including the barman, which was perfect for us tryin to get a swift one in before the Salthill strand photocall. One of the locals was a total bousey. He could barely speak to us, & anything he did say was gobbledy-gook, but, in fairness, he did try to engage, so I can confirm that the locals are friendly.
When the pint settled in front of me it looked like absolute perfection. You’d think the head had been measured with bloody ruler it was so right &, through the glass, the black-darkness seemed as black as vantablack; so dark it absorbs all but 0.035% of visual light such that the human eye can’t understand what it’s seeing. Shapes & contours are lost, leaving nothing but an apparent abyss (to paraphrase the Independant’s Ian Johnston). I was staring into a Guinness abyss & I wanted to dive in. The pint was so cool & full of that creamy flavour I love …right to that last gulp. Unfortunately it was over all too soon as we were wanted down the beach & so couldn’t stick around for seconds.
This place serves a quality pint of Guinness. Go.
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.
The Guinnesslove Blog 