# I pit bartenders who do not know how to properly pour a pint of Guinness. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 26, 2013, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bartenders-who-do-not-know-how-to-properly-pour-a-pint-of-guinness/648451 "2013-01-26T18:11:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bartenders-who-do-not-know-how-to-properly-pour-a-pint-of-guinness/648451/81 "2013-01-28T19:40:01Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Is Coors Light best served in a plastic glass or a paper cup? Either way, it still can be confused with a urine test. > [@waterj2](#): > > Shit, it’s a good thing you decided to post in this thread. Here I was, liking beer until you set me straight. It’s a good thing you didn’t skip this just because it concerns something you have no interest in. I would have kept enjoying beer, oblivious to the fact that you hate it, for who knows how long. That could’ve gotten embarrassing. Thanks. Don’t worry, I’ll share a brew with you anytime and get your ass all crooked again. > [@SCAdian](#): > > Happy to be of service. 😃 > > Besides, it was easier than opening a whole new thread to pit that disgusting, foul, unfit-for-human-consumption swill known as beer (the potable equivalent of Brussels sprouts). Now you’re just being a lazy dick. > [@Monty](#): > > Well, if it’s Coors or Budweiser, it’s already there, just canned. Recycling is good for the environment, I guess. > [@silenus](#): > > Amateurs. Sez the man who gives away a bottle at a Dopefest or two. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bartenders-who-do-not-know-how-to-properly-pour-a-pint-of-guinness/648451/82 "2013-01-28T19:57:08Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Is Coors Light best served in a plastic glass or a paper cup? It too has it’s own special [glass](http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/crossfade/red_solo_cup.jpg&imgrefurl=http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/crossfade/2012/07/chris_brown_vs_drake_club_reopens_red_solo_plastic_cups.php&h=300&w=300&sz=7&tbnid=SZduURuG6AzVTM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=90&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dred%2Bsolo%2Bcup%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=red+solo+cup&usg=__JA7pxvFhgdpB2uGFIYP8clqrJ_w=&docid=jkUmBrjF2InJDM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=mdcGUduWCcqW2QXg6IGYAg&sqi=2&ved=0CGkQ9QEwCw&dur=717). ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bartenders-who-do-not-know-how-to-properly-pour-a-pint-of-guinness/648451/83 "2013-01-28T20:05:12Z")
> [@Jamicat](#): > > A “Black n Tan” is my favorite beverage…hardly anyone will carry Guinness on tap…they really need to stop charging 5+ bucks for it too. > > It’s just a fucking beer like any other fucking beer, not a glass of filet mignon. :mad: Ha!!! Most bars, and any bar with Irish pretensions is going to have Guinness on tap in Manhattan. But $5?? Heck more like $7 to $10. I was shocked when in Louisville a number of years ago when an Irish themed bar didn’t have Guinness. Their license should have been pulled. I avoid using the term “Black and Tan” because it offends some people. Half and half gets the message across. It’s not like I’m lightening up coffee. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bartenders-who-do-not-know-how-to-properly-pour-a-pint-of-guinness/648451/84 "2013-01-28T20:14:32Z")
> [@skdo23](#): > > To elaborate on my OP, I’m really only complaining about bartenders who are ignorant of the requisite two stage process required to properly pour a pint of Guinness and yes, this makes all the difference in the world. > > As far as how long to wait between the two stages, I’ve never seen the bartender actually time the process. A quick glance to make sure the initial 3/4 pour has settled before topping it off is good enough for me. So far as I can tell, the two-stage pour is a mostly myth. I’ve tried one-stage and two-stage pours side by side, and I can’t tell any difference. I actually prefer bars that don’t do this stupid little ritual. Get me my beer ASAP. The two-stage pour seems to come from back in the days when Guinness was poured from two different drafts. Three-quarters or so of the beer came from the fresh keg. One quarter or less from an older, slightly soured one. My original citation doesn’t seem to exist anymore, but I mentioned it [in this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=453272&page=2). > [@](#): > > In the recently reviewed book [Beer and Cider in Ireland, the Complete Guide], it states that it was introduced at the switch from the 2-keg pour to the nitro, as the customer was used to having it poured in 2 parts, one from the fresh keg, and one from the aged keg, so to introduce some consistency it was used, so the customer still realised s/he was getting guinness or something like that. > > […] > > Actually, what you mean is that the two-stage pour was always there as it used to be poured from two different casks. When the change was made to a single keg the two-part pour was maintained (or ritualised), not introduced, even though it was not strictly required. So you could say that it was a marketting decision to make customers think they were getting something that same as they used to, regardless of whether it was nitro. I can’t recall (and the book is out of reach), but was nitro introduced at the same time as a single keg? Overall, if it was any other gas they’d probably still have maintained the two-part, and regardless of the gas used, I don’t believe it would affect taste as it all comes from one container. > > […] > > Oh, I dunno. If there’s a bit of a ritual around something it can make some people feel they’re getting something a little special. How many times have we heard people complaining about a barman “abroad” who didn’t do a two part pour, so obviously didn’t know how to pour Guinness? We all buy into these things subconsciously. There’s no harm overall, and if it’s something that marks out a product from others, then to that company it’s worth it. It has become tradition esentially, even if it makes no difference to the taste or appearance of the product. > > […] > Results from my little experiment in. I wanted to do a blind test but there was no good way to do that by myself. Tasted the one pour first- wasn’t a nice Guinness, you now the way the roasted flavours sometimes seem muted and the beer lacks its gentle bitterness, was confident that the two part would win but… it tasted exactly the same. > We must sell some pretty bad Guinness. I voted yes in this poll maybe have to reconsider. And, as I mention in that thread, that is being written by Irish aficionados of beer, not some Americans or other foreigners who might not be as clued-in to the subtleties. ---
**Author:** ![2sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e47774/32.png) [@2sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2sense)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bartenders-who-do-not-know-how-to-properly-pour-a-pint-of-guinness/648451/85 "2013-01-28T21:36:07Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > So far as I can tell, the two-stage pour is a mostly myth. I’ve tried one-stage and two-stage pours side by side, and I can’t tell any difference. I actually prefer bars that don’t do this stupid little ritual. Get me my beer ASAP. How is your beer coming any faster with a single pour? You mean you want all the foam? ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bartenders-who-do-not-know-how-to-properly-pour-a-pint-of-guinness/648451/86 "2013-01-28T22:03:49Z")
Even if the nice head is purely an aesthetic thing, it still matters. Guinness is a premium product, often commanding a premium price, and a part of that is that it should look right. We eat (and drink) first with our eyes. Bars that don’t want to take the few extra seconds it takes to do the two-stage pour should just not serve Guinness. There are plenty of good beers they can serve. Of course, I’m the kind of guy prone to rant about bars that shake Manhattans, so I’m not the one to ask. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bartenders-who-do-not-know-how-to-properly-pour-a-pint-of-guinness/648451/87 "2013-01-28T22:31:16Z")
> [@2sense](#): > > How is your beer coming any faster with a single pour? You mean you want all the foam? Um…if you pour a pint properly, with the glass tilted against the tap, there is no huge head of foam. You pour in one go, get about an inch of head, and drink. There’s plenty of places I’ve been to that do a single-stage pour, and it never results in a pint full of foam. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bartenders-who-do-not-know-how-to-properly-pour-a-pint-of-guinness/648451/88 "2013-01-28T22:35:58Z")
> [@DoctorJ](#): > > Bars that don’t want to take the few extra seconds it takes to do the two-stage pour should just not serve Guinness. There are plenty of good beers they can serve. It’s not a few extra seconds. It’s like an extra minute or more. And it looks indistinguishable from a one-stage pour done right. In my opinion, it’s an annoying affectation. Try a two-stage and one-stage pour side-by-side and report back. When I did it, there was no difference whatsoever that I could ascertain. Nor could the Irish beer enthusiasts in the thread I linked to. Maybe someone on this earth can tell the difference, but I’m guessing it’s more ritual and mystique than any actual taste difference. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bartenders-who-do-not-know-how-to-properly-pour-a-pint-of-guinness/648451/89 "2013-01-28T22:37:40Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > You pour in one go, get about an inch of head, and drink. That should be more like 1/2 inch of head. ---
**Author:** ![2sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e47774/32.png) [@2sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2sense)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bartenders-who-do-not-know-how-to-properly-pour-a-pint-of-guinness/648451/90 "2013-01-29T03:20:13Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Um…if you pour a pint properly, with the glass tilted against the tap, there is no huge head of foam. You pour in one go, get about an inch of head, and drink. There’s plenty of places I’ve been to that do a single-stage pour, and it never results in a pint full of foam. Now I’m wondering if there is an issue with our Guinness tap too. Ours fills the glass nearly half full of foam when you pour the whole glass. Tilting the glass doesn’t make all that much of a difference. I can set the glass down six inches from the tap and just pour it and get just over half a glass of foam. I’ve never worked with Guinness before and prefer to drink a nice mild Pilsner that I don’t have to choke down so I don’t have anything to compare it to. Maybe it works differently elsewhere but on our tap there is no single pour that settles into a decent looking product. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bartenders-who-do-not-know-how-to-properly-pour-a-pint-of-guinness/648451/91 "2013-01-29T04:01:03Z")
**Pour** Guinness?! Chug it straight from the tap like a real man, ya wimps! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bartenders-who-do-not-know-how-to-properly-pour-a-pint-of-guinness/648451/92 "2013-01-29T05:53:06Z")
> [@2sense](#): > > Now I’m wondering if there is an issue with our Guinness tap too. Ours fills the glass nearly half full of foam when you pour the whole glass. Tilting the glass doesn’t make all that much of a difference. I can set the glass down six inches from the tap and just pour it and get just over half a glass of foam. I’ve never worked with Guinness before and prefer to drink a nice mild Pilsner that I don’t have to choke down so I don’t have anything to compare it to. Maybe it works differently elsewhere but on our tap there is no single pour that settles into a decent looking product. Yes, this has been my experience with Guinness on tap too, mucho foam. Maybe if they install a special tap just for Guinness? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bartenders-who-do-not-know-how-to-properly-pour-a-pint-of-guinness/648451/93 "2013-01-29T08:54:23Z")
> [@2sense](#): > > Now I’m wondering if there is an issue with our Guinness tap too. Ours fills the glass nearly half full of foam when you pour the whole glass. Tilting the glass doesn’t make all that much of a difference. I can set the glass down six inches from the tap and just pour it and get just over half a glass of foam. I’ve never worked with Guinness before and prefer to drink a nice mild Pilsner that I don’t have to choke down so I don’t have anything to compare it to. Maybe it works differently elsewhere but on our tap there is no single pour that settles into a decent looking product. You’ll get a bit of the typical cascading effect from the nitro pour, but it settles pretty quickly and doesn’t require a two-stage pour any more than any other nitro taps need to be poured in two stages. Guinness is the only one I’ve ever seen poured in two stages. [Actually, these three photos](http://growlerfills.blogspot.com/2010/01/on-nitro.html) show the cascading process from a single pour. The top photo has about 1/2 inch of head and then the cascading middle section, which dissipates into the final photo within a minute, maybe 30 seconds. Look at [Guinness’s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5UedfCySQk) own advertisement. They do a two stage pour, pouring the first about 90% of the way to the top, letting the foam settle a bit, and then topping off the remaining 10%. There’s no reason you can’t pour it 100% and get the same effect. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bartenders-who-do-not-know-how-to-properly-pour-a-pint-of-guinness/648451/94 "2013-01-29T09:07:51Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yes, this has been my experience with Guinness on tap too, mucho foam. Maybe if they install a special tap just for Guinness? Nitro taps _are_ different. They’re longer, thinner, and have a little thing called a “restrictor plate” on the end, which is a little metal disk with a few holes the beer gets pushed through. ---
**Author:** ![Hero\_From\_Sector\_7G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@Hero\_From\_Sector\_7G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hero_From_Sector_7G)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bartenders-who-do-not-know-how-to-properly-pour-a-pint-of-guinness/648451/95 "2013-01-29T22:13:59Z")
Bartenders have better things to do than stare at a cup for two minutes. Also, Guinness isn’t the be all and end all of beers. It is an intro drink for “Good Beer 101” and not the final exam. Unfortunately, people often think that saying they like it means they like good beer. This is not the case. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bartenders-who-do-not-know-how-to-properly-pour-a-pint-of-guinness/648451/96 "2013-01-30T00:26:50Z")
> [@Hero\_From\_Sector\_7G](#): > > Bartenders have better things to do than stare at a cup for two minutes. > > Also, Guinness isn’t the be all and end all of beers. It is an intro drink for “Good Beer 101” and not the final exam. Unfortunately, people often think that saying they like it means they like good beer. This is not the case. I Owe U 1 beer. Hear, hear. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bartenders-who-do-not-know-how-to-properly-pour-a-pint-of-guinness/648451/97 "2013-01-30T01:13:01Z")
> [@Hero\_From\_Sector\_7G](#): > > Bartenders have better things to do than stare at a cup for two minutes. > > Also, Guinness isn’t the be all and end all of beers. It is an intro drink for “Good Beer 101” and not the final exam. Unfortunately, people often think that saying they like it means they like good beer. This is not the case. I’ve already made my feelings about Guinness known earlier in the thread but it seems in a place where pints of Guinness are very popular, like your average busy Dublin pub, they tend to have a system so there are always a few pints on the go. They might have 5 or 10 already done in stage one and as each customer comes along they just top one up. It’s all bullshit but I don’t think it’s much of a timesink for them. You can’t have 90% poured pints of lager lying around for your customers. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bartenders-who-do-not-know-how-to-properly-pour-a-pint-of-guinness/648451/98 "2013-01-30T01:22:29Z")
> [@Hero\_From\_Sector\_7G](#): > > Also, Guinness isn’t the be all and end all of beers. It is an intro drink for “Good Beer 101” and not the final exam. Unfortunately, people often think that saying they like it means they like good beer. This is not the case. How do you feel about Newcastle Brown Ale? ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bartenders-who-do-not-know-how-to-properly-pour-a-pint-of-guinness/648451/99 "2013-01-30T01:53:46Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > How do you feel about Newcastle Brown Ale? I think this will answer your question: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnuQBYAZocM](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnuQBYAZocM) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bartenders-who-do-not-know-how-to-properly-pour-a-pint-of-guinness/648451/100 "2013-01-30T03:58:20Z")
> [@Hero\_From\_Sector\_7G](#): > > Bartenders have better things to do than stare at a cup for two minutes. > > Also, Guinness isn’t the be all and end all of beers. It is an intro drink for “Good Beer 101” and not the final exam. Unfortunately, people often think that saying they like it means they like good beer. This is not the case. I thank God for Guinness. It’s a solid beer that you can drink all night long without getting drunk (well, at least I can, it weighing in at 4.2% alcohol.) Despite people calling it a heavy beer, I find it quite light and satisfying. And another reason I thank god for it is that it is very widely distributed and you can often find it in pubs around here that have little more than BudMillCoors on tap. As much as I like “big” beers and Belgians and the such, Guinness is a good everyday session beer. You’re right, though–it’s an intro-to-good-beer brew. But after going through thousands of beers from at least a hundred different breweries, I find myself coming back to Guinness again and again. Not my favorite beer, but a a good one to choose when settling in for a long night of drinking. (Not a fan of Newcastle Brown Ale, though, but I’m just not a fan of brown ales in general.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bartenders-who-do-not-know-how-to-properly-pour-a-pint-of-guinness/648451.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bartenders-who-do-not-know-how-to-properly-pour-a-pint-of-guinness/648451.md?page=6)