Serving Guinness the right way

The devil is in the detail, they say… A saying to which Guinness would attach almost military importance! The famous Irish brewery has succeeded in making its beer the most widely drunk national beer in Ireland! An unprecedented success story since 1759, thanks to a meticulous attention to detail! Brewing quality, respect for taste, gigantic marketing communications… Even the way Guinness is served in an Irish pub is almost a religious doctrine! Here are Guinness’ secrets for serving the perfect pint!

The perfect pint of Guinness

A beer to serve in 119.50 seconds!

Hold on to your hats, because Guinness is extremely precise when it comes to pouring its beer into a pint! Indeed, the brewery has determined that it takes exactly 119.5 seconds to serve a pint of Guinness by the book!

A precise time, which can be explained by a number of steps to be scrupulously followed.

This starts with refrigerating the keg at a temperature of 6°C. Indeed, any self-respecting Guinness must be served at this temperature, otherwise it spoils the tasting experience.

The keg must then be connected to a specific nitrogen beer filler (most standard beers use carbon dioxide, but not Guinness). Nitrogen produces a creamy foam and much finer bubbles, which nevertheless take longer to settle. (This is known as the “Guinness Cascade” phenomenon).

That’s why it takes 119.5 seconds to serve a Guinness: bartenders have to serve the pint in 2 batches and give it time to settle. The operation is roughly as follows:

1. The waiter fills 80% of the pint at pressure
2. He then puts the pint down and waits until the bubbles stabilize and the cream sinks slightly.
3. The waiter takes the pint and carefully fills it to the brim.
4. Then he serves it to the customer.

Anecdotally, it’s not uncommon for some tourists to start drinking their pint before it’s been fully served. This often elicits a smile from Irish bartenders, who then explain that Guinness is a beer that requires a little patience to be enjoyed at its best.

The brewery itself has launched major communication campaigns on this subject:“Good things come to those who wait“.

Please note that this process does not necessarily apply to other brands of Irish beer. Guinness likes to stand out from the crowd… And it obviously works!

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