Pouring Guinness: For Emergency Purposes Only!

Today is St. Patrick’s Day.  Although we’ve already posted about this holiday’s most popular
lubricant, we are revisiting Guinness for a quick lesson on how to
pour
this temperamental beer.  Believe it or not, there are special techniques involving the angle of the
glass, a patented two-part pour, and a few other tricks that actually affect the final taste of the beer.  After
the potato famine, a poorly poured Guinness is the single greatest tragedy in an Irishman’s life.

Since most of us will always be on the receiving end of the bar instead of the giving
end, there is a very good chance that you will never be in a position to master the artistry of the Guinness
pour.  But just in case things get rough tonight—as can often happen in Irish pubs on St. Patrick’s
Day—and your barkeep goes down with a bottle to the head or by inhaling too many Celtic pheromones, the show must
go on.  So read up in case you have to hop over the bar and assume his pouring duties.  The life you save may
be your own.