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STOUT OF TIME How pouring perfect pint of Guinness evolved from 1900s two keg system to today’s iconic ‘easy pour’ method
irish sun ^ | 2/18/2021

Posted on 02/19/2021 6:17:02 AM PST by mylife

AS Irish people have been locked out of the pubs for almost a year, the image of the perfect pint of Guinness has become a symbol for the eventual end of lockdown.

According to Guinness, the most vital step of modern pouring is to fill the glass three quarters full, let it settle for exactly 119.5 seconds before topping up the pint.

But Irish publicans’ world-renowned method was not always the accepted way to serve a pint of plain.

Guinness veterans may remember the early method of pulling pints that was lost in the 1960s known as the “high and low” system.

Here we break down how the iconic Guinness “easy pour” method came to be - and how the “high and low” method was lost to the ages.

IN the early 1900s, the Guinness company faced a massive problem as they began to sell their products globally.

The traditional “high and low” system of pint pulling required too much skill from a barman to be able to roll out worldwide.

The early system actually required two kegs of Guinness being kept at different pressures. Outside of Ireland, Guinness had mostly been a bottled product, hence the name “high and low”.

The high pressure barrel was used to fill a pint glass with the foamy “head” first. These bubbles slowly settled to the bottom of the glass over a number of minutes to form a thick cream.

The second low pressure barrel would be used to add a darker, less bubbly stout and excess cream would be scraped off to form the recognisable pint.

However, this two step system required a lot of skill which would alter the taste and look of the pint if done incorrectly when rolled out abroad.

(Excerpt) Read more at thesun.ie ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Food; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: beer; guinness
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To: Jolla

Bottled or canned does not even compare.


21 posted on 02/19/2021 6:32:52 AM PST by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: dfwgator

The ads were brilliant, to bad the fizzy thing was not.


22 posted on 02/19/2021 6:34:32 AM PST by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: mylife

That is a fact. My wife suggested I buy a keg as a draft is so much better and cheaper, I told she would then be living with a drunk.


23 posted on 02/19/2021 6:39:01 AM PST by Jolla
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To: mylife

I hate to be the one to disagree but I prefer a pale ale. That Brown beer tastes horrible. Although after a few I guess it wouldn’t matter.


24 posted on 02/19/2021 6:44:01 AM PST by HighSierra5
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To: Jolla

25 posted on 02/19/2021 6:47:36 AM PST by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: OttawaFreeper

My favorite college bar in Iowa City featured Guinness on tap.
The Mill was a very cool place.

Now, I can’t even look at the stuff.


26 posted on 02/19/2021 6:47:47 AM PST by Eric in the Ozarks (Baseball players, gangsters and musicians are remembered. But journalists are forgotten.)
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To: HighSierra5

Millions disagree.


27 posted on 02/19/2021 6:48:34 AM PST by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: crusty old prospector

I used to love Guinness. They gave $1million to blm. Now I won’t touch the stuff.


28 posted on 02/19/2021 6:54:53 AM PST by seabeeson
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To: crusty old prospector
I love me some Guinness.

Me too.

I used to drink at an Irish Bar on 57th in Manhattan in the 90s when I stayed in NY.

After the Irish barman would screw around with the spoon he used in pouring a large glass of what he called, "Mother's Milk" which took forever, I'd put both salt and pepper on top, and he'd scream to the Heavens.

I got into more altercations over my use of salt and pepper in my Guinness than you can imagine.

I had one simple solution for all of the intruders, "I will not use salt and pepper in any beer that you pay for".

They could either buy my beer or STFU, either way, I win.

I still drink my Guinness and and my Yuengling with both salt and pepper.
Try it, you might like it.

29 posted on 02/19/2021 6:59:40 AM PST by USS Alaska (NUKE ALL MOOSELIMB TERRORISTS, NOW.)
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To: mylife

It’s probably fluoridated. Commies trying to rob you of your precious bodily fluids. Maintain your purity of essence...


30 posted on 02/19/2021 6:59:43 AM PST by EEGator
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To: mylife
"However, this two step system required a lot of skill which would alter the taste and look of the pint if done incorrectly when rolled out abroad."

And yet even the college kids working the bars around here can pour a very proper black & tan.

31 posted on 02/19/2021 6:59:59 AM PST by StAnDeliver (Eric Coomer of Dominion Voting Systems Is The Blue Dress)
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To: HighSierra5
I hate to be the one to disagree but I prefer a pale ale.

It's your preference.

Even my wife prefers a pale ale, there is no shame in that.

32 posted on 02/19/2021 7:04:31 AM PST by USS Alaska (NUKE ALL MOOSELIMB TERRORISTS, NOW.)
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To: HighSierra5

It is an acquired taste. I lived in Germany—drank the best pils and weisen beers money can buy.

I lived in Australia, and the beer was manly drunk to get drunk quick. Still tastier than watered-down American national beers.

I then went to Ireland and had the same experience as you. But as me mates would only drink Guinness, and gave me a ration of crap if I drunk anything else, I joined them.

It will grow on you if you let it.

Lot of great beers out there though; no need to force yourself to drink something you don’t like.

Over the years, I’ve grown adverse to overly hoppy beers, but many swear by them.


33 posted on 02/19/2021 7:11:28 AM PST by Alas Babylon! ("You, the American people, are my only special interest." --President Donald J. Trump)
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To: Jolla

I had to laugh at the open train cars, with sides like the hay wagons for hauling small bales, but full of empty beer kegs being shipped back from Limerick.

All the bars in Dublin set their empty kegs out on the sidewalk like we used to return empty milk bottles, ready for the new kegs to be delivered. This was great as I could tell the good bars by the number of kegs on the sidewalk in the morning.

So I stopped at the Temple Bar and asked why no kegs on their sidewalk. They replied that they had a lorrey full out back.

Best Stout in Ireland was the Oyster Stout at the Porter House in the Temple Bar District.


34 posted on 02/19/2021 7:34:07 AM PST by tired&retired (Blessings )
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To: seabeeson

I did not know that. Hmm.


35 posted on 02/19/2021 7:52:00 AM PST by crusty old prospector
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To: tired&retired

The best porter I ever had was at the Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone, brewed exclusively for them

Paint pot porter, it was delicious.


36 posted on 02/19/2021 8:08:38 AM PST by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: mylife

Olde Speckled Hen has a Guiness-like head and pour, but it’s more of a honey colored ale.


37 posted on 02/19/2021 8:16:54 AM PST by Sirius Lee (They intend to murder us. Prep if you want to live and live like you are prepping for eternal life)
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To: mylife

I’m an amateur brewer, but my brew kettle is 165 gallon. I don’t brew much now as there are so many good beers out there.


38 posted on 02/19/2021 8:17:29 AM PST by tired&retired (Blessings )
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To: Sirius Lee

I really like Paulaner Salvatore (double bock) and Shiner Black


39 posted on 02/19/2021 8:31:12 AM PST by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: tired&retired

I have had excellent home brews but it you taint one batch thats 165 ga of swill, and grains aint all that cheap.


40 posted on 02/19/2021 8:34:15 AM PST by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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