A Pint of the Real Thing for St. Pat’s Day

Just as New Year’s Eve calls for champagne, St. Patrick’s Day has its own requisite beverage: Irish beer, and lots of it. But it’s common knowledge that Murphy’s, Guinness and other imports just don’t taste the same here as they do overseas, even on tap.

So how and where do you get the best-tasting Irish brew in town? Guinness employs a trio of “draught specialists” in Southern California who roam from bar to bar to see how the Guinness is pouring. They’re most frequently asked the correct way to pour a pint, and they will train the staff. Once everything’s working just right, Guinness gives out its Perfect Pint award.

“A Guinness drinker will taste a pint with his eyes before it touches his lips,” says Peter Greene, Western draught manager for Guinness. The perfect pint must have the perfect look as well as taste, which is dependent on the beer’s temperature and the gas that pumps it out. “The [ideal] gas is a 75-25 blend of nitrogen and carbon dioxide, pushed out at 30 to 40 psi, a higher pressure than most other beers,” explains Greene. “It knocks the gas out of the beer, forming a rich and creamy head,” which should stand 1 to 2 inches tall. The temperature should be 39 to 45 degrees. “It’s a complete myth that people drink it warm in Ireland,” Greene says.

The proper Guinness pour uses a dry, room-temperature, 20-ounce tulip glass, not a chilled beer stein, with the glass held under the tap at a 45-degree angle. The glass should be filled three-quarters of the way to the top, then left to settle for one to two minutes before being topped off just a little over the rim, without allowing any spillage.

So where around town can you find that perfect pint? Guinness has found the restaurant / bar Britannia and the two O’Briens Pubs in Santa Monica worthy of its award. And that common knowledge that the beer doesn’t taste as good here as in Ireland? “A myth,” insists Greene. And he should know.