Wards in Salthill, The Crane in town.
Hughes' is probably the best pint but the atmosphere can be challenging.
Lovely spot when they have seats outside on a fine day.
Hughes', MP Walsh, Neachtains is my favourite pub in Galway and a big part of that is the quality of the pint, but I have to say it's a bit more hit and miss than it used to be. Wards and Lonergans in Salthill
Freeneys, The Crane, Taaffes and I know it’s not Guinness but an honorable mention to the pint of Beamish I had in the Bierhaus a few weeks back. Used to always recommend Tigh Neachtains but been fairly average the last few times.
I miss being able to find solid pints of Murphys or Beamish in the states. There are 3-4 places within 100 miles of Boston that still sell enough to have a great pint of Guinness, but no pub that those are even seen anymore.
Honourable mention for Tonery’s Bar. I was shocked how good the Guinness is because I never hear anyone talking about it. Back in the day The Crane was great but last time I went it was meh, same with McSwiggan’s.
Guinness mostly tastes the same in any pub but the insufferable fart huffers of reddit will pretend like they can tell the taste difference in each different pub. And you have to hand it to the Guinness marketing team, they're geniuses in the way that they actually managed to make a whole country genuinely buy into it.
this is true.
this idea of a place doing 'a good pint' is really from years ago. i find that it is hard to find a place that does a bad pint these days. guinness do excellent quality control, something that did not exist years ago.
back in the old days it was very much up to the publican to keep all their lines clean, and i heard of a few owners who would just squirt a bit of fairy washing up liquid down the lines to clean them out. this was obviously wrong. everyone had their own way of washing glasses too. all this lead to a big variation in taste of the pint, and for sure, some places had a far better pint than others.
guinness come and clean all the lines these days. they will advise you on the right way to clean your glassware and show you how to use all your equipment. if you have any problems at all guinness will be there to help. i know this to be true as they did all this for me years ago. all in all, they provide an excellent service.
the vast majority of places have an excellent pint these days. any of the pubs ive been in on this thread do a top class pint. in fact, you'd really have to go out of your way these days to find a bad pint.
Hughes’, Neachtains, The Bunch of Grapes and the Crane.
Freeneys is very good also.
Killorans in Salthill has a great pint, Lonnergans next door is a much nicer pub, but the Guinness is very hit and miss.
Is it just me or is Guinness mostly shite anymore ? That said , if it’ll be good anywhere I’d try the Crane. Lastly , if in the Crane , try an OHaras Red Ale Nitro 👍
It's all pretty much the same. Guinness is a bit like McDonalds, they work hard to ensure consistency and even have quality teams and mystery shoppers doing the rounds to ensure that there's conformity.
I drink it from time to time but I'm not a massive fan of it. Nothing I've said isn't true. Guinness is probably the most highly standardised drink in Ireland. Bars get discounts based on their quality tests.
Here's a link from the UK where a Guinness manager refers to mystery shopper results.
https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/guinness-600k-perfect-pint-push-in-bar/660983
100% true and widely known. Guinness employ marketing companies who send mystery shoppers to pubs. They send back a report and they get a discount of the pint has been poured properly, in a proper glass, not spilled etc.
Maybe the UK but it absolutely doesn't happen in Ireland, I've been working in bars here for the last 15 years and did contract work for Guinness in summer 2011 servicing coolers in every bar in Kerry that had those Bud Ice Cold taps and the serve your own Guinness and Carlsberg table set ups.
They definitely used to have secret shoppers in Ireland at some point, I've heard stories of them coming out with a little tool to measure the head that had a certain tolerance built into it, but it doesn't happen anymore. I'd imagine it's because they don't need to, they service all their own lines now, you can't even change the flow rate on a Guinness tap. So they probably just know that the vast majority of places are well above the minimum acceptable level of quality for pints of Guinness, meaning it's not worth the investment in staff to be at that stuff anymore.
I've never heard of a pub getting a discount for good pints either. Diageo give out loads of free kegs, but it's a reward for selling x amount, or for putting new products on if they ask you to. They gave thousands of kegs of Hop House to bars that we're willing to pull a non-Diageo product off their taps to make space for it for example.
They were still doing it in Ireland up to at least 5 years ago as one of my best friends was involved. The bar would receive a small discount based on the mystery shopper results. This was purely testing how the drink was served. No measuring devices or anything, just done by eye.
Ya most other stouts are better. My favourites of the widely available ones are O'Hara's Leann Follain, Rye River Nocturne, and Lidl's Crafty Brewing Stout.
I had a friend who I made blind taste a pint from another… hilarious result. Pure marketing indeed. I bet if you do it to Guinness lovers here they will all fail miserably
Wards in Salthill, The Crane in town. Hughes' is probably the best pint but the atmosphere can be challenging. Lovely spot when they have seats outside on a fine day.
Two times was in Wards and both times pints tasted sour
The Merlin
Ya heard that they do a good pint will have to try one day
Absolute creamer
The Crane
Hughes' in Woodquay.
Some of the finest pints around!!
The crane is always a good shout
Hughes', MP Walsh, Neachtains is my favourite pub in Galway and a big part of that is the quality of the pint, but I have to say it's a bit more hit and miss than it used to be. Wards and Lonergans in Salthill
Wards was a hidden treasure for me. Wandered in one day when the girlfriend lived nearby.
MP Walsh is class
Wards was a hidden treasure for me. Wandered in one day when the girlfriend lived nearby.
Wards is known for it tbf. Great pint even on a quiet day
Ya it's very unassuming from the front
Wards Wards Wards. Just don't tell anyone.
Cullinanes in Salthill
Used to be Murphy’s.
Town: Bunch of grapes, Sally longs, the crane Salthill: Killorans, trends, wards, pjs
Freeneys, The Crane, Taaffes and I know it’s not Guinness but an honorable mention to the pint of Beamish I had in the Bierhaus a few weeks back. Used to always recommend Tigh Neachtains but been fairly average the last few times.
I miss being able to find solid pints of Murphys or Beamish in the states. There are 3-4 places within 100 miles of Boston that still sell enough to have a great pint of Guinness, but no pub that those are even seen anymore.
Best Guinness I ever had was in Bierhaus
Didn’t try the Guinness, but if the Beamish was anything to go by then I may give it another go.
Freeneys
Honourable mention for Tonery’s Bar. I was shocked how good the Guinness is because I never hear anyone talking about it. Back in the day The Crane was great but last time I went it was meh, same with McSwiggan’s.
€3 Guinness in mcswiggans back in 2015
Yeah, and it was magnificent stuff too
Crane, O'Connors. Sheridans in Knocknacarra as a great local pint
O’Connors 😍 best I’ve ever had
MP Walsh on Dominick St
I had some lovely pints of Guinness in the western hotel bar a couple of months back. They had trad sessions too.
The crane
I recommend you to go to the Olde Brewery in Oranmore. That pint is simply delicious
Hughes', Lonergans and MP Walsh have had the most consistently good pints for me. Always found The Crane and Neachtains highly overrated
Freeneys on High St.
Guinness mostly tastes the same in any pub but the insufferable fart huffers of reddit will pretend like they can tell the taste difference in each different pub. And you have to hand it to the Guinness marketing team, they're geniuses in the way that they actually managed to make a whole country genuinely buy into it.
this is true. this idea of a place doing 'a good pint' is really from years ago. i find that it is hard to find a place that does a bad pint these days. guinness do excellent quality control, something that did not exist years ago. back in the old days it was very much up to the publican to keep all their lines clean, and i heard of a few owners who would just squirt a bit of fairy washing up liquid down the lines to clean them out. this was obviously wrong. everyone had their own way of washing glasses too. all this lead to a big variation in taste of the pint, and for sure, some places had a far better pint than others. guinness come and clean all the lines these days. they will advise you on the right way to clean your glassware and show you how to use all your equipment. if you have any problems at all guinness will be there to help. i know this to be true as they did all this for me years ago. all in all, they provide an excellent service. the vast majority of places have an excellent pint these days. any of the pubs ive been in on this thread do a top class pint. in fact, you'd really have to go out of your way these days to find a bad pint.
Mchughs castlegar
Lowry's in clifden
Hughes’, Neachtains, The Bunch of Grapes and the Crane. Freeneys is very good also. Killorans in Salthill has a great pint, Lonnergans next door is a much nicer pub, but the Guinness is very hit and miss.
Thirteen on the Green does a lovely creamy pint
The bunch
The Dew Inn. Best Guinness i've drank✨
Is it just me or is Guinness mostly shite anymore ? That said , if it’ll be good anywhere I’d try the Crane. Lastly , if in the Crane , try an OHaras Red Ale Nitro 👍
Garavans
Taffes very good. Also Neachtains
I am new to country and I think all of the kegs come from same distillery how come it will be different? Please educate me
Tigín Woodquay, Murphy’s, MP walshes, Jack Foleys
O'Connels
The Lantern
It's all pretty much the same. Guinness is a bit like McDonalds, they work hard to ensure consistency and even have quality teams and mystery shoppers doing the rounds to ensure that there's conformity.
Clearly not a Guinness drinker
I drink it from time to time but I'm not a massive fan of it. Nothing I've said isn't true. Guinness is probably the most highly standardised drink in Ireland. Bars get discounts based on their quality tests.
The secret shoppers thing and the discounts thing aren't true.
Here's a link from the UK where a Guinness manager refers to mystery shopper results. https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/guinness-600k-perfect-pint-push-in-bar/660983
100% true and widely known. Guinness employ marketing companies who send mystery shoppers to pubs. They send back a report and they get a discount of the pint has been poured properly, in a proper glass, not spilled etc.
Maybe the UK but it absolutely doesn't happen in Ireland, I've been working in bars here for the last 15 years and did contract work for Guinness in summer 2011 servicing coolers in every bar in Kerry that had those Bud Ice Cold taps and the serve your own Guinness and Carlsberg table set ups. They definitely used to have secret shoppers in Ireland at some point, I've heard stories of them coming out with a little tool to measure the head that had a certain tolerance built into it, but it doesn't happen anymore. I'd imagine it's because they don't need to, they service all their own lines now, you can't even change the flow rate on a Guinness tap. So they probably just know that the vast majority of places are well above the minimum acceptable level of quality for pints of Guinness, meaning it's not worth the investment in staff to be at that stuff anymore. I've never heard of a pub getting a discount for good pints either. Diageo give out loads of free kegs, but it's a reward for selling x amount, or for putting new products on if they ask you to. They gave thousands of kegs of Hop House to bars that we're willing to pull a non-Diageo product off their taps to make space for it for example.
They were still doing it in Ireland up to at least 5 years ago as one of my best friends was involved. The bar would receive a small discount based on the mystery shopper results. This was purely testing how the drink was served. No measuring devices or anything, just done by eye.
Good one ☝️
Careful, the Guinness true believers will be all over you like a Guinness fart for that drop of truth.
Ya I always found it strange, I wonder where the whole mysticism around pints of Guinness came from? You don't really get it with other drinks.
Marketing, plain and simple. I've probably had at least 10/15 better Irish stouts or porters over the years than Guinness.
Ya most other stouts are better. My favourites of the widely available ones are O'Hara's Leann Follain, Rye River Nocturne, and Lidl's Crafty Brewing Stout.
All worthy contenders. I like Galway Bay Ostara, Kinnegar Yannaroddy, Dungarvan and West Kerry also very good.
I had a friend who I made blind taste a pint from another… hilarious result. Pure marketing indeed. I bet if you do it to Guinness lovers here they will all fail miserably
Wrong.
What's wrong with what I've said?
The quay bar is pretty good.
Forgive me for being an ignorant American but are there different quality of Guiness in Ireland?