Vita Molyneux sips her first pint of Guinness (Image: Vita Molyneux)
There are few drinks as good a conversation starter as Guinness – something I found out first hand when I went along to try my first ever pint this weekend. Having never been much of a beer drinker, at the ripe old age of 29 I have never sipped a spot of the black stuff, and with St Patrick’s Day looming, I thought there was no better time than the present. So, off I popped to Auld Shillelagh in Stoke Newington: which is as close to authentic as you can get in
On the Saturday afternoon I popped in, the pub was absolutely rammed to the rafters and fighting my way to the bar was my first challenge. Once I finally reached it, I knew I had come to the right place, as the bar was six deep with pints of Guinness being poured for thirsty patrons.
I secured mine, and fought my way back outside to taste it in (relative) peace.
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Pints of Guinness settling on the bar (Image: Vita Molyneux)
Standing in the alley, with the shouts of people watching the rugby and the dulcet tones of Irish folk music drifting out to me, it felt strangely momentous. To my dismay, my Guinness was not poured in a glass with a logo so I couldn’t attempt to “split to the G” on my first try.
Splitting the G is a trend that some credit Guinness’s momentous rise in popularity in recent years. It involves drinking a large gulp of your pint, so that when it settles, the line of the foamy head intersects the G on the logo.
Despite my disappointment, I took a large gulp of my pint anyway and was immediately pleasantly surprised. I had been expecting powerful bitter, tar-like flavours but instead was welcomed by a smooth and creamy savoury taste that slid down easily.
Although it wasn’t as strong-tasting as I expected, I was startled by how much it felt like a meal. It may not be bitter, but my god it is rich and I truly don’t understand how anyone could drink more than two of these.
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The Auld Shillelagh in Stoke Newington (Image: Vita Molyneux)
While I sipped my pint, I overheard no fewer than three conversations from different people which began ‘You know it’s a good Guinness when…’.
Finally, I made my way over to a group of three all sipping pints of their own and asked, ‘What exactly makes a good Guinness?’
Will, Rachael and Rob were more than happy to chat with me about it.
Will wanted to make it very clear that, “Everyone who says they know about Guinness is chatting s***, myself included.”
However, in his opinion a ‘good Guinness’ should “not taste like metal, you want it to be smooth and creamy and you want the top bit [the head] to last down the entirety of the pint”.
He also noted that a good pint needs to be served in the iconic tulip glass, with the logo on the side – and was horrified to see mine lacking.
The second, Rachael, told me that she tends to avoid drinking Guinness in London as her family is Irish and she feels that the pints in Ireland truly do taste different.
She said: “Maybe it’s just the nostalgia but I do think it’s creamier and better – plus it’s cheaper too.”
We chatted comfortably for 10 minutes about the various ways you can tell a good Guinness, and what makes a proper one and where to find them.
It really is a great conversion starter, as Rob said: “It’s the only drink that gets people talking this much. You don’t get this much conversation out of a Vimto.”