Beer, Pubs and the Perfect Pour

Beer, Pubs and the perfect pour –

Guinness Stout at approximately 60 degrees Fahrenheit (16 c) – ok, ok, figure a major debate could break out on this point alone as to what temperature it is meant to be served. You’ll hear dozens of arguments, “facts”, about this single point even that some places have two taps; one very cold, the second one more “room temp”, so actually the debate you can see could rage on from there. What is “very cold”, what is “room temp” (I can tell you a Guinness or any beer room temp, if the room is perhaps really a screened porch on a summer day in Phoenix at 104 degrees Fahrenheit, would quite simply, suck!)  Some of course refer to room temp being around 70 degrees Fahrenheit give or take, others make reference to room temp meaning that at the origins of Guinness brewing and serving in 1759 from the casks, were stored in cellars and served without any chilling of any sort, so the temperature it was in that particular room or from the cellars was what you got, and of course a cellar in damp, cool Ireland is arguably colder than my example of Arizona, but exactly what temperature on what day, who could really know. I think you get my point, and besides, this blog isn’t even about Guinness or what temp it is best severed at --- ok, back to the story.

Guinness Stout from the keg at approximately 60 degrees Fahrenheit (16 c), pulled from a tap in stages, meaning the glass (pint glass mind you) is held at an approximate 50 degree angle and filled to about 3/4s of the way full then allowed to settle a bit, then filling the glass to the top, straight in, to leave a 3/8” initial head and allowed to cascade in those wonderful ripples of brown to settle into a creamy and inviting ½” head just peaking at the glass rim (a crafty cloverleaf design scrolled in from the rubber nib tap by an exceptional bartender if you are in the right place), is only part of the “perfect pour”.

Granted other beers (“beer” as a generic meaning in this case for any Ale, Stout, Porter, Pilsner, etc, etc) could be your favorite and beer of choice and the other factors that will be relayed here would apply to the meaning of the “perfect pour”, but do consider the look and performance of a glass of Guinness as it settles, nothing like that cascading flow in the glass – your IPA doesn’t do that, your Brown Ale doesn’t do that, your sissy Miller Lite doesn’t do that. I’d probably give you the nod if you want to make a case for a well constructed Black and Tan (and I don’t mean from the bottle that way) I mean created in the glass by the barkeep from Guinness (of course) and Bass or Harp Ale. Here too could be another debate or blog, on what the appropriate brews are for a Black and Tan, or any of the other combos – A “Pennsylvania Tan” by the way is Yuengling Lager on the bottom and Guinness on top, and “America’s Oldest Brewery”, Yuengling,  bottles their version of Black & Tan that is their blend of Dark Brewed Porter and Lager and claims on the bottle label “original”.

Moving on : having covered the beer of choice (Guinness) and the action of the pouring (two phase, with care and attention), you come to the other factor of the Pub and within it; the staff, in particular the bartender, and the overall ambiance of the place. Let’s start then with the Pub.

I am sure there is some actual definition for “Pub” , and differentiation of Pub, Bar, Restaurant, Ale House, Tavern, Brew Pub, Micro-Brewery, Public House, Saloon, and so on, the matter really isn’t in any of those names or their definition, or what the proprietor cares to call it (that has more to do with demographics, marketing, sign-making, whatever), the point is I’m going to use the term “Pub” in this because that seems to me a good general term for the kind of place I have found and would expect to get the “Perfect Pour”. Thee Pub, needs to have character, ambiance, a personality. It needs to be a place you feel comfortable, welcome, almost at home with (but even better, because most of us are very unlikely to really and truly establish the “Perfect Pour” in our own home, even with the perfect bar in our home. Now, maybe, at your buddies or neighbors, but not very often in your own house – you’ll see why in a minute or so). It has to be inviting, no, beckoning . . . you have to feel it draw you in. It has to have a comfortable bar stool and It has to have a bar counter you can lean on at just the right height and with enough space not to feel confined – you will know it, feel it, be “that” place.

Exactly what it looks like, how it’s furnished and decorated, how big or little, how bright or dark, what the clientele is and how it can change with days of the week and time of the day -- is each to your own, only you can know and feel what all that is meant to be. Different for all of us. And often shared and mutual for several of us and that’s what provides the communal space that makes it very personal and individual at the same time, a personal oasis and yet societal and bonding (it’s also what keeps it open and making money).

You are in that place, are you there in your head with me, you find your happy place?

Enter the bartender or bartenders if the place is really good (and if it has all those other attributes it will attract, and the owner will know how to sort the gems from the stones, for the great bartender). This is critical, The Great Bartender is crucial to the moment and to the Perfect Pour. They can make it or break it. This doesn’t mean that an OK-good bartender isn’t alright to have in a great Pub, and that you’ll never go back in the place if the bartender isn’t capable of being part of the Perfect Pour, but because you have to have #1) The Beer, #2) The Draft Technique, #3) The Pub and #4) The Great Bartender, for there to be a “Perfect Pour”, that’s the way it is and it’s in the moment, so no place should fire an OK-good barkeep, in fact you really have to have them to help differentiate and help spotlight the exceptional, The Great Bartender – follow me? This is why the “at home” perfect pout is really rare, ‘cause you, or your spouse, partner, buddy, kid, whoever has to be that in-house bartender, and quite frankly, well you get what I mean.

The Great Bartender IS responsible for the draft technique and the perfect pour execution, they’re responsible for much of the feel and making one at home and comfortable (and the best of the best can make you feel that way even if they’ve never seen you before – it does become even better when they do come to recognize you, know what you want without asking, and call you by name – the Cheers “Norm” experience). Great Bartenders know how to, not only manage the back of the bar as a Pro and still have attentiveness to every customer, but they are multi-dexterous, fluid in motion, time management experts, humorists, therapists, politicians, performers, chemists of mixology, storytellers, sportscasters, weather and news providers, poets, philosophers, arbitrators, mediators, matchmakers, friends, service experts, care givers, magicians, confidants, sinners and saints. And their gift, if you are open to receiving it, is The “Perfect Pour”, so much more than beer in a glass. --- Cheers! Look for the moment. Savor it. Respect it. And tip well, always!

P.S.

I am quite lucky as I have found two places nearby that can provide the Perfect Pour –

Pub Dunegal, Thanks Kyle

Quips Pub, Thanks Riley

And a third, in waiting, McCleary’s Public House

Last a shout out to my buddy Joe in Arvada, CO – in Joe’s basement bar I have had many a “Perfect Pour” and wait in euphoric anticipation for the next one!