Beer & GuinnessPublished 15 August 20254 min read

How to Pour the Perfect Guinness

A properly poured Guinness is built in two stages: the glass is filled three quarters of the way, left to settle, and only then topped up. The whole ritual takes exactly 119.5 seconds, and the reward is a thick, creamy head.

Why is Guinness poured in two stages?

Guinness is carbonated with a blend of nitrogen and carbon dioxide, which creates millions of tiny bubbles. Those bubbles need time to settle. If the pint were pulled in one go, the head would overflow and the beer would lose its proper structure. The two-part pour was officially introduced by the Guinness brewery, and they insist on it to this day.

Step by step

Take a clean, dry tulip-shaped pint glass (568 ml).
Tilt it at a 45-degree angle and pull the tap smoothly towards you.
Fill the glass to roughly three quarters, up to the base of the harp on the logo.
Set the glass on the drip tray and let it settle. The so-called surge takes around a minute and a half.
Once the beer is fully black and separated from the head, push the tap away from you and top up the glass so the head sits just proud of the rim.

What temperature should Guinness be served at?

The brewery recommends serving Guinness Draught at 6 degrees Celsius. So no, it is not a warm beer, despite the popular myth, but nor is it ice-cold like a lager straight from the fridge. At 6 degrees, the notes of roasted barley, coffee and dark chocolate come through best.

How do you recognise a well-poured pint?

The head should be thick, creamy and roughly 10 to 15 millimetres tall. As you drink, rings of foam cling to the sides of the glass. The Irish call this lacing, and tradition has it that each sip should leave one ring behind. The beer itself is a deep ruby black, never brown.

At Little Island in Frydek-Mistek we have been pouring Guinness this way since we opened in 2009, and yes, you will wait the full 119.5 seconds here too. Haste is the enemy of a good pint.

Come and enjoy a perfectly poured Guinness at tr. T. G. Masaryka 1129 in Frydek-Mistek. You will find our full range at /napojovy-listek.

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