Is Guinness Better in Ireland

Short answer: In my experience it is not, but you are just so much more likely to get a solid pint.

Near the end of 2024 I took a trip to Ireland. Obviously, I had to drink as much Guinness as I could. I ended up trying 56 pints of Guinness from the following establishments:

1. Bankers
2. Brazen Head (pictured above)
3. Carroll’s (Galway)
4. Fitzsimmons
5. Flannery’s Bar (Limerick)
6. Foggy Dew
7. Gallagher’s (Cork)
8. Galway Bay Brewery
9. Gourmet Burger Kitchen
10. Guinness Gravity Bar
11. Guinness Open Gate Brewery
12. John Fallon’s The Capstan Bar
13. John Kavanagh The Gravediggers
14. John’s Bar & Haberdashery
15. Liberty Belle
16. Little Pyg
17. Lundy Foots
18. McGowans of Phibsboro
19. Monroe’s (Galway)
20. Norseman
21. O’Connell’s (Galway)
22. O’Donoghue’s
23. O’Shea’s
24. Oliver Plunkett (Cork)
25. Old Town Whiskey Bar (Cork)
26. Peters Pub
27. Pygmallion
28. Sean’s Bar (Athlone) (pictured below)
29. Shelbourne (Cork)
30. Slattery’s
31. Stag’s Head
32. Temple Bar
33. Toners
34. Voyager

I’m sure someone will tell me that I missed the best Guinness from their favorite spot. Believe me, I tried to sample them all but there is never enough time when you’re on vacation. None of the pints that I had changed my perception of what Guinness could be. I’ve had many pints in the US. In my opinion, no matter where you are in the world, if you find a bar that treats their Guinness properly then it will be just as good as the Guinness that you can get in Dublin.

The problem is that, at least in the US, it is much harder to find a bar that takes care to control all of the variables. In Ireland, and especially Dublin they know that you’re there to drink Guinness. In many bars in the US, even those with Irish words in the name, Guinness is often treated the same as any other beer. Unfortunately this can mean serving a pint that is too cold. Which can have a knock on effect to the pressure. And too many bars just do not clean their lines as often as they should.

Guinness is a finicky beer. If just one or two variables are sub-optimal then you end up with a mediocre pint and the belief that you can’t find good Guinness outside of Ireland. It’s part of the reason I decided to get a kegerator. It would give me control over many of the variables.

The one variable I cannot control is freshness. It’s my understanding that Guinness Draught is only brewed in Dublin. While there are other Guinness breweries around the world, they brew other beers in the Guinness portfolio. Even if I’m incorrect on that, I would still expect that the bars in Ireland tend to be pouring Guinness closer to its kegged on date than the bars in other parts of the world. It’s just easier for them to source it and they likely go through it quicker than your random pub in the US.

The good news for those of us that don’t live in Ireland is that, unlike a hazy IPA, Guinness has a decent shelf life. Additionally, having a kegerator helps. I’ve long enjoyed cans of Guinness purchased from my local liquor store. But it can be a bit of a crap shoot with what you get. The date codes are difficult to understand. And due to the packaging they are difficult to impossible to read before you pay for the can. Even if you could read the date, how many different stores are you going to go to in search of a better date. You also have no way of knowing how the can was treated. Has it been cold since the store received it? Or was it on a warm shelf for a couple of months before being moved to the refrigerated section? With a keg, you can expect that it has been stored cold. You may not be able to get Guinness as fresh as they do in Ireland but a keg will get you closest.

The Guinness in Ireland is amazing. Gravediggers lived up to the hype and served what I thought was the creamiest pint in Dublin. Carroll’s in Galway had a pint that was just as creamy but with a delicious roastiness to it. I am jealous of people that live in Ireland as they can walk to almost any place that serves Guinness and get at least a very good, if not an outstanding pint. But if you control the variables then I’m convinced you can get a pint anywhere in the world that is just as good as the best pints in Ireland. It’s also worth noting that not every pint of Guinness in Ireland is good. The worst pint of Guinness that I’ve ever had was at a restaurant in Dublin. It’s not on the list because I couldn’t even finish it. To be fair, it is not the type of place I would go to and expect a good Guinness; or even a good beer in general. But after so many great pours, I got a little over confident and assumed that every Guinness in Dublin would be at least drinkable. I was wrong.

To the people that say Guinness is different in Ireland, I think you’re wrong. It might be fresher. And being in Ireland is a lot of fun which can enhance the experience. But a great pint of Guinness can be had anywhere. If, like me, there’s no place close enough to you that does pour a great Guinness then do what I did: pour your own.