Gentle Readers,

St. Patrick’s Day isn’t St. Patrick’s day without a pint of Guinness. Trust Dr. J. when he says he will be knocking back a few tomorrow. It’s good for you, after all.

The best way to drink Guinness is as a draught beer, if, and only if, nitrogen rather than CO2 is being used to pump it. The acidity generated by CO2 makes it more sour and creates bigger bubbles. That being said if you can’t get draught Guinness on tap, get it in the draught cans, as seen below. They are pressurized with N2.

Guinness and Tecate are perhaps the only two beers that taste better canned than bottled.

While some consider this heresy, Dr. J. also enjoys Guinness in the form of a Black and Tan, or alternatively, a Half and Half. Don’t order either of these delicious and aesthetically pleasing English bastardizations in a pub in Ireland, unless you wish to be beaten to within an inch of your life.

Here, Lisa Lavery of CHOW.com shows you how to pour the perfect pint from a can.

Dr. J.’s only caveat is that he prefers Imperial pints to standard pints.

h/t – Dr. J.’s childhood chum for the Guinness video

Dr. J.