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If you\u2019re in London this St. Patrick\u2019s Day, you\u2019re likely to find a decent-quality Guinness within a few hundred meters.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But it wasn\u2019t always that way.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The drink that dates back to 1759 is entering its \u201cgolden age\u201d and defying an industry setback faced by other brewers amid a rush for \u201cpremiumization\u201d<\/a> by leaning into its own form of premium: that of dominating the social media landscape.<\/p>\n It has scared bartenders into the perfect pour and ultimately propelled Guinness to remarkable growth, and the brewer isn\u2019t resting on its laurels.<\/p>\n It\u2019s easy to tell how nice a Guinness is likely to taste just by looking at it, admittedly after a bit of committed practice.\u00a0<\/p>\n A well-poured Guinness will have a creamy, domed head that is not too large and not too small. When tilted, that head should be able to stand up under its own weight on the side of the glass, passing what is described as the \u201ctilt test.\u201d<\/p>\n It shouldn\u2019t be too cold either, with Guinness recommending a pint be served at a balmy 6-7 degrees Celsius (around 42.8 degrees Fahrenheit). Traditionalists cringe at the company\u2019s \u201cExtra Cold\u201d version, which comes in a few degrees Celsius cooler.\u00a0<\/p>\n There are a few reasons why a pint of Guinness can vary in quality. The distance the Guinness travels along that pipe is important. One bar that serves less Guinness is likely to taste worse than one that serves more because Guinness is best when served fresh.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a fairly exhausting and emotion-inducing process to create a pint\u2014no other brewer can compete with the level of detail that goes into pouring it or the free marketing that its debate incites among its customers.<\/p>\n Mark McEvoy, a Dublin-born landlord of the Three Crowns pub in Old Street, London, puts more effort into his Guinness than any other drink.<\/p>\n And for good reason. McEvoy says the bar sold more than 18,000 pints of Guinness last year, more than double its next most popular drink, Camden Hells lager.<\/p>\n He says interest in the black stuff has seen a huge rise in the U.K. capital in recent years\u2014his pub didn\u2019t even have the drink on tap when he moved five years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bartenders in the city rarely abided by the arduous process of pouring a Guinness, including the fabled \u201ctwo-part pour,\u201d but he says that has changed.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of that has to do with people taking pictures on social media,\u201d McEvoy told Fortune<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the quality has definitely improved in the last couple of years, I notice more and more bars are paying attention to the quality of the serve.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n In addition to ensuring the conditions are in place for a good pour, McEvoy has to train bartenders across the city to make sure they do it right.<\/p>\n While a headache for bartenders, the quality-based exclusivity of Guinness is a big part of its charm, particularly for customers who value effort and authenticity in their products more than ever.<\/p>\n Indeed, Guinness continues to be a growth driver for the company, with sales increasing by 24% in Europe last year, according to the latest interim results<\/a>. It has enjoyed half-yearly double-digit growth for six consecutive years.<\/p>\n It may be no coincidence that those six years have coincided with mushrooming internet subcultures following the rise of TikTok and innovations in short-form video content from YouTube and Instagram.\u00a0<\/p>\n Daragh Curran found huge success with a YouTube page called the \u201cGuinness Guru,\u201d where he would travel around cities in the U.K., Ireland, and abroad sampling the good, the bad, and the ugly of Guiness-serving pubs.<\/p>\n \u201cI had a feeling, I was like \u201cI just think there\u2019s something in this,\u201d Curran told Fortune<\/em> of his hunch that Guinness content would find a social media audience.<\/p>\nA \u2018good\u2019 Guinness<\/h2>\n
Guinness\u2019s exclusivity<\/h2>\n