While touring Ireland a year ago, we had ample opportunity to sample a variety of liquid refreshment! Local pubs are the heart and soul of the Emerald Isle. Our favorite “pub” experience was at a corner bar in Galway; not so much for the beer, but for the sweetest little old man we encountered there. He was in town that day for a doctor’s appointment and had stopped by his favorite pub for a pint of Guinness before heading home. He clearly enjoyed telling us all about himself and even circled a spot on our map to show us where he was from. You can get a drink anywhere, but the people you share one with make the memories special!
Weekly Photo Challenge: Liquid
Grammy Writes 
A lovely memory and a great picture …. I love the thickly settling Guinness in the background. I lived in County Cork for a while so it was always a pint of Murphies and one of my favourite bars was actually the back of the hardware shop. Tom knew exactly who would come in and when and had the pints lined up before you even realised you were due!
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Not knowing much about beer or Guinness (and what’s the difference?) at first glance I thought the drink in the background was some sort of espresso drink, and on second thought that didn’t make sense considering the venue!. Thanks for clarifying 🙂
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Guinness is a particular kind of beer – a very unique one – that takes a bit of skill to pour!
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Heavens that is a BIG question! Beer in Britain (and Ireland) would be a generic term for all brewed hop and barley drinks. Guinness is part of the stout (or as they call it in Ireland, Porter) family. It is almost black in colour with a wonderful smoothness and tang to it which comes from the fact that it is made from malted barley. It gets the thick ‘head’ to it and good pourers will top it with a heart or a shamrock rather like baristas make patterns in coffee. Most people think of Guinness as the quintessentially Irish drink but if you live in or around Cork you will drink Murphys Porter which is essentially the same thing but fights and wars can break out if you say such a heinous thing openly :D!! Grammy’s picture is a fantastic capture of the swirling ale settling in the glass – it is a drink that requires patience … it will have been several moments before the head settled on top and then the barman will have topped it off and possibly swirled something into the top. PS: sorry to hijack your post, Grammy … I’ll pipe down now!
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Osyth, I wondered if anyone would spot the Guinness! It’s definitely the people that make the pub, and the ones in Ireland are so friendly and fun!
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Haha – I was bound to spot it … I love the black velvet though tend only to drink it in Ireland (and tis Murphys for me to be sure!)
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I love the vibrant colors and so appreciate your last line. Salud!
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Thanks! It seems strange, I know, but I’ve always thought a nicely stocked bar has a wonderful contrast of colors! Salud indeed!
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