‘The trick to getting the perfect pint of Guinness every single time? Consistency and investment!’
So says Pádraig Brady – and he should know, as the owner of Mulligans of Deansgate, Manchester; a pub with its own fully independent Guinness dispense system, and where the staff, who are given ‘Guinness inductions’, are expecting to pour 5,000 pints of the Black Stuff on St Patrick’s Day.
Over the last three years, Padraig has invested close to £100,000 in equipment to ensure the pub serves quality pints of stout – a move that has led to Mulligans being dubbed the ‘best pub for a pint of Guinness outside of Ireland’ in 2023 by ‘Guinness Guru’ Daragh Curran.
‘We all get the same Guinness,’ Padraig, originally from Dublin, explains to MailOnline Travel. ‘But it’s what happens with it, from the cellar to the point the customer gets the pint in their hand, that makes all the difference.
‘There are five or six steps in between that you have to do consistently well – and not just 90 per cent or 95 per cent of the time. It has to be 100% of the time, all the time.’
To ensure this consistency, Padraig, 54, developed a ‘fully independent dispense system for Guinness’ – which even has its own independent technician.
He says: ‘If you go into a standard pub, they might have, say, two coolers to run the Guinness and lagers through, but we have nine for the Guinness, and it’s not mixed with anything else.
‘And we own all our equipment, from coolers, lines and gas installations to glass washers and driers.
Padraig Brady’s pub Mulligans of Deansgate, Manchester, has been dubbed the ‘best pub for a pint of Guinness outside of Ireland’ by fans of the Black Stuff. He’s pictured here standing outside the pub, and he tells MailOnline Travel what the secret to always pouring the perfect pint is
Over the last three years, Padraig has invested close to £100,000 on a fully independent Guinness dispense system equipment to ensure the pub (pictured) always serves quality pints of stout
To ensure every single one of his staff members is consistently pouring perfect pints ‘as good as the last’, Padraig requires all new starters to have ‘specific Guinness inductions’. He also holds staff training for everyone once a month
‘Normally the beer company would supply all that, but I bought it all for us to have absolute control and consistency over the Guinness.’
When it comes to the perfect pour, Guinness recommends filling the pint glass up halfway and letting it rest for 60 to 80 seconds before pouring the rest.
And to ensure every single one of his staff members is consistently pouring perfect pints ‘as good as the last’, Padraig requires all new starters to have ‘specific Guinness inductions’.
He also holds staff training for everyone once a month.
Padraig adds: ‘It’s all about repetition. I encourage staff to make mistakes, but don’t give the mistake to the customer, learn from it; watch their colleagues around them; and take a little bit of pride in what they’re doing.
‘By and large, they all follow those rules, and some of the best ones who’ve worked here two or three years are well on to it now.
‘They know the standard. They know what’s not acceptable and what is acceptable, but a lot of them find that they want to be acceptable for themselves, not necessarily just because I’ve asked them to be.
‘If you asked Guinness, they’d say to rest the pint for one minute and 19 seconds, but if your gas pressure is right, your temperature’s right, your glassware is right, and your whole dispense system is right, anything around that will do.’
With a recent refurbishment more than doubling the capacity of the pub from 120 to 300, Padraig is expecting around 1,200 people to flood through the doors over St Patrick’s Day, and to serve 5,000 pints of Guinness. Pictured is the inside of Mulligans
For St Patrick’s Day, Mulligans will be hosting live music all day, from 11am until 1.30am – as well as performances from Irish dancers outside
For St Patrick’s Day, Mulligans will be hosting live music all day, from 11am until 1.30am – as well as performances from Irish dancers outside.
And, with a recent refurbishment more than doubling the capacity of the pub from 120 to 300, Padraig is expecting around 1,200 people to flood through the doors over the day, and to serve 5,000 pints of Guinness.
He says: ‘St Patrick’s Day, has always been brilliant in Mulligans. It’s always a great day of music, and the atmosphere is always electric.
‘Us Irish love Guinness, we love dancing, and we love having the craic. That’s part of being Irish, and Irish people, by and large, when they get out and have a couple of drinks, they’re very friendly. There’s always a good atmosphere around.
‘There’ll be a queue outside of people waiting to get in. We’ll do our best to get them all in, and when they get in, they’ll have a fabulous time.’
For more information, visit Mulligans of Deansgate’s website.
