Who’s the best pint pourer in the country?

For Guinness Sake – who’s the best pint pourer in the country?

Auckland, Wednesday 3 December 2008 – What’s in a pour? Much more than you’d think, when it comes to the perfect Guinness. This week, New Zealanders will find out who is the Master of the Guinness Pint following the inaugural New Zealand Guinness Pint Master competition, taking place this Thursday in Auckland.

Ten finalists from five pubs across New Zealand will compete for the Pint Master title and the prize of a trip for two to Dublin to tour the Guinness brewery. Competition rounds have been taking place in pubs nationwide since September, with more than 14,000 votes collected from Kiwi Guinness drinkers. 

Philip Doyle, country manager for Diageo, says it’s important to highlight the skills involved in pouring a pint to ensure New Zealanders are getting the best quality Guinness for their money.

“It may seem a simple task to pour a Guinness,” he says, “but there is a real art to serving the perfect pint. We’ll be judging contestants on more than 20 separate criteria for the Perfect Pint section – this doesn’t take into account all the things a pub must do correctly behind the scenes to ensure optimum serving conditions.

“A bad pour can affect not only the taste but the whole drinking experience – we believe New Zealanders deserve to enjoy the great taste of Guinness that comes with a well-poured pint. We hope the Pint Master competition will encourage bartenders to strive for perfection and consumers to recognise the unique skill involved.”

The finals involve three rounds including the Perfect Pour, the Creative Pour, where contestants must create a badge in the creamy head, and a Guinness Cocktail of their own creation.

The finalists are Mandy Martin and Malcolm Fox from the Clare Inn in Auckland, Dermot Murphy and Finnbar Clabby from D4 in Wellington, husband and wife team Alistair and Liz Hawthorne from Seumus’s in Picton who took out the Upper South competition and Ross Feeney and Jim Griffiths from Pog Mahone’s in Queenstown who won the Lower South final. Rosemarie Cavaney and Robyn Webster from Joxer Daly’s in Wellington are also finalists as the Highest Runners Up.

The judging panel includes Philip Doyle, country manager for Diageo, Richard Chambers, Guinness Brew Master and Andre Rowell, editor of M2 Magazine.  The event will be MCed by Jeremy Corbett.

More than 200 bars and pubs across New Zealand competed for a place in the finals of the Pint Master challenge. 

EVENT INFORMATION

Thursday 4 December

6pm

Atrium Bar

Sky City

Auckland

What makes the Perfect Pint?

·         A clean Guinness glass with no bubbles sticking to the inside.

·         An initial 450  pour and time allowed for it to settle.

·         Finished with a beautiful, creamy Guinness head.

·         The perfect presentation to you with no spillage.

·         That rich, distinctive velvety taste of Guinness.

·         Great service – friendly, knowledgeable, a craftsperson

Ends

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