I went to Dublin to find out if Guinness really does taste better in Ireland

Ask any Irish person and they will swear blind that Guinness tastes better in Ireland.

Call it delusional patriotism, or trust their local knowledge, no Irish expat is battering down the doors of London pubs to get the secret to their pours when they could get something better in Dublin.

There's even some science behind it (apparently).

In 2011, scientists at the Institute of Food Technologists carried out a taste survey in 33 cities in 14 countries. The majority of their testers said they enjoyed the pints of the black stuff better in Ireland than any other country.

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It could be because it is fresher, bartenders know how to pour it properly or the psychological association when you are in Ireland creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Experts have had their say on it. Colm O’Connor, beer specialist at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, told LadBible:

"We roast the barley on site, and it’s all sourced from within 80 miles of the brewery. They’re all Irish. "There’s also the draw or the flow as we call it - the lines are all cleaned once a month because we sell so much of it and the team who look after the pub supply here is so massive. So it’s super well looked after".

I could take Colm's word for it, or the scientists who invested in finding out this huge life question.

But to find out if Guinness really does taste better in the Emerald Isle, there is one thing I have to do. Go to Ireland, obviously. I mean what else was it going to be?

And so, one flight and a short walk to the home of Guinness itself - the Guinness Storehouse, Dublin's famous brewery - I have a pint of the black stuff in my hand. I put it to my lips, take a swig, swallow, and experience... nothing out of the ordinary. It tastes like the Guinness I've had in London pubs since I performatively 'Got Into Guinness' in the last year. It's nice, but... meh.

Emma Smith

The dream is over. It tastes the same. It seems that from my sample size of one, Guinness is Guinness, whether it is London Guinness or Londonderry Guinness.

Or is it?

Putting my disappointment at the lack of sensory overload that came from glugging the Guinness in the Storehouse to one side, I still like the drink and so resign myself to accepting it as what it is. And I'm in Dublin now, so what else am I going to do but continue to drink Guinness?

And so I go next to a random pub called Gin Palace to escape from Dublin's other huge attraction - rain.

With a name like the Gin Palace, I have no expectation that the Guinness I swig here will be the one that changes my life forever and yet...

As I try and fail to split the G (a drinking game in which players attempt to get the top line of the drink between the G on their Guinness glass in one swig) something curious happens. I notice a sweeter taste. A lighter texture. Reader, it is delicious.

This is the Guinness that tastes better in Ireland. London could never compare in a million years.

So maybe it is true that Guinness really does taste better in Ireland.

Or maybe I've had one too many - you be the judge.

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