What makes the perfect pint?

‘Always order your Guinness first in the round,’ Aaron begins ‘when you get it, let it settle before your first sip – half the pleasure is in the patience.’ He’s pouring a pint at Homeboy, his bar in Nine Elms where he and his business partner Ciarán Smith serve some of the best Guinness in London. These words of wisdom were first bestowed on him by his father Liam Wall. ‘If you drink it in less than three sips, you’re a pig. If you drink it in more than seven, you don’t deserve it and if you take so long to drink it the head goes yellow, then we’ll take it off you.’ This is how a well-served pint of Guinness makes people feel. More-so than any other beer, it carries a sentimental connection. 

The well-served part is important, because not all pints are created equal.  Even if you’re not a regular drinker of the black stuff yourself, you will have heard the faithful discussing the merits of one pubs pints over another.