Erin go whaaaaaa?
That about sums up the reaction that greeted Vancouver’s Railtown Cafe, when it released a picture of a badly-poured Guinness to hype up a St. Patrick’s Day event.
The photo, which shows foam pouring over the side of a glass of the Irish stout, was roundly mocked by news outlets in Ireland when it hit social media.
The Irish Independent called it “sacrilegious“; The Daily Edge, an Irish website, said, “That’s the kind of pint that gives Guinness abroad a bad name.”
Railtown Cafe owner Dan Olson was alerted to the international outcry on Tuesday morning, when he woke up to find about 90 messages on his phone.
“There’s actually a couple of comments that said, ‘Jesus wept when he saw our Guinness pint pour,'” Olson told Global News.
“It caught the country on fire, it caught Ireland on fire and it kind of exploded from there.”
Guinness brewmaster Fergal Murray outlined a six-step process for pouring the perfect pint in a 2007 article for Esquire.
First you take a clean glass. Then you hold it under the tap at a 45-degree angle. The tap can’t be touching the glass.
You fill the pint three-quarters of the way, then you let the head settle. Once done, you fill it to the top and let the head settle like a dome at the glass’ summit — not pouring over the side, like the Railtown Cafe did.
READ MORE: Whatever you do, don’t commit these St. Patrick’s Day faux pas
For his part, Olson has taken steps to make things right with the Irish.
He offered a free pint of Guinness to any Irish people who could present him with a passport on St. Patrick’s Day.
The cafe even posted a new photo of a better-poured Guinness on its Facebook page.
And the gesture seems to have paid off.
“After we did our apology, we’ve received thousands of comments back saying Ireland forgives you,” Olson said.