Do women drink pints in Irish pubs ?
 

Yet another pub question: We're a week and a half from leaving for our trip to Ireland and I was wondering if women in Ireland drink pints of Guiness in the pubs? I remember in England that the women mostly ordered half-pints. How about pints of types of beer other than Guiness (e.g. not a stout)? Does it matter?

Women order exactly what they want (as they do in England). If someone orders a 1/2 pint it's because they don't want a full pint . . . . .

It's not unusual in a pub in England or Ireland to see Women drinking pints.

The only place people may look twice is in snooty / posh bars - here they might not even serve pints!

Excellent!

As you may have guessed, I am a beer drinker and I can't wait to taste the difference between the American Guiness and the Irish Guiness. I figured I'll "taste test" my way around Ireland. (And yes, we are staying at B&Bs that are in the middle of whatever town we are in.)

What are some of the other interesting local beers to try?

Well, funny you ask, because two of my good friends are Brits who moved here to Naples, Florida some 15 or so years ago and opened the "English Pub". I've never seen Viv there without a pint in her hand. So when we spend a week together in London, I was shocked to see her order a half. She explained it's how she was raised. In London, her mother would have killed her if she ever ordered a pint -- real ladies don't do such a thing! So it sticks with her today. In the US, it's a pint every time, but never in a London pub.

Try Smithwick's (pronounced 'Smiddick's) and Murphy's. But, it's hard to beat that dark, creamy Guinness, in my opinion.

For a nice change from beer - order a pint of Bulmers!

Definitely go for the Pint. We are now in the process of planning our 4th trip to Ireland and can't wait. And, there is definitely a difference between Guiness in the US and in Ireland, well worth the trip.

Well, If I order a lager or beer here in the US I order 24oz but then I was never shy to order a pint in the UK.

But then I'm hardly a shrinking violet and since I hung around with a bunch of 'Punks' in the late 70's I suppose old habits die hard!

Smithwick's is really smooth, and though of course we had our share of Guinness, by the end of our three week trip, we had grown most fond of "Smit-ick's" (the Irish don't pronounce the "h," hence the change in sound).

Someone in a pub suggested this excellent alternative -- and yes, in most cases, I (female) did order a pint.

Slainte!

Hmmm...I'd say the correct pronunciation of Smithwicks is neither Smiddicks nor Smiticks, but Smithicks. But maybe that's because I'm a Dub.

Kilkenny beer is also worth trying.

FannyMc

That's how we say it "Smith..icks"

works in the UK, Ireland and the US - especially Boston :-)

I can remember a barman refusing to serve me a pint when I was younger because 'we don't let women drink pints in here!' but I don't think it has been an issue for donkeys years. Drink what you like.

When I worked in a bar 20 years ago, the only women ordering pints would be students.

For non-students, the popular drinks would be 1/2 a lager and black, or a 1/2 lager and lime, and they would knock them back so quick, they'd be at the bar constantly, I used to think buy a pint for gods sake.

Thinking back, it seems the tastes have changed as the other popular drinks were things like Pernod & Black, Cinzano & Lemonade, vodka & orange(orange cordial).

Nowadays, even the Soaps such as Coronation Street are showing the women drinking pints although it hasn't caught on in Eastenders as the women always seem to drink wine or spirits.

As other people have said, if you want a pint order a pint, especially Guinness, as it takes forever to pour

Geordie

Patrick, times change. I think your friend has been away from the UK for too long. A pint for a lady in a London pub is no way the shocker it may have been to my mother's generation.

I wouldn't dream of ordering halves here in the UK or in Ireland - you have to make too many trips to the bar.

I have been known to have the few pints and still order them as a fall back from my poorer days. It was cheaper to get pinmts than halves :-).

By no means is it shocking anymore. even in the snooty bars of Dublin men and women order oints. Not a big deal.

Also Celtic is right try bulmers if you are not a big beer drinker! Its Irish cider and sweeter. Its called Magners outside of Ireland.

Yes its true, many women are ordering pints these days, it seems to be the under 30's generally as Mrs Muck (43 but looks under 30) ;-) would not dream of ordering a pint. Not least because her little hands would have difficulty holding the glass for any length of time. Although I am sure she is capable of drinking one.
Half pint is more the norm in many pubs although no one will care too much.

Enjoy

Muck

Mucky, it's not that common in pubs down my neck of the woods any more. Perhaps for the over 50s.

Nor anywhere I've lived - and I've been drinking pints for 35 years ! (Obviously I started as an infant :-) )

One funny thing that did happen to me, though, in Sheffield about 22 years ago, was that the very elderly landlady in an old men's pub fearfully asked me if I'd like my pint in 2 half pint glasses :-)

"Authentic" Irish pubs in the US have taught their bar staff to pronounce it Smiddick's. This makes them sound "more Irish". That comes from the idea that many Irish pronounce "th" as "d" or "t". Only once did I pronounce it Smiddicks in Ireland and the bartender sternly corrected me. I'm guessing he may have thought I was poking at Irish pronunciation. Pronounce it Smithicks.

If you are in Co. Clare, try some beer from Biddy Early from the little village of Inagh. There is now a Kinsale microbrewery and in Dublin try the Porterhouse and McGuires. I didn't have a chance to try the D'arcy Stout from the brewery in Smithfield. They make a number of other beers too.

Bill

Muck, half pints are definately not the norm even for over thirties such as myself :-) I am a bit over thirty and do drink pints, shorts wine etc depending on the mood. On a nice summers day outside I will have a pint of Cider.

My aunties in their seventies don't drink pint, beer etc as women did not drink in pubs in their day. Tourists always seem to drink glasses of beer when I am in the West of Ireland and my pal just cant drink much and takes a glass at a time.

You will not be looked at twice with a pint in Ireland.

Cheers!

Also I guess it depends where you are drinking. Quiet country pub....Half pint.
Busy City centre pub... Pint
Busy City centre club...bottles, look out for the drink spikers !!
either way pints are fine if you want them
Muck

"Its called Magners outside of Ireland."

SiobhanP - explain where that happens, please? I became a Bulmers addict in Dublin in 2003 and on returning to the states don't see it very often -but I've never seen Magners. My dad owns a liquor store in MA and can order me Bulmers by the case - I wonder if he can get Magners too?

And I can say I only saw half pints in Venice at the Irish pub, but I only remember pints in Ireland!

I have seen it as Magners in Scotland and Paris with the same label just different name. I asked the bartender in paris and they said something about the name outside Ireland had to be changed for legal reasons???? Maybe it was a copyright prob with the name and its fine in the U.S. STill its exactly the same and when I forgot to ask for Magners last time the barman was irish and knew what it was when I asled for Bulmers anyway. Enjoy the bulmers!

Thanks to everyone!

Even though I'm over 50, I'll definitely be going for the pints. And being more of a lager person who occasionally enjoys a stout, the other beer recommendations were very helpful. I live near Philly and we have some Irish bars here as well. I just usually order a Harp and let it go at that. I'll have to briefly check something else out before we leave. I think I've seen Murphy's ???

(We'll not be in Dublin –no big urban cities – we're driving around the West and Southwest areas and flying in and out of Shannon.)

Hi Ceezee,

I am a wine drinker from Ireland but let me tell you a story!!

A very good friend of my Mum's, who is 93 and as bright as a button, was called to her doctor's practice when she was 80 years old.

They had new doctors and wanted to give all their over 60's a medical.

She arrived and saw a nurse who asked her about diet, smoking and alcohol.

When they came to the alcohol Q it went like this:

Nurse: How much alcohol do you drink in a week?

Olivia: Well, I still take my bottle of Guiness every day as was prescribed by Dr Duggan.

Nurse: You drink a bottle of Guiness every day, don't you realise that this could be doing you harm?

Olivia: When I had my last child back in 1942 I lost a lot of blood and Dr Duggan (the Dr at the time) said I should drink a bottle of Guiness a day to replace it.

Nurse: Did you not think of stopping this when you felt better?

Olivia: He died before telling me to stop.

Nurse: Do you drink anything else?

Olivia: I like a G&T in the evening and wine, particularly with my Sunday lunch.

At this point the nurse got the new young Doctor.

He went over the story with her again and gave her a leaflet on an alcohol centre run by nun's outside Newry. He also arranged to have blood tests done which were all normal!

She keeps the leaflet and brings it out when people talk about the NHS and in particular when comparing it to 50 years ago.

She is still going strong but has given up the Guiness as it is a bit heavy.

Enjoy your pint!

Travelphile - I'm right in Worcester. To be honest - I've never ordered a Magners around here, but I see ads for it quite often. Where's your Dad's store - I'd love to pick up Bulmers - the real thing! [email protected]

celticdreamer,

have you tried Julio's Liquor store on Route 9 in Westboro? It's a huge place.

I know they sell 'hard cider' but I don't know what makes.

Happy hunting :-)

http://www.juliosliquors.com/beer.htm

Hi Cambee,

The story about your Mother's friend was delightful – thanks for sharing it!

Alya - thanks - ya know, I think I'm actually either related by blood or by marriage somehow to the familty that owns Julios. I haven't been down there in years.

I don't actually drink a lot of cider here, just because the ones I've had give me such a headache because of all the preservatives. So, I consider it a treat when I'm in Ireland or the UK. (Kind of like Schweppes Bitter Lemon - I could order it here, but I like it to be something special when I'm traveling.

Siobhan et al: intrigued by this Bulmers/Magners thing. When I was growing up, one of the main English cidermakers was Bulmers - from Somerset I think (or at least they made out they were). No idea if they are still going or not but I'd assume so. Recently here I've seen adverts for 'Magners Irish Cider'. Maybe they are 2 completely different companies called Bulmers, an English one & an Irish one, so the Irish one has to use a different name in Britain ?

Cambe, LOL, love your story!!! Thanks for sharing. I had a doctor like that also. "In a bit of pain are you?" or "stomach a bit off is it?" or "you seem to be a bit run down it seems"... it did seem no matter what the problem he would recommend a few glasses of ruby port. This was years ago of course.

Time went on and of course the new doctors had a fit about his medical advice. He lived to be about 90...and died as a passenger in an auto accident, not from old age mind you.

There is a hospital that has a plaque in his honor. Everytime I have seen this plaque it makes me smile. Smartest doctor I have ever known. Cheers!!!

celticdreams - its at the other end of the State in Lenoxdale (off the Lee exit on I90), so that's not very convenient for you!

However, since his distributor can get it, ask at whatever store you typically go to and I'm sure they can order it. He does quite a bit of special ordering for people that like things that it doesn't make sense for him to stock.

(For those wondering, liquor stores in MA sell beer and wine as well, that's not true in all states - like in NY where I live)

Travelphile - Never even occurred to me to order some, maybe I'll try it the next time the girls are coming over from Ireland (hmmm - maybe they can just bring it with them....) I'll check out the local 'packy' and see what I can find.

The Bulmers thing:

HP Bulmer Limited was, until a couple of years ago, a totally independent company, based in England's Hereford, making practically nothing but cider. It was, by far, the world's largest real (ie gets you legless instantly) cider maker. And, year after year it won most British "company we'd most like to work for" awards - based partly on the acknowledged fact that Bulmers' products were intimately associated with the loss of 90% of British virginities (Babycham got the other 10).

In 1937, this slightly grand bunch of English squires funded a new cider business set up in Ireland's Clonmel, renaming it Bulmers of Clonmel. As in England, the products helped lubricate the relationships between Ireland's young men and women, though over the years HP Bulmer Limited increasingly diverted its interests into establishing operations in our larger former colonies, and Bulmers of Clonmel for a while became owned by Bulmers' local rival, Showerings (the Babycham people).

The rest is predictable. The Bulmer family lost interest in the British business, brought in non-family managers who lost packets in expansions into the US and Australia, and the company ended up being bought by Scottish and Newcastle Breweries, or whatever damnfool name it might have given itself recently.

Bulmers of Clonmel was passed from hand to hand, and ended up in the C+C company, the Irish mostly soft drinks company who make that ridiculous parody of tonic water the Irish poison their G+Ts with. It's now, BTW, CEO-ed by Maurice Pratt, who not only has the most unfortunate name of any quoted company CEO since Mr Daft ceased being CEO of the Coca Cola Company, but was in the late 1980s the most famous man in Ireland when he fronted his own (dire) ads for Quinnsworth, which was then Ireland's largest grocery chain. Tesco subsequently bought it, and got rid of the ads.

Bulmers of Clonmel have, as many have sussed, launched their distinctive brand of virgins' ruin in the UK as Magners, since HP Bulmer Limited retains the rights to the Bulmer name virtualy everywhere in the world outside the 26 counties.

See what you learn by browsing this site?

yes

PS: Caroline

HP Bulmer never made out they came from Somerset. They were proud to be associated with Hereford, and consistently referred to it.

But Coates (a cider company which subsequently merged with Gaymers and with Whiteways, was bought out by an anonymous brewery chain in the 1960s and formed for a while the nearest thing to opposition Bulmer had in Britain's cider market) had an unforgettable TV jingle ("Coates comes up from Somerset, where the cider (generally pronounced zoider) - apples grow")

I'd always assumed you were too young to remember it.

Well, I see I'm a little bit late with this... I was curious about the whole Bulmers/Magners thing, so I did some googling. If you go to www.bulmers.ie, you’ll find the web site for the Irish entity, and at the bottom of the page you’ll find the Magners logo (essentially identical to the Bulmers logo) and it says “If you are from outside the Republic of Ireland please visit www.magners.ie”.

Whereas, if you go to www.bulmer.com, you’ll find the web site for the U.K. cider-making outfit named Bulmers.

But why google, when you can just wait a few minutes for the knowledgeable Fodorites (like flanneruk) to post?

first of all, you can drink what you like without any fuss or strange looks.

however, talking culturally, no i don't think women generally drink pints. many older women do not due to the idea that a lady just does not do this. Younger women tend not to drink pints or 1/2 pints at all...most are seen drinking wine, smirnoff ice, archers or the like. perhaps lager in a bottle, but lager is more popular with lads.

Pint drinking women need not respond as i know that some do...however, a "pint" (including 1/2 pint varieties) is seen as your dad's drink among young people. the "masses" of british or irish young people (male or female) certainly do not drink stout or other non-lager beer...sad but true.

Interesting cider trail - cider is a popular drink here in Summertime, but don't forget to at least try the Guinness, pint or half pint. In Ireland a half-pint is commonly referred to as a "glass". So, if, for example you ask for "a glass of cider or a glass of Guinness" you will get a half pint.
I am a female Guinness pint drinker, but appreciate that people new to the drink may find it heavy, sour, etc. If you find it sour - some people ask for "a dash of blackcurrant cordial" to sweeten it and, I know some older women who always added a bit of sugar (this is all needlesstosay frowned on by your real Guinness drinker) but might be worth trying if it helps to finish off that pint!