Two parts to perfection
> Four bartenders made the perfect pour and won a trip to the home of Guinness in Dublin, Ireland
LAST week, Guinness crowned four winning bartenders competing in its Perfect Pour grand finale at The Square, Publika. The top four were chosen from eight finalists representing four regions – Central, North, South, and East Malaysia.
Henry Lai from Souliquid, Puchong (Central), Kenny Loo from 12 Senses, Penang (North), Alwin Goh from Monte Cafe, Malacca (South), and Julio Joachim from Souled Out, Kota Kinabalu (East Malaysia), each poured a pint Arthur Guinness would be proud of.
For their skill, they won an allexpense-paid trip to the home of Guinness in Dublin, Ireland.
Pouring the perfect glass of Guinness is not rocket science, but it does require certain skills to achieve its iconic velvety taste and frothy head.
More than 100 bartenders were guided in the proper way of pouring a pint of Guinness by trainers from Heineken Malaysia Star Academy over the past month before the eight finalists were shortlisted.
Together with Guinness Malaysia, the academy travelled the country in a well-equipped Guinness bar-in-a-bus to demonstrate to bartenders and consumers the best way to pour the black beer.
Guinness senior brand manager Julie Kuan explained: “The perfect pour is a two-part technique that gives the iconic Guinness its thick creamy head of frothy foam.
“From the tilt of the glass, to the surge and the settle, every detail plays a role in achieving the perfect pint that our consumers love and deserve.
“Through this campaign, we have not only trained bartenders across the country to master the two-part pour method, but also our fans who had the hands-on opportunity to learn the art via the fully-equipped Guinness barin-a-bus.”
Undercover experts were deployed by Guinness Malaysia to make sure the art and skills involved in the perfect pour were met by the finalists.
Consumers also had a hand in swaying the results, as they got to rate bartenders on a special coaster provided at participating outlets.
As a reward, two lucky consumers were chosen in a draw to join the four winners in Dublin, where they will get to experience an exclusive tour of the birthplace of Guinness.
While the winners celebrated their success, fans were treated to mini-tutorials on executing the two-part pour by last year’s winner Ong Poh Wee, and learnt about what goes into crafting the unmistakable blend of Guinness.
Three guests even nabbed exclusive giveaways when they tested their recently-acquired skill of pouring Guinness draught.
Central winner Lai, 30, who has been in the food and beverage industry for three years, is actually an operations manager at Souliquid, where his main job is to train other staff.
“I have to know the product first before I can train people, so that’s why I’m here,” said Lai adding that he loves sharing knowledge with consumers, such as the interesting fact about the smooth stout’s hue.
“It looks like its black or dark but in fact, it’s dark ruby red. I believe drinking is not just to taste, it’s also the overall experience … I don’t mind sharing stories and knowledge.”
Penang lad Loo, 26, has a whopping eight years of bartending under his belt, and says quality control is also important when it comes to the perfect pour due to the beer’s sensitive nature.
He said: “Any dirt on the glasses will affect the beer, so we always check our glasses [and] wash it properly. Like for Guinness, we need to air dry the glasses … so you need patience to do everything in detail.”
Kota Kinabalu-based 29-yearold Joachim is looking forward to experiencing how Guinness is produced in Dublin. He credits being consistent with his skills at Souled Out as key to his win.
“I think it’s consistency because I’m used to pouring a lot of stout in my outlet. I sell a lot of Guinness in my outlet,” he said with a laugh.
For Goh from Malacca, bartending is not only a passion but a job the 28-year-old takes seriously. Even with five years of experience as a bartender, he was still surprised to find himself a finalist, let alone a winner.
“I really didn’t know [if] I was going to win or even [be one of] the finalists … [but] I’m really excited to go and taste the Guinness there.
“Even my friends tell me that the beer outside our country is [different] from here. So, I was like, okay. I don’t even have [a] passport!”
For more, visit the Guinness Malaysia Facebook page.