I visited 400 pubs to find the best Guinness – some of the worst are in Scotland

A GUINNESS-guzzling girl has trekked to over 400 pubs across Europe in the search of the best of the black stuff.

Sarah Love, from Glasgow, has spent the last four years travelling 10,000 miles visiting 12 different countries.

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As well as pubs in the UK and Ireland, the 38-year-old has been to Denmark, Sweden, France, Belgium, Germany, Slovakia, Slovenia, Austria, Croatia and Hungary.

She plans to go to Finland and Estonia next.

According to Sarah, the saying rings true that ‘Guinness doesn’t travel well’.

She said some of the worst pints she found were miles away from the black drink’s home of Ireland.

Starting her journey in 2020 Sarah set out to find Europe’s best Guinness.

Her family from Ireland and Northern Ireland introduced her to the black stuff.

In Sarah’s top five worst pints list, The Goblin Pub in Bratislava, Slovakia was number one.

The Ackhorn in York and the DFDS Princess Seaways Ferry to Amsterdam from Newcastle also made the worst list.

And two Scottish pubs failed to impress Sarah with their pints of Guinness.

McNeills in Glasgow and Black Rose Tavern in Edinburgh made the bottom five.

She revealed the best pint of Guinness she had was served in The Railway Bar in Bundoran, Ireland.

The Brazen Head in Glasgow made Sarah’s top five list.

Spending over £2,000 on her love of Guinness, Sarah, has been reviewing each pint out of ten in an effort to find the best of the best.

To challenge herself further, she has done all of the travelling without taking one flight.

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Making use of trains, boats and cars to get her from pub a to pub, makes her journey much more of an adventure.

Sarah told Luxury Travel Daily: “I love Guinness because I love the flavour and I find it really easy to drink.

“I’m not your typical girly girl, not big on cocktails or any of that stuff, beer all day for me.

“I wanted to see if I could find any pints that were as good as an Irish pint, outside of Ireland.

“I love seeing local pubs that aren’t always well known.

“I always have done and I love meeting and having a chat with locals too which always seems to happen when people see a girl drinking Guinness.

“Not just in the UK either, this seems to be a universal thing.

“I also want to find the best pints and pubs across the countries I visit to give recommendations, I get about 50 requests a day, if not more.

Sarah’s top five list of best pints is as follows:
1: The Railway Bar – Bundoran, Ireland
2: Bittles Bar – Belfast, Northern Ireland
3: The Garrick – Belfast, Northern Ireland
4: The Brazen Head – Glasgow, Scotland
5: Mulligans – Manchester, England

Sarah’s top five list of worst pints is as follows:
1: The Goblin Pub – Bratislava, Slovakia (actually vomited after taking a mouthful)
2: The Ackhorn – York, England (this also made me full on gag)
3: DFDS Princess Seaways Ferry to Amsterdam from Newcastle
4: McNeills – Glasgow, Scotland
5: Black Rose Tavern – Edinburgh, Scotland

“I ask people who follow me where they want me to visit too and I often take trips there.

“The perfect pint, the taste should have hints of coffee and chocolate and should have a creamy aftertaste.

“The temperature, I don’t like it too cold, I prefer my pints warmer as it gives more flavour.

“Cleanliness, Is the glass clean, are the lines clean, no bitterness, no sour-ness to the pint.

“The pour, is it poured right, this is very important.

“Should be approximately two minutes between starting the first pour, leaving it to settle and then finishing the second pour.

“And poured with the glass at a 45° angle at the start till three quarters full.

“If this isn’t done right then a lot can go wrong.

“The look, does the pint have a nice domed head and no blemishes on the glass?

“Is the head the correct size, not too big.

“The Glassware, is it in a Guinness glass?”