WHY THE FIFTH POURS THE BEST GUINNESS
The Fifth Province prides itself on its Guinness. After all, we sell around 250,000 pints every year – making us the biggest retailer of Guinness in all of Victoria. And all that practice makes perfect.
What makes a great pint of Guinness
What makes The Fifth’s Guinness so good
Is Guinness brewed in Australia?
Why the Harp logo?
What colour is Guinness?
Why was there a Toucan on the Guinness logo?
Is Guinness the same as Guinness Book Of World Records?
Nicknames for Guinness
What is ‘Splitting the G’?
What makes a great pint of Guinness
It all starts with the two-part pour to ensure that the pint has a well-formed meniscus; that’s the dome-shaped head that passes the tilt test.
Guinness was traditionally poured in two parts because it was tapped from two different casks. One cask had low carbonation – a flat cask – and the other, a high carbonation cask which would pour a thick rich head atop the beer.
These days the two-part pour is a quality control process. It involves pulling the beer handle forward, filling a clean, dry glass at a 45-degree angle to the Harp logo until the glass is three-quarters the way full. Guinness recommends leaving the beer to settle 119.5 seconds and then topping it off by pushing the tap forward to create its signature, creamy, dense head, earning it the nickname “a blonde in a black dress” or a “bishop’s collar” — but more on nicknames below.
While many naysayers reckon with modern nitrogen taps and technology the same effect can be achieved with a single smooth poor, we prefer to do things the traditional way. Each Guinness is left to settle, the way it always has been, before being topped off and brought to you.
What makes The Fifth’s Guinness so good
At the core of our Guinness excellence is our proprietary system, developed in-house. This isn’t just about having the right taps — it’s a fully considered approach that looks at everything: custom tap design, precise gas ratios and tightly controlled keg room temperatures. Even elements often overlooked, like glasswasher chemicals and rinse temperatures are dialled in to ensure nothing interferes with the beer’s flavour or presentation.
The cellar itself plays a huge role. With the capacity to hold up to 72 kegs of Guinness cold, the system is built for consistency. High turnover meets stable conditions, meaning every keg is kept in optimal shape and every pint poured reflects that.
Then there’s the glass. The Fifth Province has developed its own bespoke Guinness glassware, designed to mirror the traditional stout pint glasses you’d find in the great pubs of Dublin and across Ireland. It’s not just aesthetic — the shape supports the pour, the settle, and the head retention, all contributing to that unmistakable final pint.
Put simply, it’s a combination of technical precision and respect for tradition — ensuring every Guinness served is as close as possible to what you’d expect in the best pubs back home.
Is Guinness brewed in Australia?
Guinness kegs were imported into Australia until the early 2000s, however now it’s brewed on licence by Lion. Local production mostly takes place in South Australia and Queensland. The 440mL cans were imported into Australia up until around 2024 but are now also brewed on license. It is still possible to get imported bottles and cans at some retailers.
Why the Harp logo?
Guinness started its journey out of Ireland and across the globe in the 18th century and the brand sought a symbol intrinsically Irish. At the time Ireland was known for its rich culture and music and the harp was an emblem of this heritage. The Guinness Harp is based on the Brian Boru Harp, one of the finest surviving examples of the Gaelic harp or cláirseach from the 14th century. A similar harp (facing the opposite direction due to copyright) is Ireland’s national emblem, and appears on bureaucratic items and currency.
What colour is Guinness?
You might just see Guiness as black (it’s called the black stuff for a reason) but it’s actually a very dark ruby-red, and that’s the word straight from Guinness head office in St. James Gate, Dublin.
Why was there a Toucan on the Guinness logo?
The iconic Guinness Toucan was originally part of a zoo-themed advertising campaign in the 1930s by ad creative John Gilroy. While there were many successful campaigns at the time relating to Guinness’ restorative or strengthening ability (the messaging from which still persists today), Gilroy was tasked with creating a campaign that crossed markets. Genius struck and Gilroy designed a series of posters featuring Guinness and zoo animals. The first of these was launched in May 1935 with a poster showing a cheeky sealion escaping its keeper with a glass of Guinness perched on its nose. The posters were accompanied by iconic catchphrases like “My Goodness, My Guinness” and “It’s a Lovely Day for a Guinness” with a menagerie of animals featured on the designs, from sealions to turtles and ostriches. The Toucan debuted in 1935 and was so successful it graced two more sets of campaigns and still persists on advertising today.
Is Guinness the same as Guinness Book Of World Records?
The short answer is yes, the Guinness Book Of World Records was originally invented by higher-ups at the brand’s headquarters in London after an argument while hunting. However this has now spun off into its own entity, indexing a large number of world records.
Nicknames for Guinness
They say the Inuit have hundreds of terms for the word snow – and we reckon the Irish are creeping up there with nicknames for Guinness. Some of the most common include:
The black stuff
A pint of plain, stout or porter (even though Guinness is actually a stout)
Irish Champagne
Blonde in a black dress
Bishop’s collar
Black Custard/Nectar
Vitamin G
Mother’s Milk
Creamer
What is ‘Splitting the G’?
Splitting the G is a recent trend made popular by social media, however has always been part of drinking lore in Ireland. A pint of Guinness, similar to a martini, is allegedly best enjoyed in three mouthfuls (that’s three rather large gulps for a Guinness, mind you). A third of the glass is roughly to the middle of the G on the Guinness logo on the glass. Trends and traditions aside, The Fifth recommends enjoying your Guinness responsibility.
Ready to sample just how good The Fifth’s Guinness is? Reserve your table here.