Editor's note: This story was first published in March 2017.
APPLETON - A lot of drinking establishments brand themselves as Irish pubs.
Some in old brick buildings, others inrented units ina strip mall. Some will be hot spots to watch March Madness games, others not so much.
Some will have green beer this weekend, others just old reliable thick and frothy Guinness.
The arrival of St. Patrick's Day on Friday got us thinking: What, exactly, makes for an authentic Irish pub?
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To find out, we went as close as the Fox Cities gets to Dublin. Eric Buss and Peter Brennan have been pouring pints atMcGuinness Irish Pub,201 S. Walnut St., in Appleton for years. Opened just under a decade ago by John McGuinness, Buss now co-owns the place with Chris Meyer, McGuinness' son-in-law, and Matt Miller. And Brennan has been a bartender at the pub for about five and a half years. A few years before that, he moved to Wisconsin from his hometown of Carlow, Ireland.
"There area lot of things that people thinkof when they hear 'Irish pub,'" said Buss, who lives in Sherwood and has worked at McGuinness since its opening. "There's dark beer, Guinness, old guys with funny hats. There are a lot of things that come to mind — dark woodwork, stuff like that. I think it's a little deeper than that, to really consider yourself a pub.
"The origin of the word pub comes from public house, so it's really a place wherepeople can go and gather as a community. ... A lot of people need something outside of their home to relate to, to talk to people, bounce ideas off. So I think the pub kind of provides that for people. It really becomes an expanded family — its own neighborhood."
Here, then, are five ways, courtesy of the McGuinness crew,to know if that place you've found with the green carpeting and the Guinness sign is truly an Irish pub.
The vibe
It's not something easily obtained and, more than anything else, might be the deal-breaker.
"I think there's a big difference between a bar and a pub,"Brennan said. "A bar is a bar. You go see a sports game at a bar. A pub— at least in Ireland— a pub is a meeting place. It's a place to socialize. It's not a place that gets as raucous as movies and stereotypes would have you believe. Pub is a family environment. Storytelling, singing, laughter. Everything tied between four walls."
In many cases, the pub not only becomes like a community, but it becomes a hub for community activity. In that spirit, Buss said McGuinness is involved in a number of charitable causes throughout the year. It's used as a meeting place for groups, they participate in food drives and they've worked with the Community Benefit Tree, Canine Cupids and a handful of other organizations over the years.
There's also an amount of loyalty tied to a pub.
"There's a corps of regulars that kind of gives the place the heart, you know?" Buss said.
"Soul," Brennan added. "The soul of the pub."
The drinks
Buss said the first tell of whether or not a place is doing it right is the Guinness pour. If the bartender grabs a 16-ounce glass, fills it from the tap and hands it to you, chances are you're not at a pub that's up on the tradition.
"In Ireland, everything has a story. There's a method for everything," Buss said. "They say it takes 119 and a half seconds (to serve a proper Guinness). ... If it's not done right, they'll read you the riot act."
The proper technique apparently involves a 20-ounce glass, the tap stream hitting the glass at a 45-degree angle and, when about two-thirds filled, a few moments to let the beer settle and the color to change from brown to almost black. The second trip to the tap then finishes it off, complete with a thin layer of foam that stands above the rim.
"Once you've had the perfect pour, you get it," said Buss, who keeps a framed certificate of his Guinness "perfect pour" training behind the bar. "It tastes better. It's hard to argue."
Including Guinness— which will be the hot item come St. Patrick's Day— McGuinness has at least eight Irish beers available (zero of whichare green). They also offer more than 100 types of whiskey.
The music
Live music is a big part of the Irish pub. A weekly gathering called a session has roots that go way back, featuring a group of musicians (and regular pub patrons) who come in and join together in a performance of traditional Irish tunes. McGuinness has a session on Tuesday nights and anyone who likes to sing orplay the guitar, fiddle,bodhran oruilleann pipes(or other instruments) can take part.
"Some of the best nights I've had in here were on Tuesday nights when you have the session," Brennan said. "There could be five people at 7:30 and by 9:30 there's 20 and the place is just rocking. Everybody knows their part, knows their bit. It's super impressive, the intricacies of Irishness, of Irish music."
The look
Irish pub aesthetics are one of the easiest traits to co-opt, in a sense. The look of an Irish pub often features a lot of dark wood, likely touches of dark green (whether it's carpet or the walls) and a Guinness mirror here and a Smithwick's sign there. It's also not usually a bright place— low lighting helps set the mood to relaxed.
What's not as easy to replicate, though, is age. Both Buss and Brennan said it takes the passing of decades to give a place the proper feel. It's hard to exactly define, but the history adds a certain quality of nostalgia and life.
"It's comfortable," Buss said. "(It feels) like you're having a beer in your parents' basem*nt."
A feature that an upstart Irish pub might try to replicate is the bric-a-brac wall, often a display behind the bar with different keepsakes and artifacts from bar patrons over the years.
"Anybody starting a Day 1 Irish place tomorrow will fill the place with stuff, but that's a generational thing," Buss said.
"I think in every Irish pub the bric-a-brac wall is less that than a hall of fame," Brennan said. "Some day Johnny back in '64 won a medal for relay and he brought it down to the pub and now it’s stuck to the wall. …. People bring stuff in that they're usually proud of."
A great bric-a-brac wall is like a great reputation. It takes time. You can't just build one in a day.
The tradition
Likeshelves full of decades-old keepsakes, years of tradition— a seemingly endless amount of empty pints and stories shared— can't be manufactured.
Though McGuinness is only approaching its 10-year anniversary (which will be celebrated around Octoberfest), the space once was known asBleier's Bar, run by the father of four-time Super Bowl champ and Appleton legendRockyBleier.
"Having an age to a bar, having it be open for so long, gives it a little soul, or a little atmosphere anyway, having had your tradition for 60-ought years," Brennan said. "The idea that we can continue that into the next generation I think is important."
When the pub opened as McGuinness, it was owned and operated by Ireland natives John and Anna McGuinness. Though they handed off to the next generation, they still run Mystic Ireland, an imported Irish goods store next door, so they're not far away.
Buss stressed the idea that the point isn't just to lean on the past. An Irish pub is also making new memories every day and the stories of today hopefully will be told throughoutthe decades ahead.
"(A good Irish pub is one)that was your father's pub and your grandfather's pub and there was a lot of history to that," Brennan said. "The stories that were never told to you were told in these bars. … There'sa little magic to it."
Shane Nyman: 920-996-7223, snyman@postcrescent.com or on Twitter @shanenyman
