Guinness Week Part IV: Molly's Shebeen

At St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin, barley, hops, yeast, and water are brewed together to make Guinness. This Sunday, over 13 million pints will be consumed, and as St. Patrick's Day approaches, we thought we'd devote the entire week to the beautiful elixir. So tag along as we uncover five of our favorite places to get a perfect pour.

The appreciation for Guinness reaches all corners of the globe, but it's important to note the regional differences that exist in the beverage. Irish Guinness is brewed to 6% alcohol by volume and remains unpasteurized. In the states, the two most significant differences are 1) It's lower in alcohol and 2) It's pasteurized. To allow for export, Guinness sold to North America is brewed to 3.5% and then pasteurized to ensure stability on the arduos journey across the Atlantic.

After the malted beverage arrives, it falls into the hands (and glasses) of some of the city's finest bars, pubs, and watering holes. At these locales, glassware, the pour (always in two runs), storage temperature, and the cleanliness of tap lines all play a role in what ends up in your glass. After Friday, we will have only scratched the surface, but if you happen to make it to any of our favorites Sunday or anytime after, your pour will be in good hands.

The Honduran mahogany and wood-burning fireplace inside Molly's are both original. They've been there since day one, which was sometime in 1895, when the space first opened as a function bar. Prohibition turned the original bar into a grocery, but after the 21st Amendment was ratified in 1933, booze was once again up for sale. The space took on the Molly's moniker in 1964, when the Purfield family bought it and named it Molly's Malone. Peter O'Connell took over in '91 and changed the name to Molly's Shebeen and he's been running it ever since.

Dusty floors, low, wavy ceilings, and the century-old fireplace lend their charm, but it's the perfect pint at Molly's that does us in. After the first run, the three-quarters-full glass is left on the bar until it seems like it's been forgotten about. Only then does the draught publican finish what he started. Like Pete's in Brooklyn, Molly's uses nonic glasses, but theirs are 20 ounces. A pint ($8) at Molly's has been the most expensive so far this week, but few pubs have the old charm to match the rich history of the black lager.

Molly's Shebeen | 287 Third Avenue, Manhattan | 212-889-3361 | www | map

Part III - Pete's Ale House

Part II - Swift Hibernian Lounge

Part I - An Beal Bocht Cafe