A Lovely Day For A Guinness!

A while back, I was talking to a friend of mine over a pint of the black stuff. He mentioned that Guinness was made with rat protein, thus making it high in anti-oxidants. Now, I assumed he came up with this because he had heard a song called Good Rats by the band Dropkick Murphys. He assured me that he had never heard it before and that he had learned about the rat protein from his father. So, I went online to check it out, but I couldn't find any verification on the myth. Has anyone else heard of this?

With rat protein or not, it's ALWAYS a lovely day for a Guinness!

For those interested here is

"A Guide For The Un-Initated To Buying Guinness In An Irish Pub" by Alan Clinton

1 Choose your pub carefully. A pint of Guinness does not appreciate loud music, loud people or bright flashing lights.

2 Ask politely for a pint of Guinness. Depending on the pub, it is possible to catch the barmans eye and mouth the word "pint", he will translate this accurately.

3 The barman will fill the glass between 70% and 80% capacity. It will then be put to the side for a few moments to allow it "to settle". Once the brownish liquid has almost turned to a solid black the barman will then fill the rest of the glass. NB: do not under any circumstances take the glass before it is filled. Some virgins seem to think that the settling stage is the final stage and walk away with an unfinished pint. At this point we Irish DO understand the predicament, but I assure you it causes endless mirth as well.

4 Once you have received your pint, find a comfortable stool or seat, gaze with awe into the deep blackness, raise the pint to your mouth and take a large mouthful. Be firm.

5 A good pint can distinguished by a number of methods. A smooth, slightly off- white head is one, another is the residue left on the inside of the glass. These, surpise surprise, are known as rings. As long as they are there you know your're okay. A science of rings is developing - the instance that comes to mind is determining a persons nationality by the number of rings (a ring is dependent on a swig of Guinness each swig leaving it's own ring). An Irishman will have in the region of 5-6 rings (we pace ourselves), an Englishman will have 8-10 rings, an American will have 17-20 (they sip) and an Australian won't have any at all as they tend to knock it back in one go!

6 As you near the end of your pint, it is the custom to order another one. It is a well known fact that a bird does not fly on one wing.

Also, here are the lyrics to Good Rats by Dropkick Murphys

Have you ever stopped to think about what rats do for run? Sure they crawl around and scurry, yeah they're always on the run but a rat sure likes a good time just like you and me I'll prove it with a tale about a rat-infested brewery.

It started with a little lad named vermin McCann who fell upon a drink that made him feel like quite a man he rounded up his furry boys, though some wore a frown they quickly changed their tune and they slammed a couple down.

Chorus:One, two, one-two-three-four! Come on all you good rats we'll send you to heaven you'll find the pearly gates in the froth and the foam 'cause in these vats you've made quite a creation a potion that turned the Guinness to gold!

Like mice behind a piper, rats from all around soon headed for this factory in old Dublin Town. They surely heard the news about this fancy new rat-brew they come, they saw, they had a taste and knocked back a few.

The rats wre in a tizzy addicted to the bone the hairy lugs wer giddy they were never going home like a bunch of drunken pirates prepared to walk the plank they drank, they sang, they took a plunge and in the beer they sank!