Oh, my Guinness!

COEUR d’ALENE — Crown and Thistle Pub has 14 taps and is coming up on selling its 500th different type of beer since Ben and Jennifer Drake opened it just over three years ago.

But one beer is above the others. It has been since day one. It is, as owner Jennifer says, "The godfather of beers."

Nothing, she says, beats a glass of Guinness — that is, if it's correctly poured.

And she guarantees that at Crown and Thistle, it will be.

"It has been one of the best, most surprising things of my time at the pub, when Irishmen will come in and they’ll watch us pour and they’ll say, 'That’s the first time I’ve seen a Guinness poured correctly in the United States. Thank you.'"

"It just makes me feel so good that we’re taking the time and the effort to do it well because we love Guinness," Jennifer said. "We’ve been Guinness drinkers for 20 years. You can always tell when somebody is actually making the extra effort to do it properly."

People have been drinking it much longer.

According to Guinness, the Irish dry stout was founded in a brewery owned by Arthur Guinness in Dublin, Ireland, in 1759.

More than 10 million glasses of Guinness stout are consumed daily around the world, and 1.8 billion pints are sold every year, according to Guinness.

Crown and Thistle is doing its part.

In the past year, it has sold about 13,200 pints of Guinness. Some weeks, the pub goes through four or five kegs of it.

More than 100 Idaho bars sell Guinness, but the Drakes said they were told that, in the past year, they've sold more than any of them.

"We take our Guinness beer seriously and we have since day one," Ben said.

The pub at 107 N. Fourth St. is cozy, quaint, with original brick walls and wood floors.

If it's atmosphere you want, Crown and Thistle has it.

"You can change the food, the staff, the beer, but you have to get the atmosphere right from the get-go," Jennifer said. "That's the most important thing to me about a pub, having that pub-like atmosphere."

Customers prove her point.

A couple pub patrons sit in one of the small booths. A man stands at the bar chatting with the bartender. A large, talkative group is gathered around a table. A family sits by the front window.

"That sort of community thing is incredibly important to me," Jennifer said.

Jennifer, who designed the pub, said the name is a tribute to her favorite city and country — Crown for London and Thistle for Scotland. Most of the decorations are items she collected over the years.

The bar is the centerpiece.

"Every well-respected pub has a beautiful bar back," Jennifer said.

While they sell other Irish beers like Kilkenny, Harp and Smithwicks, Guinness is the golden boy.

Crown and Thistle has a special tap handle and tank for Guinness and the owners pay attention to serving it right.

"It’s one of the first things we teach of anybody who works here," Ben said.

Jennifer demonstrates. Tilt the glass under tap, pour to about three-fourths full, let it settle a minute or so, then push the tap back, not forward, fill to the top and let it settle again.

"The pour is incredibly important," Jennifer said. "I will not tolerate a poorly poured Guinness."

If you haven't tried Guinness, the Drakes say you're missing out.

"As long as you're 21 or older, what are you waiting for," Jennifer said. "You will not be disappointed. It is truly like the godfather of beer."

By the way, Guinness from the tap is best.

"If it’s an emergency, you can drink it out of a can or a bottle," Jennifer said, laughing.

The Drakes opened Crown and Thistle because they wanted a place to hang out and enjoy a beer with friends.

Which is what they do.

You can often find them there, working right alongside employees one minute, talking to customers the next, and sitting down for a Guinness before the night is over.

"Even after being here three and a half years, I still want to be here every day and have a pint," Ben said.

Jennifer adds, "Pubs aren’t just drinking establishments. They're community centers."

That just happen to sell Guinness. Lots and lots of Guinness.