Guinness

Guinness is a famous type of stout beer that started in Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century at the brewery of Arthur Guinness. Today, it is owned by Diageo, a big company that makes alcoholic drinks. Guinness is very popular around the world. It is brewed in almost 50 countries and sold in over 120. In 2011, people drank about 850 million liters of Guinness.

The taste of Guinness comes from malted barley and a special kind of roasted barley added in the mid-20th century. When you pour Guinness from a tap, it has a thick, creamy foam on top because it is mixed with nitrogen and carbon dioxide.

There is a popular tourist spot called the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin. Since it opened in 2000, over 20 million people have visited. The Guinness logo features a harp, which is a symbol of Ireland.

History

Arthur Guinness began making ales in 1759 at the St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin. He signed a very long lease for the brewery on December 31, 1759. Soon after, he started selling a type of beer called porter in 1778. In the 1840s, Guinness began using the word "stout" for some of its beers.

Guinness became very popular. By 1876, they were selling much more beer than before. Even without advertising or lowering prices, Guinness became a public company in 1886 and was valued at a lot of money. The company did not own pubs but was still very successful.

Guinness also cared about its workers. By 1900, they had special programs to help their employees. During World War I, many workers joined the British forces, and Guinness made sure their families were taken care of and jobs waited for them when they returned.

In 1997, Guinness merged with another company called Grand Metropolitan to form Diageo. The brewery in Park Royal London closed in 2005, and all Guinness beer for the UK and Ireland is now made at the St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin.

In 2017, Diageo changed how they made Guinness so that it could be enjoyed by vegetarians and vegans by using a new way to clean the beer that did not use parts from fish.

Composition

Guinness stout is made from water, malted barley, roasted barley, hops, and brewer's yeast. Some of the barley is roasted to give Guinness its dark color and special taste. The beer is pasteurised and filtered.

In the past, Guinness was poured into wooden barrels, but later it switched to using metal kegs. For many years, a substance called isinglass from fish was used to help clear the beer. In 2018, this was stopped so that the drink would be suitable for people who do not eat animal products.

Present day Guinness

Guinness began using nitrogen in 1959, which changed its taste and texture. Nitrogen makes the beer smoother and creamier because it creates very small bubbles compared to regular carbon dioxide. This change was discovered by Michael Ash, a mathematician who became a brewer.

Nitrogen is less likely to make the beer fizzy, even under high pressure. This allows for a special pouring method that creates a smooth, creamy head on the beer. The beer is often called "the black stuff" but is officially a very dark ruby color. Recent changes in alcohol content were made for the North American market after listening to customer feedback.

Health

In the 1920s, Guinness ran an advertising campaign with the slogan "Guinness is Good for You," based on feedback from people who felt good after drinking it. Today, advertising for alcoholic drinks that suggests it improves health or performance is not allowed in Ireland.

A study from 2003 suggested that stouts like Guinness might help reduce harmful cholesterol buildup in arteries. This was thought to be because stouts contain more antioxidants than some other beers. However, the health benefits of antioxidants are debated, and the company that makes Guinness says they do not make any medical claims about their drinks.

Varieties

Guinness stout comes in many different types and strengths. Some popular ones include:

• Guinness Draught: This is the usual version sold in kegs, but it can also be found in special cans and bottles. It has about 4% alcohol.
• Guinness Foreign Extra Stout: This stronger version, with about 7.5% alcohol, is sold in many places outside Ireland. It is made by mixing special ingredients from Ireland with local ingredients where it is sold.
• Guinness Special Export Stout: This was made for a customer in Belgium and has 8% alcohol.
• Guinness Bitter: This is a lighter, English-style beer with 4.4% alcohol.
• Malta Guinness: This is a special non-alcoholic drink made for places like Nigeria.

Guinness has also created special limited-time drinks, like Brew 39, Toucan Brew, and North Star, each with their own unique taste. They have tried out many other types too, like Guinness Blonde and Hop House 13, though some of these are no longer sold.

Pouring and serving

Before the 1960s, all Guinness beer was served in a way that made it very foamy. To serve it, a glass would be partly filled with the foamy beer, let stand for a moment, and then topped up with calmer beer. When Guinness started using a special gas mix in the 1960s, they kept this two-step pour to help people accept the change. Today, this way of pouring is more about tradition than changing the taste.

Guinness suggests a "double pour" that takes about two minutes. They have run ads saying "good things come to those who wait". The best temperature to serve Guinness is between 6-7 °C, though colder temperatures are also used. Guinness is best served in a special pint glass shaped like a tulip. The glass is filled at an angle, then straightened, and poured in two steps to create a creamy top.

In 2010, Guinness changed their pint glass to a taller, narrower design with a beveled edge.

Sinking bubbles

When you pour Guinness, the bubbles seem to sink down instead of rising up. This happens because the bubbles that touch the sides of the glass move more slowly. The bubbles in the middle can rise up easily, creating a flow of liquid. As the liquid in the middle rises, the liquid near the edges moves down, pushing the bubbles there toward the bottom.

A study in 2012 showed that this effect depends on the shape of the glass and the small size of the bubbles in stout beers. In a regular pint glass, which gets wider toward the top, the bubbles sink along the sides. But in a glass that gets narrower toward the top, the bubbles rise along the sides.

Advertising

The Guinness harp symbol is based on the Trinity College harp. It was first used in 1862 by Benjamin Lee Guinness. Harps have been a symbol of Ireland for a long time. Guinness made the harp its official symbol not long after laws allowed businesses to register logos.

Starting in the 1930s, Guinness began using many advertisements to boost sales, which had been going down. Before this, people mostly heard about Guinness through word of mouth.

One famous set of ads from the 1930s and 1940s was made by an artist named John Gilroy. These ads often showed animals and had phrases like "Guinness Is Good for You." Even though rules today stop such claims, these old ads are still popular in Irish pubs.

In the 1970s and 1980s, many well-known TV ads were made by a British director named Len Fulford. In 1983, Guinness decided to become a special kind of beer in the UK to stop sales from falling.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, some ads in the UK were funny and featured an actor named Rutger Hauer.

A famous 1994 ad showed an actor named Joe McKinney dancing while his beer settled. This ad helped make a song very popular.

From 1999 to 2006, Guinness used a character named Michael Power in ads in Africa. He was played by Cleveland Mitchell and became very well known.

In 2000, a Guinness ad called Surfer was named the best TV commercial ever in a UK vote.

Guinness has created many memorable ads over the years, often celebrating the history and quality of the beer.

Worldwide sales

Guinness is very popular around the world. In 2006, sales in Ireland and the United Kingdom went down a little, but Guinness still made up more than a quarter of all beer sold in Ireland. By 2023, it became the most popular beer poured in pubs in the United Kingdom.

Guinness started being sold in India in 2007 and has been sold in Africa since 1827. About 40 percent of all Guinness sold worldwide comes from Africa. Three of the five Guinness breweries are in Africa. Guinness is also made under license in many countries, including Nigeria, the Bahamas, Canada, Cameroon, Kenya, Uganda, South Korea, Namibia, and Indonesia.

In 2017, Guinness worked with AB InBev to bring the beer to mainland China, which is the biggest alcohol market in the world. The United Kingdom drinks more Guinness than any other country except Ireland. In 2023, a pub in Worcester had the cheapest pint of Guinness in the UK. Nigeria and the United States are also big fans of Guinness.

Merchandising

The Guinness Storehouse at St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin is a very popular place for visitors. Over 1.7 million people went there in 2019. You can learn about how Guinness is made and even smell the ingredients used.

The Guinness Book of Records began as a fun idea from a man named Sir Hugh Beaver. It was first made to give away as a marketing gift. Later, a company owned by Guinness and then Diageo ran it until 2001.

The 2025 drama series House of Guinness tells the story of how the business grew in Ireland during the 1800s.