Flirting with the Black Stuff - The Story of Guinness Draught

Born in in Co. Kildare in 1725, Arthur Guinness, was the son of Richard Guinness, who had been Land Steward to the Most Rev. Arthur Price, Archbishop of Cashel for many years.

It was part of Richard Guinness' duties to oversee the brewing of beer for the labourers on the estate. As the young Arthur Guinness was growing up, he learned from his father and assisted him with his work.

At the age of 27 Arthur was left a £100 inheritance by Archbishop Price. He invested this money in his own brewery which he and his brother Richard ran in Leixlip, Co. Kildare. The partnership didn't last and three years later, Arthur handed the business over to Richard and left for Dublin with the intention of starting a brewery of his own.

On the 31st of December 1759, Arthur Guinness signed a lease on the St. James's Gate Brewery for 9,000 years at £45 per annum. The brewery he bought was small, disused and ill-equipped. The premises at the time consisted of four acres with a copper, a kieve, a mill, two malthouses, stabling for 12 horses and a loft to hold 200 tonnes of hay. So began the Guinness brewing legend. Ever since, the St. James's Gate Brewery has been at the heart of the success of Guinness.

In 1761 Sir Arthur Guinness married Olivia Whitmore in St. Mary's Church, Dublin, and they had 21 children, 10 of whom lived to adulthood.

There are only 198 calories in every pint of Guinness. It's lighter than most other beers with slightly less calories per 100ml than orange juice or semi-skimmed milk. So don't feel guilty ... go ahead and pour some Guinness on your cornflakes.

The Irish claim that there is a healthy amount of vitamin G in your pint and recommended a daily allowance of three pints...to avoid deficiency

Until the 1770's the Guinness brewery was producing weaker ale than we know today. The porter had established itself and the Guinness brand was strong. However, in 1799 it was decided to focus only on brewing extra stout porter.

Ater this decision, Guinness saw a rapid period of growth that took them into the late 19th Century. At this time, the first large scale expansion of the brewery took place but Arthur died in 1803 and it was then that Arthur Guinness II took over the production at the brewery.

Thirty years later, the St. James's Gate Brewery was the largest in Ireland and in 1862 Guinness was trademarked and the Guinness label was introduced.

Under the direction of Edward Cecil Guinness, the brewery saw another marked growth and in 1873, the size of the brewery doubled and spread north to bound the river Liffey. In the same year, Guinness commissioned a fleet of barges and built a jetty at Victoria Quay so that brewery barges could travel to Dublin port.

Growth continued and by 1886, the Guinness brewery was the largest brewery in the world, producing 1.2 million barrels in that year. It was not long after this that Guinness appointed Overseas Travellers, essentially quality controllers who ensured that the Guinness sold outside of Ireland was of the same high quality as that found at home.

This commitment to quality has been a cornerstone of the brewing process up to the present day.

The beginning of the 20th century saw yet another expansion and at its peak more than 4,000 people were directly employed at St. James's Gate. By 1914, output had reached almost three million barrels annually.

Guinness also grew stronger as a truly global brand. Foreign Extra Stout, a variant of the original Guinness stout, fortified specifically for export, was shipped - and later brewed - in countries across the world. Foreign Extra Stout now accounts for over 40% of the Guinness sold worldwide.

With the launch of draught Guinness as it is now known, in the 1950s, Guinness further increased in popularity and its distribution widened.

Guinness today is more than a brand. It is an icon and a familiar symbol of Ireland itself.

Leased for 9,000 years in 1759 by Arthur Guinness at £45 per year, St. James's Gate has been the home of Guinness ever since. It became the largest brewery in Ireland in 1838, and was the largest in the world in 1914. Although no longer the largest brewery in the world, it is still the largest brewer of stout in the world. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the brewery owned most of the buildings in the surrounding area, including many streets of housing for brewery employees, and offices associated with the brewery.

The brewery also made all of its own power using its own power plant.

Legend had it that Guinness was made from the water of the River Liffey that runs past the brewery walls. As you'd expect this is a myth {sigh of relief from those who have seen the mucky waters of the Liffey}, and the water used to make Guinness is sourced exclusively from Lady's well (supplied by natural spring water) in the Wicklow Mountains.

Known popularly as the 'black stuff' many people are surprised when they hear that Guinness is not actually black at all but more a ruby red color. This is because of the method used to prepare the ingredients. The barley is roasted in much the same way as coffee beans are roasted and this is what gives it that unique hue. So the next time you have a pint of the black stuff in front of you take another look.

The famous creamy head that forms with every pint of Guinness is the result of tiny bubbles created by nitrogen as the beer surges from the tap.

Guinness adopted the harp as its logo in 1862. The the harp used was a representation of the harp of Brian Boru and dates from approximately the 14th century. It can be see at Trinity College, Dublin. The harp has been a symbol of Ireland since Henry VIII's reign in the 16th century. The Guiness harp is distinctive in that it faces left instead of right, as in the Irish coat of arms.

Guinness' iconic status is due in part to to its advertising. Guinness has a long history of marketing campaigns, from award-winning television commercials to beer mats and posters.
The most notable and recognisable series of adverts was created by Benson's advertising, primarily drawn by the artist John Gilroy, in the 1930s and '40s. Benson created posters that included phrases such as "Guinness for Strength", "Lovely Day for a Guinness", "Guinness Makes You Strong," "My Goodness My Guinness," (or, alternatively, "My Goodness, My Christmas, It's Guinness!") and most famously, "Guinness is Good For You".

The posters featured Gilroy's distinctive artwork and more often than not featured animals such as a kangaroo, ostrich, seal, lion, and notably a toucan, which has become as much a symbol of Guinness as the harp. An advertisement from the 1940s ran with the following jingle: "Toucans in their nests agree/Guinness is good for you/Try some today and see/What one or toucan do."

Guinness advertising paraphernalia, notably the pastiche booklets illustrated by Ronald Ferns, are collectible and can gain high prices on the collectible market.

Guinness has a significant share of the Africa beer market, where Guinness has been sold since 1827. About 40 per cent of worldwide total Guinness volume is brewed and sold in Africa, with Foreign Extra Stout the most popular variant. The Michael Power advertising campaign was a critical success for Guinness in Africa, running for nearly a decade before being replaced in 2006 with "Guinness Greatness".

In 2006, Canada was the fastest growing Guinness draught market in the world and on St. Patrick's Day in 2006, more Guinness was sold in Canada than in Ireland.

Sales of Guinness in Ireland and Britain declined 7% in 2006.