Pub GuideGuinness is still good for you!
250 years on, Ireland's most-popular drink celebrates its long life
Larger Text
Print
Make a comment
- Gallery / 250 years of Guinness! / Click here
- Story / Musical acts around the globe to celebrate Guinness' birthday / Click here
- Story / Guinness Storehouse most visited site in Ireland /Click here
Guinness Stout celebrates its 250th anniversary on Thursday, and it's a remarkable achievement for the Irish brew.
It all began in 1752 when young Arthur Guinness inherited 100 pounds from his godfather, the Archbishop of Cashel, Dr. Arthur Price . The world has never been the same since.
Young Arthur's father had helped brew beer on the Archbishop's estate for the workers. Arthur and his brother decided to take their inheritance start a brewery in the town of Leixlip in County Kildare in 1756.
Three years later in 1759, the 34-year-old Arthur took a 9,000-year lease on a rundown brewery in St.J ames Gate, Dublin, and began brewing stout, a dark beer turned black by the roasting process. Not having any Madison Avenue advice on market positioning or brand identity, he simply named it Guinness.
That proved to be a wise move.
Today, Guinness is one of the world's most-popular drinks, and its 250th anniversary will be marked with a worldwide celebration: From Auckland to Austria and Dublin to Durban, the world will tip its hat and raise a pint to old Arthur and the legend he began.
At St.James Gate in Dublin, where the 9,000-year lease still has 8,750 years to go, the workers will still be brewing Guinness pretty much in the same fashion as Arthur did all those years ago.
But now it is a worldwide phenomenon, one of the biggest-selling alcoholic drinks in Africa, a national treasure in Ireland where the Guinness storehouse is Ireland's leading tourist attraction, and exported all over the world wherever thirsty drinkers live.
How to pour the perfect pint of Guinness has been the subject of books, articles and many an argument at closing time. Experts say It should be poured three-quarters full, and then left to settle until the head (known as the Bishop's Collar because of its foamy white appearance), settles on top. Then the pint is topped-up and served.
- Pope Benedict should not throw nuns under...
- Notre Dame lawsuit on health law is a huge...
- Why the Catholic church is wrong, yet again,...
- Loophole law could allow Irish priests to...
- Catholic Church lift ban and allow child...
- Barry Manilow dismayed at how his Irish roots...
- Teenage sweethearts marry after 64 years...
- Michael O’Leary drives a $750 million profit...
- Irish nun quits Catholic church after claiming.
- Irish J1 students scammed out of $5,000 in...
- One Direction's Zayn Malik and Little Mix's...
- Pope Benedict should not throw nuns under...
- Channing Tatum shocked Rachel McAdams by...
- Teenage sweethearts marry after 64 years...
- Despite US and Australia success One Direction.
- Robin Gibb's last words saw him pay a touching.
- Irish woman carrying her father’s child claims.
- Irish nun quits Catholic church after claiming.
- Calls to dismiss George Zimmerman’s charges...
- Casey Anthony back in court over Caylee’s...
- Pope Benedict should not throw nuns under...
- Teenage sweethearts marry after 64 years...
- Irish J1 students scammed out of $5,000 in...
- Want to live in a four-star luxury hotel...
- Irish nun quits Catholic church after claiming.
- Barry Manilow dismayed at how his Irish roots...
- Joining a family’s evening Rosary - a spiritual
- Bobby Kennedy should be ashamed of himself...
- Coder Dojo takes Ireland by storm – new tech...
- Memorial made for slain Irishman Ciarán Ó...
Most Recent Blog Posts
