Guinness: Quick History

Before enjoying a glass of perhaps the most well known Irish beer ever made, complete with a thick, foamy head and dark stout texture, take a few moments to learn a quick history of Guinness beer. Brewmaster Arthur Guinness created the first batch of beer back in 1959 in the small St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin, Ireland, starting the company that is one of the most successful to this day.  

Within ten years, Guinness beer was being exported to England where its dark appearance was new to the market. Arthur Guinness changed his focus in 1799, switching the recipe to a porter, which soon became more popular than the ale. The brewery expanded throughout the following decades under the leadership of Arthur Guinness II, becoming the largest brewery in Ireland by the 1830s.  

In 1855, Benjamin Lee Guinness, grandson of Arthur Guinness, took over the family business, introducing Guinness stout seven years later. The stout took the beer industry by storm, becoming wildly popular. After joining the London Stock Exchange in 1886, the company continued to expand, exporting the Guinness stout around the world and producing over 1.2 million barrels each year. The company remained family owned until 1997, when it merged with Grand Metropolitan Plc to create Diageo Plc.

Today, Guinness continues to produce the classic stout that made them a household name with breweries in over 40 countries and an estimated ten million glasses consumed each day. The Guinness Storehouse, which served as a place to store and ferment beer from 1904 to 1988, remains the top tourist attraction in Ireland, featuring a brewery, restaurant, bar and artifacts documenting the evolution of the brand. 

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Guinness Storehouse