The Guide To: Guinness
It's a common misconception that Guinness is black. Hold it up to the light and you'll see it's actually a deep red. As the saying goes, there's a ruby in every glass. Brewers roast the barley longer than usual (they don't burn it another myth) and it's the long roast that gives Guinness its color. This is a unique brew, no doubt, shrouded in 250 years of history and legend and elevated to something of a holy grail among beer aficionados. People search the world over for the perfect pint, often starting at St. James's Gate site of Guinness' famed home brewery and the most visited spot in Ireland.
It's also a myth that Guinness is brewed only at St. James's Gate in Dublin. In fact, it's produced in 49 countries and sold in more than 150. And while one of every two beers enjoyed on the Emerald Isle is a Guinness, the United Kingdom is the biggest consumer, followed by Ireland, Nigeria, the United States, and Cameroon. Surprised? Most people are. What might also surprise you is that Guinness Draught that ebony-colored stout with the creamy top is not the same beer Arthur Guinness brewed after reopening a defunct Dublin brewery in 1759. Draught didn't debut until Guinness' 1959 bicentennial, and Arthur Guinness couldn't have made it even if he wanted to. The recipe relies on infusing the beer with nitrogen an element that wasn't discovered until more than a decade after he launched what's now one of the most lauded businesses in the world.
You needn't know any of that, however, to enjoy a good pint in 2009 Guinness' 250th anniversary year. But whether you're sitting in the Stag's Head in Dublin or tipping a pint in your own hometown, there are certain things you should know before you take a sip.
Andrew Eitelbach
A Proper Pint
A perfectly poured pint of Guinness Draught takes time a little more than 119.5 seconds, if you want to get right down to it and should be done in two stages.
Pull the tap down and hold a clean glass at a 45-degree angle; fill it to within three-quarters of an inch, slowly straightening the glass as you pour. Set it aside and let the surge settle for 119.5 seconds.
Push back on the tap for a slow pour and fill the glass until the foam crowns from the brim. If you can make a perfect dome without spilling over, you've got a proper pint.
To draw a shamrock in the head, let the surge settle a bit longer than two minutes you'll get a denser head that will better hold your design and use a figure eight motion to make the shamrock. A.E.
Pure Guinness
On a hunting trip in 1951, Guinness managing director Hugh Beaver couldn't find a reference book to settle an argument he was having with a companion: What is the fastest-flying game bird in Europe, the plover or the grouse? He came up with a marketing campaign to help others who found themselves in the same predicament a book of facts they could turn to when faced with an odd question in their local pub. The first edition of the Guinness Book of Records (now Guinness World Records) was published in August 1955. It was a bestseller in England by Christmas. Oddly, it didn't mention which bird was faster. (It's neither. The fastest game bird in Europe is the wood pigeon.) A.E.
Lease
In 1759 Arthur Guinness sold his small brewery in Leixlip and moved to Dublin. There, he put down £100 on a 9,000-year lease, paying only £45 annually. He got a four-acre, out-of-use brewery that contained a brew house, gristmill, two malt houses, and a stable large enough to house a dozen horses and 200 tons of hay.
GUINNESS FOR STRENGTH
At one time, doctors in England recommended a pint of Guinness for new mothers to help them regain some of the iron lost during labor.
GUINNESS IS GOOD FOR YOU
Guinness may have debuted in 1759, but it wasn't until 1929 that it ran its first advertisement with the slogan Guinness is good for you. Soon after came John Gilroy's iconic circus animals.
MY GOODNESS, MY GUINNESS!
Check your glass when your Guinness is served. If you can see condensation forming on the inside of the glass after your pint is fully settled, it's soap scum. It won't hurt the taste of your beer, but it's kind of gross. A.E.
LACE
The rings of foam left on the glass after each sip. You should be able to count how many sips were taken by counting the rings of lace in an empty pint.
Ronny
A nickname for a mustache in Ireland, and what you get on your lip after your first pull from a glass of Guinness. It's a good thing. The head is the bitterest part of the beer. Drill down through that layer of foam. If you don't get a ronny, you're drinking it wrong.
198
Approximate number of calories in a pint of Guinness Draught (a pint of orange juice has about 219)
10 Million
Number of pints enjoyed around the world every day
42.8%
The optimal temperature at which Guinness should be served
