Guinness - Fun Facts To Know and Share…
So, the story of Guinness, Guinness Stout, the St James’s Gate Brewery, et al, is all fairly well known, being the subject of any number of books, pamphlets and articles, and as such will not be covered in too much detail here. Rather, this will be an ever-growing collections of bits, bobs, tidbits and esoterica about the subject. Before we start, here is a very quick synopsis, from diverse sources, of Guinness:
Arthur Guinness, already a brewer, founded a brewery that would eventually become known as the St James’s Gate Brewery, in Dublin. Oddly, Guinness does not actually own the land where the brewery sits, but instead holds, at least in the beginning, a 9,000 year lease on the property. Guinness specialized in what has been described as a dry Irish stout, and although it appears quite black, is more accurately a very dark red, or ruby, in appearance. In 1886, after being in the family for decades, Guinness became a Public Limited Liability Corporation. In 1932, the home office and headquarters was moved to London. In 1997, Guinness merged with Grand Metropolitan to form a world-wide beverage company called Diageo, also based in London, which includes an impressive portfolio of products. Well, there you go.
And now, not necessarily in chronological order….
Some old references indicate that Mr. Arthur Guinness was brewing beer back in 1756, at least that far back, in the small village of Leixlip, located a few miles to the west of the city of Dublin. Then, in 1759, he leased from a man named Mark Rainford a property in Dublin on James’s Street, that included “a dwelling house, brewhouse, two malthouses and stables.” Arthur Guinness died in 1803, and the brewery was carried on by his son Arthur, and the in 1868, by his some Benjamin. And so on.
One interesting anecdote occurred during this time frame, and can be seen as, perhaps, as the background impetus for Guinness to develop a more international trade for his stout. As it goes - and this is a supposition of the author D. A. Chart in his book “An Economic History of Ireland” (The Talbot Press Limited, Dublin, 1920) - around the turn of the 19th century, the Guinness family stood in firm opposition to what was called the United Irishmen (a short-lived group opposing the union of Ireland and Britain), as well as the Roman Catholic church and its related political party led by one Daniel O’Connell (1776-1847). As such, the Guinnesses became the focus for newspaper attacks, which, amongst other things, called for a boycott on their beer, as a punishment for their beliefs. Seeing that the sales of Guinness beer just may collapse in Ireland, an export trade was established, a trade that grew quickly and is still very much enjoyed to this day. As the brouhaha quieted down, domestic sales held strong. Some old die-hards, with long memories, however continued to take shots at Guinness referring to his beer as “Guinness’s Black Protestant Porter.” It should be mentioned that while Arthur Guinness was a life-long and devout Protestant, he believed that everyone should be treated equally and that one’s religion should not be the basis for restricting one’s life.
From another pamphlet, this one entitled “Guinness’s Brewery,” a guide book printed in 1919, which was given out to visitors to the brewery, it states: “The Brewery of Arthur Guinness, Son & Co., was found about the year 1759 by members of the Guinness Family who bought the brewing plant of Mr. Rainsford. Up to 1825 the trade was almost entirely local, from that time, however, trade commenced to increase in England, and the year 1860 marked the beginning of the large foreign trade, which has caused the name of Guinness to known in all quarters of the globe.”
The above photographs are from this pamphlet, showing various aspects in the brewing of Guinness Stout. The Cask Filling Department - now, that’s one of my favorite places. Cheers!
There is a passage in the book “Picturesque Ireland - Historical and Descriptive, by W.H. Bartlett (Worthington Co., New York, 1890) that laments of the decline of the economically important manufacture of a fabric called poplin - a combination of wool and silk - in the city of Dublin, an industry introduced back in the mid-1700s, by French Huguenots. Still the author states: “Yet Dublin continues to possess many tanneries, foundries, distilleries, breweries, etc., some of whose productions are of world-wide reputation - for who is there that has not either heard of, or possesses a personal acquaintance with Guinness’ Brown Stout, Kinahan’s L.L. Whiskey, and that particularly pungent nasal irritant Irish Blackguard.”
While Kinahan’s is still distilling whiskey, but I am not sure what “Irish Blackguard is/was. I am pretty sure that Irish Blackguard in not the same as the Blackguard ale today brewed by the Munster Brewery in County Cork. Actually, I am not sure if this modern beer is even still brewed.
Saint Patrick's Cathedral - in Irish: Ard-Eaglais Naomh Pádraig - in Dublin dates back to 1191. Heck, a building that old would surely require quite a bit of upkeep, which by the mid-1800s was just not forthcoming, The Cathedral was in such bad shape that it was in danger of falling in on itself. In 1864-5, St Patrick’s Cathedral underwent a complete restoration, including repairing or replacing several of the flying buttresses and pinnacles, repairing and refacing the exterior walls, and rebuilding the tower and spire. The interior was also renewed. The cost of this project was covered by just one man - Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness - a “celibrated brewer.”
Well, I am not totally sold on this cocktail, and to tell you the truth I have not yet tried it. When I do I will update you here.
This is from the “Stork Club (New York) Bar Book,” by Lucius Beebe (1946), and according to the author this cocktail was a “curious admixture of wine and Guinness’s stout.” He claims that champagne in the morning is a variously advantageous drink and is practically the only wine which lends itself to absorption twenty-four hours around the clock. The Black Velvet in the morning is a sure treatment for a hangover. Proponents claim: “that is soothes and gentles the recalcitrant stomach and overcomes jangled nerves.”
On 30 April 1904, the St. Louis World’s Fair - more formally called the Louisiana Purchase Exposition - opened in St Louis, Missouri, and would run until it closed on 1 December, of that year. Being a world’s fair, some 50 countries presented displays, including Ireland with what they called the Irish Industrial Exhibition. In the printed materials that went with this Irish display, there is a section on Irish brewing. Noted was the fact that Messrs. Arthur Guinness Sons & Co (sic) was one of the greatest breweries in the world, the output of which was unequalled in the world. Statistically, it said, of the 37,000,000 barrels of beer brewed by the 6,440 brewers in Ireland, England and Scotland, fully one-twentieth was brewed by Guinness. Not a bad market share, indeed.
Sir T. Callan Macardle, in his entry in the Leabar ne hÉireann - the Irish Year Book of 1921 (The Kenny Press, Dublin, 1921) - commenting on the state of the country’s brewing industry has this to say about Guinness: “Dublin boasts of having the largest single brewing industry in the world (that of Messrs. Arthur Guinness Son and Co., Limited continues to take a keen personal interest). The export trade is still increasing in leaps and bounds. The history of this firm is extraordinary. Its trade and reputation are world-wide, and it is recognized generally as a model employer of labour. Every detail of this huge concern is carried out with the most minute exactitude , and no matter how inimical legislation may appear to be. Needless to say, as its trade develops, it will require more and more barley, a circumstance which will react to the benefit of Irish agriculture. Ireland has not yet sufficient barley to supply the demand and Guinness’s is obliged to import large cargoes from abroad.”
“Guinness' Dublin Stout is one of those unique products that have by sheer worth penetrated into every corner of the civilized world, and sometimes it is found even in the least expected places in the wilds. By concentrating on this one brew continuously for 175 years (since 1759), and excelling in it, Messrs. Arthur Guinness Sons & Co have become the largest brewers in the world,” so says a small booklet produced by the Alex D. Shaw & Co, Inc, of New York City, in 1934.