Guinness
- This article is about the beer. For the brewery see St. James's Gate Brewery. For the brewery founder see Arthur Guinness. For the brand owner see Diageo. For the book see Guinness Book of Records.
Guinness is a dry stout that originated in Arthur Guinness's St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin, Ireland. The brand is now owned by Diageo.
Composition
Guinness stout is made from: water, barley malt, hops, and brewers yeast. A proportion of the barley is flaked (i.e. steamed and rolled) and roasted to give Guinness its dark colour and characteristic taste. It is pasteurised and filtered. Despite its reputation as a "meal in a glass" or "liquid bread", Guinness only contains 198 calories (838 kilojoules) per imperial pint (1460 kJ/L), less than an equal-sized serving of skimmed milk or orange juice. Guinness is not suitable for vegans and vegetarians due to the use fish based fining agent called isinglass.
The water used comes from Lady's Well in the Wicklow Mountains.
Draught Guinness and its canned namesake contain nitrogen (N2) as well as carbon dioxide (CO2). Unlike carbon dioxide, nitrogen does not dissolve in water, which allows the beer to be put under high pressure without making it fizzy. The high pressure is required to force the draught beer through fine holes in a plate in the tap, which causes the characteristic "surge" (the widget in cans and bottles achieves the same effect). The perceived smoothness of draught Guinness is due to the low acidity and the creaminess of the head caused by the nitrogen. "Original Extra Stout" tastes quite different; it contains only CO2, making a more acidic taste.
Contemporary Guinness Draught and Extra Stout are weaker than they were in the 19th century, when they had an original gravity of over 1070. Foreign Extra Stout and Special Export Stout, with ABV over 7%, are perhaps closest to the original in character[1].
History
Arthur Guinness started brewing ales initially in Leixlip, then at the St. James's Gate Brewery, Dublin, Ireland from 1759. He signed a 9,000 year lease at £45 per annum for the unused brewery. Ten years later in 1769 Guinness exported their product for the first time, when six and a half barrels were shipped to England.
Although sometimes believed to have originated the stout style of beer, the first use of the word stout in relation to beer was in a letter in the Egerton Manuscript dated 1677, almost 50 years before Arthur Guinness was born. The first use of the word stout in the context of a Guinness beer was their Stout-Porter of 1820.
Guinness brewed their last porter in 1974.
Guinness Stout is also brewed under licence internationally.
The Guinness brewery in Park Royal, London closed in 2005.
Varieties
Guinness stout is available in a number of variants and strengths, which include:
- Guinness draught stout, sold in kegs—4.1 to 4.3% alcohol by volume (abv);
- Extra Cold draught stout, sold in kegs and put through a super cooler—4.1 to 4.3% abv;
- Bottled Guinness draught, which includes a patented "rocket widget" to simulate the draught taste—4.1 to 4.3% abv;
- Canned Guinness draught, which includes a similar but differently shaped widget—4.1 to 4.3% abv;
- Guinness Original/Extra Stout, as near to Arthur Guinness's original porter as can be obtained today—4.2 or 4.3% abv (Ireland, UK), 5% abv (Canada, mainland Europe), and 6% abv (United States, Australia, Japan);
- Guinness Foreign Extra Stout, sold in Ireland, West Africa, the Caribbean and Asia—5% abv (China), 6.5% abv (Jamaica), 7.5% abv (Ireland, Africa) and 8% abv (Malaysia), blended with a small amount of intentionally soured beer to balance the flavour;[2]
- Guinness Foreign Extra Stout Nigeria, uses sorghum in the brewing process instead of barley—sold in Nigeria and Great Britain—7.5% abv;
- Guinness Special Export Stout, sold in Belgium—8% abv;
- Guinness Bitter, an English-style bitter beer—4.4% abv;
- Guinness Extra Smooth, a smoother stout sold in Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria—5.5% abv;
- Malta Guinness, a non-alcoholic sweet drink, sold in Africa;
- Guinness Mid-Strength, a low-alcohol stout being test-marketed in Limerick, Ireland from March 2006—2.8% abv. [3]
Nigeria is the third largest and fastest-growing Guinness market in the world. However, as the cultivation of barley is restricted in Nigeria, the local version is made primarily from sorghum.
In October 2005, Guinness introduced the Brewhouse Series — a limited-edition collection of draft stouts that will be available for six months each. The first stout in the series is Brew 39, which is being released in Dublin from Fall 2005 through Spring 2006. It has the same alcohol content (abv) as Guinness Draught, uses the same gas mix and settles in the same way, but has a slightly different taste. Other variants will be on tap across Ireland.
In March 2006, Guinness introduced "the surger" in Great Britain. The surger is a plate-like electrical device meant for the home. It sends ultrasonic waves through a Guinness-filled pint glass to recreate the beer's famous "surge and settle" effect. The device works in conjunction with special cans of surger-ready Guinness. Guinness had tested the surger since 2003 in Japanese bars, most of which are too small to accommodate traditional keg-and-tap systems.
A brewing byproduct of Guinness, Guinness Yeast Extract (GYE), was produced until the 1950s.
Pouring and serving
Draught Guinness is served cool with the beer line run through a cooler or a super cooler to chill the liquid to the required temperature. Due to the foaming action of the nitrogen it can take a while for the beer to settle as it is poured, often requiring a pause. Guinness have made a virtue of this wait with advertising campaigns such as "good things come to those who wait" and "it takes 119.6 seconds to pour the perfect pint".
Some bartenders also draw a simple design such as a shamrock in the head during the slow pour.
Sinking bubbles
A long time subject of bar conversations has been the observation that gas bubbles travel downwards in a pint glass of Guinness. [4], [5]
The effect is attributed to drag; bubbles which touch the walls of a glass are slowed in their upwards travel. Bubbles in the centre of the glass are, however, free to rise to the surface, and form a rising column of bubbles. The rising bubbles create a current by the entrainment of the surrounding fluid. As beer rises in the center, the beer near the outside of the glass falls. This downward flow pushes the bubbles near the glass towards the bottom. Although the effect occurs in any liquid, it is particularly noticeable in any dark nitrogen stout, as the drink combines dark-coloured liquid and light-coloured bubbles.
Advertising
Guinness uses the harp of Brian Boru, or Trinity College Harp as their trademark. This circa 14th century harp which is still visible at Trinity College, Dublin has been used as a symbol of Ireland since the reign of Henry VIII (16th century). Guinness adopted the harp as a logo in 1862, however it is shown in a form that faces left instead of right as in the coat of arms.
Guinness has a long history of marketing campaigns, from award-winning television commercials to beer mats and posters.
Guinness's iconic stature can be attributed in part to its advertising. The most notable and recognisable series of adverts was created by Benson's advertising, primarily John Gilroy, in the 1930s and 40s. Gilroy was responsible for creating posters which included such phrases such as "Guinness for Strength", "Lovely Day for a Guinness", "Guinness Makes You Strong" "My Goodness My 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 tests agree/Guinness is good for you./Try some today and see/What one or toucan do.) Guinness has recently taken the dominant share in the African beer market with its Michael Power advertising campaign. Guinness advertising paraphernalia attracts high prices on the collectible market.
In 2000, Guinness's 1999 advert Surfer was named the best television commercial of all time in a UK poll conducted by The Sunday Times and Channel 4. Surfer was produced by the advertising agency Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO; the advertisement can be downloaded from their website.[6]
Guinness was awarded the 2001 Clio Award as the Advertiser of the Year, citing the work of five separate ad agencies around the world.[7]
Merchandising
During Saint Patrick's Day, Guinness merchandise is available in many places that sell the drink. This includes clothing and hats, often available from behind the bar after a specific number of pints of Guinness have been purchased.
Guinness fans can visit the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, which has been described as Disneyland for the beer (or, perhaps, more accurately, stout) lover. Located on the site of the St. James's Gate brewery, the Storehouse is an interactive, multimedia experience taking you through all things Guinness.
Trivia
Among the Cantonese-speaking locals in Singapore and Malaysia, Guinness Stout is known as "Hak Gau Peh", which literally means "Black Dog Beer". This is because, generally, only the elder generation drink Guinness Stout, and, having had little or no education, the illiteracy rate was high. Not knowing how to pronounce "Guiness Stout", the locals called it "Hak Gau Peh". Consequently, Guinness advertisement posters associated a black bulldog with the stout. This has made Guiness, or rather "Black Dog Beer", a household name in the region.
See also
References
- Patrick Lynch and John Vaizey - Guinness's Brewery in the Irish Economy: 1759-1876 (1960) Cambridge University Press
- Frederic Mullally - The Silver Salver: The Story of the Guinness Family (1981) Granada, ISBN 0246112719
- Brian Sibley - The Book Of Guinness Advertising (1985) Guinness Books, ISBN 0851124003
- Peter Pugh - Is Guinness Good for You: The Bid for Distillers – The Inside Story (1987) Financial Training Publications, ISBN 1851850740
- Edward Guinness - The Guinness Book of Guinness (1988) Guinness Books
- Michele Guinness - The Guinness Legend: The Changing Fortunes of a Great Family (1988) Hodder and Stoughton General Division, ISBN 0340430451
- Jonathan Guinness - Requiem for a Family Business (1997) Macmillan Publishing, ISBN 0333661915
- Derek Wilson - Dark and Light: The Story of the Guinness Family (1998) George Weidenfeld & Nicholson, Ltd., ISBN 0297817183
- S.R. Dennison and Oliver MacDonagh - Guinness 1886-1939: From Incorporation to the Second World War (1998) Cork University Press, ISBN 1859181759
- Jim Davies - The Book of Guinness Advertising (1998) Guinness Media Inc., ISBN 0851120679
- Al Byrne - Guinness Times: My Days in the World’s Most Famous Brewery (1999) Town House, ISBN 1860591051
- Michele Guinness - The Guinness Spirit: Brewers, Bankers, Ministers and Missionaries (1999) Hodder and Stoughton, ISBN 0340721650
- Mark Griffiths - Guinness is Guinness: The Colourful Story of a Black and White Brand (2004) Cyan Communications, ISBN 0954282949
- Tony Corcoran - The Goodness of Guinness: The Brewery, Its People and the City of Dublin (2005) Liberties Press, ISBN 0954533577
- ^ Ron Pattinson's The Breweries of Ireland
- ^ Formerly it was blended with beer that soured naturally as a result of fermenting in ancient oak tuns with a Brettanomyces population (see e.g. Protz,R.,The Ale Trail,Eric Dobby Publishing, Kent, 1995. pp174-6.), now with pasteurised beer that has been soured bacterially. (See e.g. [1])
- ^ Test marketed low alcohol Guinness Stout.
- ^ Guinness Bubbles FAQ
- ^ BBC article on discovery of the scientific explanation for the sinking bubbles
- ^ Award winning "Surfer" Advert
- ^ Clio Award Press Release
External links
- Official site
- Forage, et al., "Beverage package and a method of packaging a beverage containing gas in solution". United States Patent 4,832,968. May 23, 1989.
- Scientific explanation of Guinness bubble circulation
- RateBeer