Guinness Irish Dry Stout Beer
Guinness is an Irish dry stout beer produced by Diageo, a British multi-national alcoholic beverages company. It has a 4.2% ABV rating (alcohol by volume). Commonly described by enthusiasts as dark brown or black, light hints of chocolate or coffee, a bold flavor that is not too overpowering, very smooth and very drinkable. Guinness was first brewed in 1759 by Arthur Guinness in Dublin, Ireland. Today, nearly 5,000,000 pints of Guinness are served daily in 120 countries.

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Above, the Gravity Bar atop Guinness headquarters offers a beautiful 360 degree view of Dublin, Ireland.

Outside the St. James Gate entrance to the brewery.
The Guinness Brewery in Dublin.
The second of five floors of displays at the Guinness Storehouse.

Above, people walk under a cascading wall of water, the main ingredient of Guinness beer.

Cooperage, the manufacture of wooden barrels and kegs once used to transport Guinness around the world.
The original 1759 lease by the City of Dublin, granting Guinness founder Arthur Guinness property to build and operate a brewery. The lease is for 9,000 years.
Yes--- 9,000!
(The property was later sold to Guinness Brewing Co.)
The Tasting Room. Free samples of Guinness beer. What's not to like?!
We learned how to properly "craft" (their term) a Guinness draught at the prestigious Guinness Academy in September 2016. Long hours of grueling studies, but we made it.

Bob & Joanie, Craig & Chris, Carol & Jim.

Celebrating our graduation from the prestigious Guinness Academy.
Since its inception, Guinness has recognized the importance of high-quality, memorable advertising images and promotions.

Above, numerous examples of back-bar, point-of-purchase displays and giveaways used by Guinness through the years.


Above, the Guinness toucan (did it ever have a name?) dominated Guinness print advertisements from 1935 to 1982. It is now part of a Guinness advertising campign that features some of its more memorable images through the years. This hand-painted back-bar display (from the 1960s perhaps?) is made of cast iron pieces that are screwed together, weighs 3 pounds, and stands 6½" tall. "Shannon" is embossed on the underside of the base. I added him to my modest collection in 2018. I think he's had a few paint touch-ups over the years, but still a fine display.

If you want something--- ANYTHING!--- with the name Guinness on it, you will find it in their store.
The entrance at St. James Gate. (Thank you Guinness for the photo.)
Lunch time in Dublin with friends.
Irish stew, shepherd's pie, fish & chips, and oh yes--- something to drink.
One of our talented bartenders poured a shamrock into our beer using just the Guinness foam.
Another talented bartender.
Another beer shamrock using just the Guinness foam.

As part of its 200th anniversary in 1959, Guinness created a special amber bottle, sealed a message inside, and used 30 freighters to drop 150,000 bottles into the Atlantic Ocean. (It was actually the second such bottle drop, the first occurring in 1954 with 50,000 bottles in various seas around the world.)

I can only imagine what ecological uproar would occur today if a company were to intentionally drop glass bottles into the ocean! What?!

This 1959 bottle is on display today at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, Ireland--- along with the dust it has accumulated in 57+ years.

Marc Gadoury, a French Canadian, found several unopened 1959 Guinness bottles on a beach in Hudson Bay, Canada, in 2002.

My 1959 amber bottle, illuminated through the base in these four photos for enhanced visibility. Circling the neck of the bottle are two hands in what is probably a handshake of friendship. The shoulder of the bottle shows the Guinness harp with the year 1759 to its left and 1959 to its right. The harp is atop a pillar or column. Turning the bottle clockwise, the shoulder shows a map of North America with the word "Glass" to its left, and the words "The World Over" below the map. The body of the bottle is a large map of the Atlantic Ocean with North America on the left... ...a tall ship in full sail en route to North America in the middle... ...and England on the right.
Near the base of the bottle, under the ship at sail, is embossed:

1759-1959
Special Bottle Drop
(Atlantic Ocean)
To celebrate and commemorate
Guinness Bicentenary
1959

Circling the base are the words, "Bottle by United Glass Ltd. England."

My 1959 bottle (in the four photos above) was empty when I purchased it in 2016. It is capped with a Guinness metal crown cap that shows a 1955 harp logo, appropriate for a 1959 bottle (see harps below). The cap is secure and does not appear to have ever been removed. I suspect that some previous owner opened the original bottle, removed the paper message, then re-capped the bottle using what was then a new metal crown cap.
The message in a bottle--- from Guinness to anyone who found their amber glass bottles dropped in the Atlantic Ocean in 1959, commemorating the 200th anniversary of Guinness beer.


This miniature souvenir bottle was distributed in the US in 1959, commemorating the 200th anniversary of Guinness beer. A small adhesive label on the back reads, "Imported by Heublein Food Importing Co., Hartford, Connecticut. Sole agents for the USA." The glass bottle is 3¼" tall and has a metal cap.

The harp is one of several popular symbols of Ireland (the others being the shamrock, the Celtic cross, and the claddagh). But there is a difference between the harp used by Guinness in its corporate logo and the harp used by the Irish government on its currency and other official documents. The story goes that when the Irish government asked Guinness in 1922 for approval to use its harp image (trademarked in 1876), Guinness politely rejected the request. As a result, the Irish government's harp is a mirror image of the trademarked Guinness harp.

Here are samples of how the Guinness harp has been modified through the years, and the current Irish euro. Note the direction of the Irish government's harp.

It is reported that the Guinness harp will soon be revised again, this time by Design Bridge, a brand design agency based in London.


Guinness website / Guinness Storehouse / Guinness web store / Guinness Collectors Club
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This web page is supported with private funds. It is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not affiliated with Guinness or Diageo. Guinness logos and symbols are copyright Guinness Ltd., Dublin, Ireland.
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