We all love Guinness. It’s the nation’s favourite stout and with good reason.
Everyone has their own tales about nights on the Guinness, or stories they’ve heard about its properties. But we’re here to debunk some common myths and give you the best facts about the heavenly nectar. [Featured Image: @Guinness, Instagram]
1. “Guinness is basically a meal in a glass” …wrong!
Any Dubliners must’ve heard this one about a trillion times. But no! Guinness! Is! Not! A! Meal! In A! Glass! A pint of the stuff, on draught, only has 199 calories. That’s less than a pint Heineken or a pint of Bulmers cider. A half-pint of Guinness even has less calories than a single gin and tonic! Where is the love for our low-calorie soldier?
2. The ball (or the widget) in the cans beat the internet to an award of best invention.
Yes, you read that right. In 1991, the nifty little ping pong ball impersonator at the bottom of the can won an award for the best invention of the last 40 years, beating the internet to the crown.
3. Guinness is *checks notes* red… not black.
(Yep, us neither.) Apparently, Guinness is a dark ruby shade of red, despite being called the “black stuff”. This colour is perfected by roasting the barley at exactly 232 degrees celsius.
4. There’s only one way to pour it. All others are wrong.
According to the Guinness big-wigs, the “perfect pour” should take exactly 119 seconds. Anything else, and without the six steps required, renders it inferior to those with the perfect technique.
5. One in every ten pints sold in London is of Guinness.
Profiting off our idea just like everyone else. We’ll let them off this time, we suppose. Every ten pints sold in the UK’s capital is of the black st— sorry the dark ruby shade of red stuff.
6. Guinness beat the nation of Ireland to the harp logo.
That’s the kind of power it yields. Ireland wanted to use a harp logo as its nation’s emblem, but Guinness, using the recently passed Trademarks Act of 1975, became one of the first registered trademarks in the country. The official government harp had to be turned the other way. And the rest is history.
7. St. James’ Gate Brewery welcomed visitor number 20 million last year.
The brewery has become something of a tourist landmine for everyone wanting to know more about the making of all things Guinness. It’s best known for its 9,000 year lease signed by Arthur Guinness.
8. Guinness is bigger in Nigeria than Ireland.
40% of the world’s Guinness is actually consumed in Africa. The continent also holds three of the five worldwide breweries and even makes a stronger variant of the stout that stands at a mighty 7.5% alcohol content.
9. The Creamy Foam on the top has a science.
It became the first beer to use nitrogen for its foam in 1959, making history at that. It gave it the famous creamy head that ices its (low calorie!) cake that it’s so famous for.
10. The Black Velvet cocktail was made in mourning of Prince Albert
The steward at Brook’s Club in London created the cocktail by pouring Guinness into Champagne so it could mourn the passing of Prince Albert. He said the Champagne must be black. I guess he was so overcome with emotion that no one had the heart to tell him Guinness is actually a dark ruby shade of red…