Nearly 6 years ago, I had the opportunity to visit one of the most iconic beer landmarks in the entire world. I was on my first ever trip abroad between my sophomore and junior year of college and had just finished studying abroad in Spain.

I planned on backpacking through Europe to visit some of the major tourist destinations. Perhaps it was the fact that I was 19 and could legally drink a cold one, but Dublin was at the top of my list!

Instead of boring you to tears with a play-by-play of, albeit, one of the coolest brewery experiences in all my travels, I figured pictures from the experience at the Guinness Storehouse and fun facts about the beer would be much more entertaining.

Fun Facts about Guinness:

Arthur Guinness, aged 34, signed a 9,000-year lease on a disused brewery at St. James’s Gate, Dublin for an annual rent of £45 on 31st December, 1759. Source 

St. James’s Gate Brewery is the biggest stout export brewery in the world. Source 

The Guinness Storehouse has only been open to the public since the year 2000. Source 

Guinness stout is actually ruby red in color, not black. Source 

The harp, which serves as the Guinness emblem, is based on a famous 14th century Irish harp known as the “O’Neill” or “Brian Boru” harp, which is now preserved in the Library of Trinity College Dublin. Source 

The Guinness Brewery purchases about two-thirds of the malting barley grown in Ireland every year. Source 

Through much of the 20th century, doctors thought Guinness had medicinal properties. “Guinness is good for you” was launched in 1929 as the official Guinness tagline and was the foundation of the brand for another 40 years. Source 

The Guinness Book of Records came from Sir Hugh Beaver, the Managing Director of Guinness in the 1950s. This ‘fact’ book was first published to settle nightly debates in pubs in Britain and Ireland. Source 

The Guinness Gravity Bar offers a 360-degree view of the city and is the highest bar in Dublin. Source 

Pouring a “perfect pint” of Guinness is an art form. The glass is held at a 45 degree angle, the tap handle is pulled toward the pourer to the full horizontal position and the glass is filled to three quarters. The crucial element, at this point, is letting the glass rest for exactly 119.5 seconds. Then, to create the legendary head on a Guinness, the pourer pushes the handle away slightly and serves without spilling a drop. Source 

10 million glasses of Guinness are enjoyed every day around the world! And nearly 40% of those beers are consumed… in Africa! Who knew?! Source 

Do you like Guinness?