Guinness: even burned, it's got to be good for you

On a visit to one of the world's largest breweries, SARAH GRAHAM learns how an accident perfected the recipe for a famous stout.

It was initially a mistake - a batch of beer was accidentally burned. Instead of throwing it away Arthur Guinness sent his staff to the docks to sell the blackened stout at a discounted price. Little did he realise that he had stumbled on a recipe that would eventually sell 10 million glasses a day worldwide.

Once the largest brewery in the world, the Dublin site now shares production of the famous stout with breweries in 50 countries. There are five basic types of beer (draft, bottled conditioned, all malt, strong bottled, and foreign extra stout), with 19 variations. These variations are usually made to adapt to the different flavour and alcoholic expectations of countries (for example, Belgians like a sweeter flavour with a higher percentage alcohol by volume).

It is simply unacceptable to visit Dublin and not make a stop at the Guinness factory. Even if you don't like the drink, you have to appreciate the fact that Guinness is firmly entrenched in the history and the culture of the country that created it. The brewery is the second biggest tourist attraction in Ireland.

Your first sight of the factory at St James' Gate really confirms the historical significance of the place. The front entrance is made up of one of the old outer gates to the Dublin City limits. You then walk towards a former fermentation building that has been magically transformed into the "Guinness Zone". Entrance is £12 ($25).

The building spans three floors and still smells of the hops once stored there. It is here that you will be introduced not only to the beer and how it is made, but also the brand and how it has been cultivated. The first floor you visit has been dedicated to advertising campaigns around the world - print and film - from today back to the first posters.

I would never have guessed that I would recognise so many of their ads - the folks at Guinness clearly are as good at choosing a marketing firm as they are at making beer. The next floor tells you more about the history of Guinness and the processes used to make it - past and present - but if you've ever been to a brewery tour before you aren't really going to learn anything new.

Beer making is evidently a pretty standard process - the difference between any two products is made through small variations along the way.

The final floor on the tour is probably going to be the favorite of most people. The majority of the area is set up like a giant bar, and it is here you can cash in the "two free half-pints" coupons you got with each adult ticket to the Guinness Zone.

For those of us who are a bit on the "lightweight" side when it comes to drinking this heavy beer, the option to have either a full pint or two half pints is a blessing. It not only allows you the opportunity to indulge in a bit of the product that you have come to visit, but that second ticket gives you a certain bargaining power with the "heavyweights" who surround you.

Guinness

Irish Tourist Board