Found in an Irish Mail List:
Happy Birthday Dear Guinness
Today we celebrate the 278th birthday of the founder of the Guinness empire, Arthur Guinness. Mr Guinness took his time in getting round to brewing stout, but when he did it, it was worth the wait.
He took a business gamble when he decided to focus exclusively on brewing stout but his determination and conviction paid off. So, why not raise a glass of Guinness t o the man himself!
To celebrate his birthday we have a recipe for a tasty Guinness pie, a special beer review by Luke Nicholas, some Guinness facts that are stranger than ficton and a bit of history on the man. Enjoy.
Some bizzare Guinness facts:
:: Over 800 million cans of GUINNESS(r) Draught have been sold in over 70 countries since the brand's launch in 1989.
:: Guinness used to be recommended to nursing mothers
:: We don't believe anything should be wasted, so the spent grains from the brewing go to become animal feed, the hops to become fertiliser and surplus yeast to make yeast extract or health products.
:: The first beer cans appeared in the USA in 1935, and in Britain a year later.
:: Guinness Draught Extra Cold was launched in the UK in 1998. It is the same as Guinness Draught, but chilled to 3.5 degrees by a special cooler.
:: At 198 calories a pint Guinness has fewer calories than a pint of skimmed milk or orange juice.
:: The Park Royal site used to be used as the Royal Agricultural Society's showground and the then Prince of Wales (later George V) and King Edward VII both planted an oak tree on the land to mark their attendance at one of the shows.
:: Around ten million glasses of Guinness stout are drunk around the world every day.
:: On average one Irish pub a day opens around the world.
:: The Guinness family has not been directly involved in the management of the company since 1992, although they still retain a significant financial interest in the business.
:: Guinness was the first brewery to be floated on the London Stock Exchange (1886).
:: Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of Treasure Island, took a supply of Guinness with him on his travels to the Samoa.
The Guinness History
When the Archbishop of Cashel drew up his will, he could not have imagined that one day his godson would use his legacy of £100 to found one of the greatest brewing empires in the world. Arthur inherited the money at the age of 27 and honed his skills with a small brewery in Leixlip in Co. Kildare. Four years later he set off for the bright lights of Dublin, to the St. James' Gate brewery, which is now the real home of Guinness.
He began by brewing beer or ale, and within eight years was master of the Dublin Corporation of Brewers. In 1761 he married Olivia Whitmore, a relative of Henry Grattan, and ten of their twenty-one children lived to establish a dynasty that has spread into many activities and countries. The family's long association with St Patrick's Cathedral began with a gift of 250 guineas for the chapel schools, and Dublin enjoyed other benefactions.
That Arthur was a shrewd and canny entrepreneur has never been in question. Yet some might say signing a 9,000-year lease on a run down brewery was pushing it a bit.
Success did not come easily. Arthur fought every step of the way to build his empire, and above all to secure that most essential of natural resources, water. Arthur did not lack energy or self-belief so although that particular fight took him 12 years to win, win it he did. At the time Arthur set up in Dublin, there were 200 breweries in Ireland, and 10 just in St James's Street alone. And they were all there for one simple reason - access to a pure and guaranteed water supply. It's no surprise then that when the City Sheriff's team turned up one day in 1775 to cut off Arthur's supply, his usual reserve deserted him. He grabbed a pickaxe from one of the men and announced himself prepared to 'defend it by force of arms'. Less dramatically perhaps, it was force of law and perseverance that finally won the battle for Arthur.
Duties on beer proved another problem, and in 1795 Guinness enlisted Grattan's oratory to persuade the government to remove the burden.
In 1778, Guinness began to brew porter - the darker beer containing roasted barley and first drunk by London porters - and exploited Ireland's new canals to extend his market. In 1799, he brewed ale for the last time. Sales of porter increased threefold during the Napoleonic Wars, and in time St James's Gate became the largest porter and stout brewery in the world, its 'extra stout porter' becoming known simply as stout.
Arthur founded a dynasty that controlled the Brewery for 227 years. He himself did his bit for posterity by fathering 21 children, although only 10 survived. His descendants showed themselves to be equally prolific, ensuring a steady supply of candidates for the top job, all of whom shared his philanthropy, energy and longevity. He died 23 January 1803.
Many a girl was counselled by her mother to find herself a Guinness man - and by that she didn't just mean a man who liked to drink it. Arthur and his successors set wages at 10-20% ab ove the local average, guaranteed widow's pensions, gave paid holidays (unheard of, then), provided free medical care, homes, education and a host of other benefits, making a brewery worker quite a catch. The workers received free Guinness stout every day, and in the unlikely event that they didn't want to drink it, they could opt instead to receive an additional "beer allowance" in their pay packet.
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