Men behind the brands (Guinness)
Guinness is an Irish beer originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness (1725–1803) at St. James’s Gate, Dublin. Guinness is one of the most successful beer brands worldwide.
The first venture of Arthur Guinness was a small factory for ale brewing in north-east of Ireland. Later Arthur decided to move to Dublin to open a brewery in 1759, in the southwest of the city, he found an old brewery, named St. James’s Gate Brewery, which he agreed to lease for just £45 a year for 9000 years.
Arthur Guinness started producing the dark beer in 1799. The production of the dark beer with creamy foam made the company one of the symbols of Ireland. After Arthur’s death, the business was managed by three of his sons and the brewery become pioneer in quality control and in the 1930s, was the seventh largest company in the world
Pints of Guinness
Guinness stout is made from water, barley, roast malt extract, hops, and yeast. A portion of the barley is roasted to give Guinness its dark colour and characteristic taste. It is pasteurized and filtered. A feature of the product is the burnt flavour that is derived from roasted unmalted barley, in that period of time this step process was not common for breweries.
The harp, which serves as the emblem of Guinness, is based on the Trinity College harp wich was registered as a trademark for Guinness in 1876, although it was first used on their labels from 1862. The harp is also the official national emblem of the Republic of Ireland. This is one of the three oldest surviving Gaelic harps and may be the oldest existent harp in the world.
The draught beer’s thick, creamy head comes from mixing the beer with nitrogen and carbon dioxide when poured. Nitrogen is less soluble than carbon dioxide, which allows the beer to be put under high pressure without making it fizzy. The perceived smoothness of draught Guinness is due to its low level of carbon dioxide and the creaminess of the head caused by the very fine bubbles that arise from the use of nitrogen.
The “perfect pint” of draught Guinness is the product of a “double pour”, which according to the company should take 119.5 seconds. To begin the pour, the server holds the glass at a 45° angle below the tap and fills the glass 3/4 full. After allowing the initial pour to settle, the server fills the remainder of the glass until the head forms a slight dome over the top of the glass
Perfect Pint
Despite its reputation as a “meal in a glass”, is slightly fewer than skimmed milk or orange juice but there are studies that say that Guinness can be beneficial to the heart. Researchers found that “‘antioxidant compounds’ in the Guinness, are responsible for the health benefits because they slow down the deposit of harmful cholesterol on the artery walls.”
Originally published at alchemixingblog.wordpress.com on May 8, 2017.
