Where is Guinness Beer Brewed?

Guinness is one of the most popular and well-recognized beers in the world. It was first brewed in Ireland in the 1750s and has since become the unofficial beer of that nation. It has made more money in Ireland than any other alcoholic beverage. Aficionados worldwide instantly recognize the distinct harp logo on the bottle. Because of its worldwide success, it is no longer brewed exclusively in Ireland. Over 50 breweries across the globe work to produce the Guinness recipe.

Guinness was first brewed in 1759, when Arthur Guinness moved his smaller brewery from the town of Leixlip to St. James' Gate Brewery in the middle of Dublin. He produced a form of stout beer there, based on an English porter recipe but containing ingredients unique to his style. The beer proved immensely successful and he soon began exporting it to England and elsewhere. Today, it generates nearly 2 billion euros in sales per year and its parent company, Diageo, is the worldwide leader in alcoholic beverage sales.

The St. James's Gate Brewery has remained the capital for Guinness in the entirety of its 250-year history. The brewery covers 64 acres in the middle of Dublin and during the first half of the 20th century was the largest of its kind in the world. It boasts its own power plant to run brewing facilities and has a museum, the Guinness Storehouse, which covers the lengthy history of the beer. When people ask where Guinness is brewed, the St. James's Gate is invariably the answer.

Guinness is also produced in number of foreign breweries across the globe. The exact details of ownership are fairly complicated, since other beer brewers often act as franchises for Guinness in their local area. Fosters, for example, produces Guinness in Australia, while Guinness itself acts as Ireland's designated franchise for Budweiser and Carlsberg beer. The arrangement saves transportation costs by allowing the beer to be produced locally, though the basic recipe remains the same and Guinness imports its unique wort extract from Ireland to its various partners around the world. Subtle variances in the beer can be found in different locations, tailored to match the local tastes.

In addition to the St James's Gate Brewery, Guinness owns a number of other breweries throughout Ireland. Two of the most notable are the the Great Northern Brewery in Dundalk and Smithwick's brewery in Kilkenny. The former produces Guinness's lager brand, Harp, as well as Statzenbrau and Carlsberg. The latter produces a series of ales, including Kilkenny and Smithwick's Draught, as well as Budweiser and Carlsberg beers under franchise.

Guinness merged with Grand Metropolitan in 1997 to form Diageo, the largest producer of alcoholic beverages in the world. Under Diageo, the Guinness brand will consolidate its Irish breweries: auxiliary facilities will be shut down by 2013 and all Irish brewing operations will take place at St. James's Gate. A brief panic ensued in 2007 when rumors arose that Diageo planned to move St. James's Brewery out of the city center, but they refuted it in May of 2008 by announcing that they would renovate the existing facilities rather than building new ones.