Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) (2024)

Our key ingredients – other than inspiration – are roasted barley, malted barley, hops, yeast and water.

Glad you asked. The widget is a plastic moulded device that sits on the top of the contents of each can ofGuinness Draught. When the can is opened, a small amount of beer and nitrogen, trapped in the widget, is forced out through the beer, which creates the famous surge and creamy head that you find on a pint of Guinness Draught served in a pub. The nitrogen filled ball gives Guinness Draught in cans the taste and texture of a pub-poured pint at home.

Look closely. Guinness Draught beer is not actually black but rather dark ruby red because of the way the ingredients are prepared. Some raw barley is roasted, in a similar way to coffee beans, which is what gives Guinness Draught its distinctive colour.

The creamy white head is created from the 'initiation' and 'surging' of bubbles of nitrogen and carbon dioxide gas as the beer is poured. It's actually the nitrogen that causes the tight white creamy head.

Yes, our new state-of-the-art filtration process has removed the use of isinglass as a means of filtration and therefore made the ingredients in Guinness Draught, Guinness Extra Stout and Guinness Foreign Extra Stout suitable for vegans.

Yes, Guinness is the world’s most popular stout. A stout is a category of beer which is best known for its rich dark colour and distinctive creamy head.

At Guinness, quality is at the heart of what we do, and we know that the best Guinness is the freshest Guinness. For this reason, we have dedicated Guinness Quality teams who work closely with our licensed partners around the world, doing rigorous checks with utmost care and individual attention. They guarantee that people can expect a pint of Guinness to be beautiful and fresh, whenever and wherever they choose to enjoy it.
If enjoying Guinness at home the liquid stays fresh for up to 10 months after the production date printed on the base of the can.

Guinness is created using four key ingredients – roasted barley, malted barley, hops, yeast and water and doesn’t contain caffeine.

Guinness is created using four key ingredients – roasted barley, malted barley, hops, yeast and water making Guinness dairy-free.

After four years in development, Guinness recently announced the launch of Guinness 0.0 – the Guinness with everything, except alcohol.
Guinness 0.0is the non-alcoholic beer from the brewers at St. James’s Gate that boasts the same beautifully smooth taste, perfectly balanced flavour and unique dark colour of Guinness, without the alcohol.

“Guinness NITROSURGE” is a new device from Guinness which uses a patented application of ultrasound technology and connects to the top of your Guinness NITROSURGE can to deliver beautiful Guinness with a smooth, domed head and that rich ruby red colour. The technology puts the craft of the famed two-part pour in your hands, when you’re choosing to enjoy a beautiful Guinness at home.

In the pub or bar the perfect pint of Guinness Draught is served using our famous 'two-part' pour. First, start with a clean, dry glass. Pour the Guinness Draught into a glass tilted at 45 degrees, until it is three-quarters full. Allow the surge to settle before filling the glass completely to the top. Your perfect pint, complete with its creamy white head, just domed proud of the glass rim, is then ready to drink.
At home, you should let the can chill for at least 24 hours before pouring the contents of the can into a large glass in one smooth action.

Start by ensuring that your bottle is perfectly chilled, we would recommend refrigerating it at 8 degrees Celsius for at least 24 hours before you serve. Check that you have the correct, clean glassware before you crack the cap. Tilt the glass and the bottle towards each other, starting both at an angle of 45 degrees. Pour slowly in one single go, the bottle shouldn’t touch the glass at any stage. As you reach the end of the bottle, the head comes just over the top to create a beautiful tanned head. Your perfect Guinness is now ready to drink.

No. While the St James's Gate Brewery is situated on the banks of the River Liffey in the heart of Dublin, the water used in our brewing process comes from the Wicklow mountains a little way to the south.

Guinness beer is available in well over 100 countries worldwide and is brewed in over 40. Some of the biggest-selling markets for Guinness Draught include Great Britain, Ireland, Nigeria, US and Cameroon.

Over 10 million glasses of Guinness stout are enjoyed every single day around the world, and 1,883,200,000 pints are sold every year – that's 1.8 billion, to put it another way.

The Guinness company doesn't make its own merchandise, but licenses its trademark to many companies to make merchandise on its behalf. A wide selection of Guinness-branded merchandise, licensed products or originals can be purchased online at theGuinness WebStore.

Easy. TheGuinness Storehousewould love to welcome you to its home at St. James's Gate. TheGuinness Storehouseis a seven-storey tribute to the black stuff – a unique visitor centre opened in 2000 in the heart of the brewery. There you can learn all about our history, brewing process, advertising and more. And then enjoy a perfectly-served pint of Guinness stout while enjoying one of Dublin's best views.

Yes, you can! Visit The Guinness Storehousehere,where you can find out all about the Guinness Brewery Experience. This is an intimate and exclusive tour of St. James Gate, where you will embark on an unforgettable journey through the working brewery that has stood there for the past three centuries. Please note this experience is offered in English and is strictly for those over the age of 18.