http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/happy-birthday-guinness-the-black-stuff-at-250-1790457.htmlGod-fearing Arthur would be aghast at the drink- and drug-fuelled high-octane lifestyle of some of his descendants. The founder of the Guinness dynasty was keen on the Methodist teachings of John Wesley and started the first Sunday schools in Ireland.
The seeds of the Guinness brewery were sewn in 1752 when a young Arthur was left £100 by his godfather, the Archbishop of Cashel, Dr Arthur Price. Guinness's father was a land steward on the Archbishop's estate and helped brew beer for the workers. Arthur and his brother ploughed the cash into a brewery in Leixlip, County Kildare in 1756. Three years later, in 1759, a 34-year-old Arthur upped sticks and took a 9,000-year lease on a dilapidated brewery in St James's Gate, Dublin, in order to try his hand at porter, a brew involving roasted barley that turned the drink black and so called after the porters who drank it.
snip
Pouring: it's an art
How one groans when a round includes a pint of Guinness. It has to be poured three-quarters full and then left to settle until a clear line between the dark liquid and the head, known as the Bishop's Collar, is formed, before being topped up – the famous two-part pour. The whole process should take 119 seconds, 90 seconds given over to the liquid-settling phase. In reality it is often 15 minutes, as the person behind the bar forgets about the half-poured pint and, having taken your money, starts serving other people. Particularly adept bar persons can draw a shamrock or other design in the head with a flick of the wrists.
More very interesting Guinness history at the link.
Here's to one of the world's best beers. :toast:
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
