Arthur Guinness (1725-1803) was an Irishman who founded the Guinness brewery. A brilliant businessman, and considered Ireland’s greatest brewer, during his lifetime he was at the head of a financial empire that continues to this day, and which has had a profound impact on Irish culture and national identity…
Saint Jame’s Gate – Giuseppe Milo – cc
Born in Celbridge, Ireland, in September 1725, Arthur Guinness grew up in a well-to-do family, where his father was land steward to the Archbishop of Cashel, Dr. Arthur Price.
He soon dreamed of setting up his own company. After his father’s death in 1752, he bought the lease to his very first brewery in Leixlip.
At the time, Arthur Guinness was convinced that something had to be done to save Irish society. For him, alcohol in Ireland was a major problem: the gin produced in 1750 was of poor quality and was destroying the working classes, contaminating families and exposing everyone to the risk of alcoholism and increased poverty.
Arthur Guinness’s ambition was to democratize access to better quality spirits: less strong and more flavorful. For him, gin is an alcohol to be eradicated… in favor of beer!
That’s why his first brewery offers beers made from quality ingredients… sold at reasonable prices in Irish pubs… At the time, this was the first step towards reversing the trend, and banishing the evils of bad gins!
Success was immediate, and in 1756, he bought another building adjacent to the first one to use as an administrative center for his activities.
Everything already seems to be going well for the Irish entrepreneur: his Leixlip beers are acclaimed throughout the region, and his reputation as a brewer even extends beyond the borders of the county!
Full of ambition, Arthur Guinness decided not to stop there, and turned his attention to the city of Dublin… The place where his real story begins!
Arthur Guinness – Public domain
On the strength of his early experiences, Arthur learned of the existence in Dublin of an old disused brewery in the south-west of the city, known as “St. James’s Gate Brewery”.
From then on, the entrepreneur was convinced of the building’s potential, and decided, at the age of 34, to buy the brewery!
The acquisition cost is far from exorbitant: he even manages to negotiate a 9,000-year lease, with an annual rent of £45… Never before seen! (The anecdote is so unusual, in fact, that it is still widely reported by Dubliners and local museums such as the Guinness Storehouse!)
From then on, Arthur decided to think big: he bought lots of copper vats, stills and other equipment needed to create his own beer. He recruited a few employees and decided to go for it!
But the brewer has set himself a very specific goal: he wants to create an original, never-before-seen stout! A typically Irish brown ale, strong in taste and alcohol, using roasted barley and malt…
A hitherto unheard-of beer, but one that would be the jewel in Ireland’s brewing crown!
After several attempts and trials, the young man finally came up with a satisfactory result, which he christened with his own name: “Guinness Beer”.
Atypical of the beers of the time, Guinness is a sober beer, with a mysterious black color topped by a thick, creamy white head.
Its slightly caramelized aromas are enhanced by bitter notes… Flavors with character, immediately appreciated in Dublin’s Irish pubs…
And it’s been a huge success! And it took just a few years for Arthur Guinness to distribute his barrels throughout Ireland… before exporting his beer to England for the first time in 1769!
A pint of Guinness – © venge
Over the years, Arthur Guinness’s beer business has gone from strength to strength, producing ever more barrels and meeting exponential demand…
Regulars at local pubs order a St. Paul’s stout almost daily. James’s Gate Brewery: a fast-rising business for the brewer!
In the 1780s and 1790s, the Irish entrepreneur continued to campaign for access to quality spirits for all Irish people. Always at “war” with gin and other strong beverages, which he considered dull and impoverishing, he campaigned alongside politician Henry Grattan, who was fighting to reduce taxation on beer.
Arthur Guinness was a visionary: he knew that his success depended on the democratization of beer in Ireland. The more firmly he establishes beer as a part of everyday life, the better his chances are of making a lasting impact…
But it was in the last years of his life that Arthur Guinness took on a whole new challenge: to create an absolutely perfect Porter beer! He then devoted all his energy to developing what was to become his brewery’s most famous and emblematic beer: Guinness Stout!
Released for the very first time in 1799, its fame spread throughout Ireland and England.
It’s precisely this type of beer that continues to this day, making Ireland’s cultural and gastronomic reputation!
Before long, the brewery was running like clockwork: facilities were constantly being modernized and production adapted to growing demand…
Success spread beyond Ireland’s borders, and Irish beer was eventually exported all over the world!
When he died, Arthur Guinness was at the head of a dizzying empire. Particularly wealthy, he died on January 23, 1803, leaving his family an unprecedented inheritance, which continues to this day…
In the 21st century, Guinness still occupies a leading position in Ireland and the rest of the world. The brewery is at the head of a 250-year-old economic empire, and has become the almost sacred symbol of an entire country…
Guinness is not only a drink consumed daily by the Irish (over a million pints are sold every day!), it has also become a national and cultural symbol… In fact, we defy you to find an Irishman in Ireland who doesn’t know this famous stout and its logo with its characteristic harp!
In the collective imagination, the Irish remain strongly attached to the memory of Arthur Guinness. It stands alone as a vibrant symbol of Irish economic success, proving that any spirit of initiative in Ireland can be rewarded with success!
