Take a Tour of the Guinness Brewery on YouTube

Take a Trip through the Guinness Brewery

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1_GTWTN04E

Why Guinness tastes better in Ireland

Why Guinness tastes better in Ireland

According to the tour guide at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, the belief that Guinness tastes better in Ireland is not just an urban myth. He offered two explanations for the phenomenon.

1. Freshness
Because Guinness is so much more popular in Ireland than elsewhere, kegs don’t last long. So your pint is more likely to be fresh.

2. Cleanliness
If you’re a pub owner in Ireland, you are affiliated with Guinness. One of the terms of that relationship is that every three weeks you’ll receive a visit from a Guinness representative who will flush the lines to your Guinness taps. Pub owners are supposed to do that on their own, but some are lazy about it and Guinness doesn’t want to take any chances. If the lines aren’t flushed, the brew will be compromised.

http://blog.jonudell.net/2007/11/22/why-guiness-tastes-better-in-ireland/
What a savvy business practice!

Guinness Barbecue Sauce Recipe

Guinness Barbecue Sauce

1¼ hours 10 min prep

4 ounces sweet onions, finely minced
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
8 ounces Guinness Extra Stout (bottle)
6 ounces ketchup
2 tablespoons treacle (ok to substitute molasses)
2 tablespoons prepared pub mustard (or other spicey mustard)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 dash hot pepper sauce (I use Pickapeppa, but Tabasco or similar is OK)


Pub Mustard Ingredients
2 cups dry mustard
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
12 ounces Guinness, flat


To Prepare Pub Mustard:

Combine mustard, brown sugar, salt and turmeric in blender or food processor and mix well.
With the machine running, add beer in a slow, steady stream and blend until mixture is smooth and creamy, stopping frequently to scrape down the sides of the work bowl.
Transfer to jars with tight-fitting lids.
Store in cool, dark place.
Combine barbecue sauce ingredients, cover and simmer for 45 to 60 minutes.
Allow to cool slightly, taste and adjust spices to taste.
Store refrigerated in tightly covered container.

http://www.recipezaar.com/21280

Guinness and Filet Mignon Chili

Guinness and Filet Mignon Chili

1½ hours 30 min prep

1 cup unsalted butter
5 lbs ground sirloin
1 lb filet mignon, cut into ¼ inch dice
2 cups onions, cut into ¼ inch dice
1 chili pepper, seeds and veins removed,cut into 1/8 inch dice
4 fluid ounces Guinness Extra Stout
1/4 cup flour
2 cups crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup no-salt added tomato paste
4 cups low sodium beef broth
1 cup cooked black beans
1 cup cooked kidney beans
1/2 cup chili powder
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons white pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese


Heat up ½ cup of the butter in a large sauce pot over medium high heat until very hot.
Add diced filet and cook until seared and browned around the edges.
Add ground beef and cook until all of the beef is browned thoroughly.
Remove the meat and set aside, draining off ¾ of the fat (leave the rest of the fat in the pot).
Add the diced onions and chile pepper to the pot and cook until soft, about 3 minutes.
Add the meat back to the pot.
Add the Guinness and let boil for 1 minute.
Add the flour and stir constantly for 1 minute.
Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste and the beef stock and stir thoroughly.
Reduce the heat to a low simmer and add both of the beans, the chili powder, cumin, salt, white pepper and brown sugar.
Let the chili simmer for 30 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally.
Finish by stirring in ½ cup more of the butter and the shredded cheddar cheese.
Garnish or serve with any of the following: sour cream, diced red onions and pepper, shredded cheddar cheese, diced tomatoes, fresh chopped cilantro.

Serves 15 people!

http://www.recipezaar.com/26772

Guinness Drink Recipe: Trojan Horse

Guinness Drink Recipe: Trojan Horse

The Trojan Horse is a simple mixed drink of Guinness Stout and cola. This a popular summertime drink in the UK and Northern Ireland and is a great way to add some "refreshment" to your Guinness.

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 pint Guinness Stout
1/2 pint cola (Pepsi or Coke)

PREPARATION:
Pour the Guinness into a pint glass or beer mug.
Top with the cola.

STOP THIEF!

Guinness brewery plundered of 450 kegs

DUBLIN, Ireland -- Irish police were hunting for a beer bandit who stole 450 full kegs from the Guinness brewery -- the largest heist ever at Ireland's largest brewer.

National police said a lone man drove into the brewery -- a Dublin landmark and top tourist attraction -- on Wednesday and hitched his truck to a fully loaded trailer awaiting delivery to city pubs.

Diageo PLC, the beverage company that owns Guinness, said the brewery had never suffered such a large-scale theft before in its 248-year history.

Police said the raider took 180 kegs of Guinness stout, 180 kegs of U.S. lager Budweiser and 90 kegs of Danish beer Carlsberg. Guinness brews both of those foreign brands for sale in Ireland.

Police declined to say whether the theft had been captured by closed-circuit surveillance cameras. No description of the suspect was issued, suggesting that nobody got a good look at him.

Each keg holds about 88 British-sized pints, the most common serving size in Ireland, equivalent to 20 ounces each. The total theft involves 39,600 pints with a retail value exceeding $235,000.

Police said it would be difficult for the thief to sell the stolen beer without attracting attention, unless he has criminal associates who own a network of pubs.

But customs agents say it is common for pubs to sell stolen or smuggled cigarettes and alcohol, particularly counterfeit-labeled supplies of vodka, to avoid paying hefty taxes.

The Republic of Ireland, a country of 4.2 million, has more than 10,000 pubs and bars. The Guinness brewery in Dublin is the biggest supplier.

Most Expensive Guinness Commercial Ever!

Most Expensive Guinness Commercial Ever

This is touted as being Guinness's most expensive tv commercial ever. It cost Diageo, Guinness's parent company, a whopping $20 million to make. It just may be their most cleverest, too. Brilliant!

The advertisement’s director, Nicolai Fugslig, told The Daily Telegraph newspaper that it was the “biggest challenge of my career to date”.

“It was a really tough job… from the remote high altitude location to having to frequently reset thousands of props as well as working with hundreds of villagers who had absolutely no understanding of acting or film making,” Fugslig said to the newspaper.

Enjoy!

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1137883380/bctid1297325635

Gigfy.com Continues to offer FREE shipping on almost everything!

Free Shipping Offer Continues til Christmas

Gigfy.com is extending it's Free Shipping offer from now until Dec 19th on all orders shipped within the US (including FPO/APOs) and most to Canada.

Gigfy.com offers genuine Guinness posters, pint glasses and much more at great prices. Gigfy.com is a family owned and run business that offers fast and friendly service.

Visit www.gigfy.com now and find out why Gigfy is good for you!

Merry Guinness To All and To All a Perfect Pint!

Nigeria is good for Guinness

Nigeria moves up for Guinness

Nigeria has overtaken Ireland as the number two market for Guinness, behind the UK.
Brand owner Diageo said fresh distribution for the beer brand in Korea and India this year showed how the global footprint for Guinness was moving from its traditional English speaking territories. Sales across Africa were up by 17 per cent in the financial year to June 30, driven by a new TV ad campaign.

Stuart Fletcher, president of Diageo International said Nigeria had surpassed Ireland in the last three months of the year. He added: "I'd love Ireland to be growing and for it to be a bigger challenge for Nigeria to be chasing.

"We had a tremendous performance not just in Nigeria but in every single market across the sub-Saharan continent, from Kenya to Ghana to Cameroon. The campaign is having a huge effect on consumer attitudes towards Guinness." He added that the increase d growth had been accom­panied by price increases to give the brand a more premium position.

Diageo chief executive Paul Walsh added that non-core markets were "the future of the brand".

http://www.drinksint.com/articles/51694/Nigeria-moves-up-for-Guinness.aspx?categoryid=243

It's Official -- Guinness is Good For You!

Guinness good for you - official

The long-running ad campaign is well-knownThe old advertising slogan "Guinness is Good for You" may be true after all, according to researchers.

A pint of the black stuff a day may work as well as an aspirin to prevent heart clots that raise the risk of heart attacks.

Drinking lager does not yield the same benefits, experts from University of Wisconsin told a conference in the US.

Guinness were told to stop using the slogan decades ago - and the firm still makes no health claims for the drink.

The Wisconsin team tested the health-giving properties of stout against lager by giving it to dogs who had narrowed arteries similar to those in heart disease.

They found that those given the Guinness had reduced clotting activity in their blood, but not those given lager.

Heart trigger
Clotting is important for patients who are at risk of a heart attack because they have hardened arteries.

A heart attack is triggered when a clot lodges in one of these arteries supplying the heart.
Many patients are prescribed low-dose aspirin as this cuts the ability of the blood to form these dangerous clots.

The researchers told a meeting of the American Heart Association in Orlando, Florida, that the most benefit they saw was from 24 fluid ounces of Guinness - just over a pint - taken at mealtimes.

We already know that most of the clotting effects are due to the alcohol itself, rather than any other ingredients

Spokesman, Brewing Research InternationalThey believe that "antioxidant compounds" in the Guinness, similar to those found in certain fruits and vegetables, are responsible for the health benefits because they slow down the deposit of harmful cholesterol on the artery walls.
However, Diageo, the company that now manufactures Guinness, said: "We never make any medical claims for our drinks."

The company now runs advertisements that call for "responsible drinking".

A spokesman for Brewing Research International, which conducts research for the industry, said she would be "wary" of placing the health benefits of any alcohol brand above another.
She said: "We already know that most of the clotting effects are due to the alcohol itself, rather than any other ingredients.

"It is possible that there is an extra effect due to the antioxidants in Guinness - but I would like to see this research repeated."

She said that reviving the old adverts for Guinness might be problematic - at least in the EU.
Draft legislation could outlaw any health claims in adverts for alcohol in Europe, she said.

Feelgood factor
The original campaign in the 1920s stemmed from market research - when people told the company that they felt good after their pint, the slogan was born.

In England, post-operative patients used to be given Guinness, as were blood donors, because of its high iron content.

Pregnant women and nursing mothers were at one stage advised to drink Guinness - the present advice is against this.

The UK is still the largest market in the world for Guinness, although the drink does not feature in the UK's top ten beer brands according to the latest research.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3266819.stm

Not so Brilliant! Guinness retires the "Brilliant" Ad Campaign

Seems that two Guinness brewmasters will be on the unemployment line very soon. Their much loved "Brilliant!" ad campaign is going the way of Guiness Gold... down the tubes.

The heads-that-be at Diageo, Guinness's conglomerant parent company, have decided to pull the plug on those beloved "Brilliant!" characters.

http://www.suntimes.com/business/lazare/574573,CST-FIN-lew26.article

The Truth About the Guinness Legacy

This article might be a bit hard to swallow as you're downing a pint or 3. Much of this I had known for years and started a few pub clearing brawls over it. Not everyone can take the truth even if it means missing a few teeth over it.

http://zmagsite.zmag.org/Aug2003/dunne0803.html

Pour the Perfect Guinness Black and Tan

How to pour a perfect
GUINNESS Black and Tan

These are the directions for pouring from a tap, either at a pub or on a kegerator.

1. Hold your pint glass at an angle, and fill just over halfway with Bass Ale*.

2. Slow the flow control of the Draught Guinness tap down to a trickle.

3. Fill to the top, letting the Draught Guinness hit the side of the glass...
~OR~
Pour Draught Guinness over an upside-down spoon to dispense the flow.

4. Let surge and settle. Enjoy!

* You can substitute Bass Ale with Smithwick's, Harp Lager, cider, etc.


For GUINNESS based drink recipes check out The Great Guinness Recipe Collection!

Guinness Pumpkin Pie Recipe

GUINNESS Pumpkin Pie

1 9 inch unbaked pie shell
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups canned pumpkin
6 ounces Guinness Stout *Extra Stout bottle, not Draught can/bottle*

Combine sugar, salt, cinnamon, and ginger in a bowl. Lightly beat in two eggs. Stir in canned pumpkin and Guinness beer until well combined. Pour mixture into pie shell; preheat oven to 425F and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350F, and bake an additional 45-50 minutes, or until fork placed in center of the pie comes out clean. Cool, and serve.

Check out The Great Guinness GUINNESS Recipe Collection!

Guinness Pumpkin Black & Tan Recipe

There's a whole sort of person who loves a Black & Tan (Guinness either mixed with or floating atop Bass, Smithwick's or some other English style Mild Ale). I prefer a Guinness & Cider, myself.

I just came upon this recipe. It's perfect for the Autumn and especially Halloween. The original recipe called for Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale which is made by Budweiser I figured (since I can't stand any A-B product) to try a quality microbrewed pumpkin ale like Dogfish Head's Punkin Ale.

WOW! The outcome was delish! Try it for yourself. The better the quality of pumpkin ale you use the better the drink will be... more like real pumpkin pie!

Guinness Pumpkin Black & Tan

Ingredients
1 Bottle of quality pumpkin ale
1 Bottle/Can of Guinness Draught

Tools
16 or 20 oz pint glass
Black & Tan pouring spoon or Tablespoon

Directions
1. Fill half to 2/3 of a pint glass with pumpkin ale.
2. Place Black and Tan pouring spoon (or normal table spoon)
upside down over the rim of the glass.
3. Slowly and carefully pour Guinness over the center of the spoon.
4. Top off.
5. Enjoy!

Check out more Guinness recipes at my website.

ATTENTION ALL GUINNESS FANS IN PHILLY/WILMINGTON

CALLING ALL GUINNESS FANS IN PHILLY
South Jersey and Wilmington, too!
~ 1759 Society Philly ~

Interested in meeting up for a pint or 2? Perhaps start our own 1759 Society and put the Austin outfit to shame.

I believe that there are enough of us Guinness heads in the Delaware Valley to open up a couple chapters. I know of a few Irish pubs where we can meet up, one in Center City and another out in Havertown.

Email me if you're interested.

GUINNESS Stout Burger Recipe --- Delish!

Guinness Burgers

Ingredients:
Oil to saute
2 1/2 pounds of ground beef
1 onion, diced
3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
6 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons thyme, dried (30ml)
1 tablespoon oregano, dried (15ml)
1 egg
1 bottle of Guinness Extra Stout
1/4 cup parsley, chopped (60ml)
1 teaspoon of salt (5ml)
1 teaspoon of black pepper (5ml)

Directions:
In a small saucepan over medium heat, sauté onion, jalapeno peppers, garlic, thyme and oregano until onions are translucent (about 3 minutes).

In a large bowl, stir together ground beef, onion mixture and egg, blend thoroughly. Slowly stir in stout beer. Add parsley, celery salt and black pepper and mix well.

Preheat grill to 375 degrees or frying pan on Medium High.

Form meat into 6 patties. Place on grill or frying pan and cook, turning until well-done throughout (about 8-10 minutes per side).

Yield: 6 servings

For more Guinness Recipes visit Gigfy.com!

Gingerbread Guinness Cupcake

Gingerbread Guinness Cupcakes with Orange Marmalade Buttercream (adapted from Epicurious.com)

1 cup Guinness extra stout
1 cup mild-flavored (light) molasses
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups (plain) all purpose flour
2 tbs ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger

1. Preheat oven to 180C (350°F). Line 2 muffin trays with 18 cupcake liners.
2. Bring Guiness and molasses to boil in heavy medium saucepan over high heat.
3. Remove from heat; stir in baking soda.
4. Let stand 1 hour to cool completely.
5. Whisk flour and next 6 ingredients in large bowl to blend.
6. Whisk eggs and both sugars in medium bowl to blend.
7. Whisk in oil, then stout mixture.
8. Gradually whisk stout-egg mixture into flour mixture. Stir in fresh ginger if adding it in cake.
9. Divide batter among prepared cupcake liners.
10. Bake until tester inserted into centers of cakes comes out clean, about 25 minutes.
11. Cool cupcakes on racks. Allow to cool completely before icing.

Can be made 1 day ahead.

For more Guinness food and drink recipes check out... The Great Guinness Stout Recipe Collection!

Just a Reminder of Sorts

St Patrick's Day is coming. Ok, it's 6 months away as I write this. But, it's coming like a mother-in-law.

For me it's not a day to drink green (Old Milwaukee) beer, wear green shamrocks, wigs and down copious amounts of Guinness. I'd like to think I'm Irish everyday of the year. It's in my blood. It's part of my everyday understanding and identity.

Just a few suggestions to go against the "Green Tide" on St Patrick's Day:

1. Don't go to a pub or bar
2. Stay home and read a book about Irish history
3. Plan your first or next trip to Ireland
4. If you don't have a library of Pogues cd's go out buy a few and blare them all day long! :0)
5. Sign up for Irish language or step dancing lessons
6. Visit my website and treat yourself to some Guinness merchandise!

Sacrilege! Flying Guinness Drink Recipe

FLYING GUINNESS

1/2 pint Guinness Stout (can or draught)
8 oz can Red Bull® energy drink

Pour half pint of Guinness into a tulip-shaped pint glass.
Place a spoon over the top of the glass upside down.
Slowly pour the Red Bull (or any nasty tasting energy drink) over the top of the spoon.

Serve. Upchucking is optional.

** The drink should look much like a traditional Guiness/Bass Black & Tan, just with Red Bull instead of Bass Ale.

For more Guinness drink and food recipes, sacrilege or not, check out The Great Guinness Stout Recipe Collection at Gigfy.com.