October 16th, 1817 marks the first time Guinness was sent to the United States. The beer, which happened to be a porter back in 1817, was sent from Dublin to South Carolina in eight barrels.
“Two things have always been at the heart of the Guinness brand since our founding in 1759: brewing great beer and sharing our story,” said Emma Giles, Guinness Brand Director. “When we started brewing beer for America 200 years ago, that story became a shared one. Now, every time you share a pint with someone else, another chapter begins.”
In honor of the anniversary, the brewery is launching a new 200th Anniversary Export Stout in the United States. The beer is being made at the Open Gate Brewery, a pilot brewery on Guinness’ Open Gate Brewery campus.
I visited the brewery in Dublin in late 2015. At the time, the smaller brewery was set up much like an American craft operation, and brewers were allowed to experiment with creating any new beer they chose. The brewery had been operational for quite some time, but 2015 was the first time the experimental arm of Guinness was opened up to the public, allowing people to try the beer.
The Anniversary Export Stout is inspired by a recipe by Benjamin Guinness, the son of Arther Guinness, and was originally developed back in 1817 before that first shipment came to the United States. It’s brewed with Black Patent Malt and Golding Hops, and comes in at a 6% ABV.
“We took a look at that export stout’s recipe from 1817 in our brewing records and used that as our inspiration here, but it’s not just an homage to who we were as brewers then or who America was as a country,” said Peter Simpson, Head Brewer at the Open Gate Brewery in Dublin. “We’re also using this beer as a way to show how much we’re looking forward to the next 200 years. We knew it had to be special, and we really think this throwback recipe captures exactly what we wanted from 1817 all the way through 2017.”
Later this month, Guinness will also release limited-edition cans featuring artwork from the 1930 and 1950s, as well as a “200 Years of Stout” mixed pack including:
Guinness 200th Anniversary Export Stout – A deep, dark, authentic export stout with smooth, rich flavor; brewed with Black Patent Malt. (MSRP: $8.99, 6-pack)
Guinness Limited-Edition Mount Rushmore Cans – Classic Guinness Draught stout in limited-edition cans depicting everyone’s favorite toucans flying across the iconic American monument of Mount Rushmore from a rarely seen Guinness ad from the 1950s. (MSRP: $8.99, 8-pack)
Guinness 200 Years of Stout in America Mixed Pack – A collection of brews in honor of America’s love of stouts – Guinness Original, 200th Anniversary Export Stout, Antwerpen Stout and Foreign Extra Stout – all of which have been exported to the U.S. over the past 200 years. (MSRP: $21.99, 12-pack)