More beer is imbibed in Ireland from the Guinness Brewery in Dublin than from any other source. St James’s Gate on the south side of the Liffey is a centrally located sprawl not far from Dublin’s Phoenix Park, and this is where the creamy stout is made. Arthur Guinness established the plant on this site in 1759. The date when the lease began is significant: Guinness celebrates 250 years on the site in 2009.

A Web friendly campaign has begun in earnest to mark the occasion, with Guinness running, inter alia, a questionnaire at one of its domains. The campaign is also marked with television advertising and a host of “Global Toasts” and the establishment of the Arthur Guinness Fund, in keeping with its namesake’s philanthropic disposition. The Fund’s chief aim is to enable those with the skills to do so to better their communities.

So is Guinness, as a marketing campaign in the 1930s and 40s claimed: “good for you”? Diageo, the international company that has taken over the Guinness brand, today refuses to make health claims for any of its beverages. However, studies have shown that the antioxidant compounds in Guinness can be beneficial to the heart. These are not found in lighter beers, and the claim is similar to those made for red wine over white. The antioxidant properties are said to help prevent arteries and other blood vessels from becoming clogged with cholesterol. However, the health benefits of Guinness have been known for generations by Irish parents. Many Irish family anecdotes will relate how the weakest children in the family were often fed a bottle of Guinness – perhaps once a week – in order that they gain a little weight.

The black roasting of malt still takes place within the walls of the large property, and the brewery (now owned by Diageo) also produces international beers today for the Irish market. However, a visit to the Guinness Storehouse attraction does not include a visit to the brewery itself (not surprising given modern health and safety regulations). The black stuff, as it is known, has been brilliantly marketed through the centuries. From the creamy white head with a smiley face that pre-dates its yellow counterculture cousin by decades, to the toucan, to the waves and horses surfing towards the shore, to the dancing maniac; each Guinness marketing campaign has contained an advertising gem or three. The Guinness Storehouse itself is no different. The 1904 building provides a history lesson through a tour, with a massive atrium shaped like a pint glass as the centrepiece. The six storey exhibit shows visitors exactly what goes into a glass of stout.

On display you’ll see a huge copper fermentation vat, you’ll learn about ingredients, the malting process, how hops are grown, and you’ll also see photographs from the nineteenth century of long dead employees –in their prime at the time – hauling large kegs of the black stuff as it was being prepared for shipment. Also, you’ll find an exhibit of the barrel maker’s craft. Until the end of World War II, the cooper handmade the kegs that were used to store the stout.

The Gravity Bar on the top floor of the Storehouse is a great vantage point from which to view the city at the end of the tour, and to enjoy a pint of the very stuff you’ve just learned a lot more about!