Brewing Process

Step 1: Milling
Malted Barley is fed into the Guinness brew house mills which crush the grain, releasing the inner starch and flour, and leaving the outer barley husk material as intact as possible. Once the grain has been milled it is referred to as 'grist' and is passed into a grist case where it collects ready for the next stage. The phrase 'grist for the mill' has its origins here.

Step 2: Mashing
The grist is mixed with hot water - known as 'liquor' - and then passes through a 'Steel's Masher' - a horizontal cylinder with a series of rotating paddles mounted inside. The 'mash' is then mixed for a time to extract the brewing sugars.

Step 3: Filtering
The mash drops down into a Kieve (an old Dublin term for a Mash Tun). The Kieve acts like a giant sieve to collect the extracted sugars and water, whilst leaving the grain behind. This collected liquid is called sweet wort.

Step 4: Boiling
Now the hops and our roasted barley is added. The liquid wort is boiled for 90 minutes to concentrate the sugars and extract bitterness from the hops. After boiling, the wort is left to settle before being emptied (or 'struck off') and passed through a cooler.

Step 5: Fermenting
Arthur's yeast in action; now the liquid is cooled, our special yeast is added and is allowed to ferment for a number of days. The yeast converts brewing sugars to alcohol and carbon dioxide gas, creating that wondrous flavour. This gas is collected and purified for re-use.

Step 6: Maturation
During the maturation process everything is allowed to settle, slow down and mellow. Some rest is needed so all the ingredients and elements achieve the balance and consistency of flavour that is demanded by the brewers for that perfect Guinness taste.

Step 7: Packaging
The beer is now almost ready for packaging, but whatever the variant, Guinness is always crowned with a distinctive head.

With Guinness Draught, nitrogen is added in the packaging process, this is what gives the pint the magical beauty. When the beer is served, the nitrogen bubbles will be released, bringing the beer alive and creating that famous surge, settle and wonderfully smooth head.

With Guinness Extra Stout - the depth of character in flavour is matched with the amount of entrained carbon dioxide. When poured from a bottle it releases an eruption of foam, creating the classic, full and slightly brown head.

After packaging, every batch is tasted by the brewer before leaving the brewery, to ensure that it meets our exacting standards - one of the world's greatest jobs! It's the tradition, craft and passion, passed down through generations for 250 years, that makes it Guinness.

Finally their creation is officially Guinness and it's ready for the rest of the journey. Whether in keg, bottle or can it's on the move again, bound for pubs and bars around the world (or the local just around the corner).

Step 8: Enjoying
There's one final step before you can delight in the distinctive Guinness flavour - the pour. It's a small detail, but get it right and all that preceding craftsmanship will pay off. See Pouring the Perfect Guinness to learn how to pour the perfect Guinness.

Now the perfect Guinness is yours to enjoy.