The Elegant Variation: GUEST REVIEW

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September 24, 2007

GUEST REVIEW - THE FROTHY FRESHENER

Guinness: The 250 Year Quest for the Perfect Pint
Bill Yenne
John Wiley & Sons
219 pp
$24.95

GUEST REVIEW BY JIM RULAND

Is Guinness the best beer on the planet? Those who consume the two billion pints poured each year around the world would certainly agree that it is. To find the answer, noted beer expert Bill Yenne went to the Guinness Brewery at St. James Gate in the heart of the Hibernian metropolis where Guinness Extra Stout has been brewed since 1759.

What is stout anyway? Generally speaking, beer can be grouped according to the type of yeast used to ferment the ingredients that make up the beer. Lagers are fermented from the bottom whereas ales and porters are fermented from the top. Guinness is a form of porter and it gets its characteristic dark color from the roasted barley that goes into the mix.

Of course, Guinness wouldn’t be Guinness without its creamy crown of foam, but this didn’t start until relatively recently: 1959 to be exact, when Guinness introduced a sophisticated blend of nitrogen and carbon gases to the pour – a process known as nitrogenization – to create the cascade that results in Guinness’ unique and distinctive appearance. Part of the appeal of drinking a pint of Guinness is all the tradition that comes with it; but Yenne’s history reveals that the Guinness family was a forward-thinking clan who encouraged innovation. From building an eighth-mile railway on the property to securing a lease for nine thousand years, time and time again the brewers at St. James Gate demonstrated they were problem solvers who did things their own way.

While some of the early chapters dealing with the personalities behind the gate make for dry reading, Yenne uncovers some fascinating details. For instance who knew that for a brief time Guinness operated a brewery in Long Island, New York? Or that Guinness maintained a fleet of ships and that one of them was torpedoed by a U-boat during the Great War? Or that the Guinness Book of Records, which was created as a promotional giveaway, was at one time the biggest selling copyrighted book in the history of publishing? Or that in the early twentieth century Guinness employed men to travel around the world and report on how their product was being presented and received. Talk about a dream job!

In fact, the exploits of one such world traveler changed the face of Guinness forever. For most of its rich history, Guinness did not bottle its own beer. The bottling business was every bit as competitive as the beer-making enterprise. Each bottler had its own distinctive emblem, which they would affix to each bottle of beer they distributed. So in Egypt or Jamaica or San Francisco, a beer drinker would know and ask for Guinness, not by name, but by the emblem on the bottle.

Guinness reversed its long-standing refusal to advertise its products with a series of unforgettable campaigns that introduced the phrases, “Guinness is Good for You” and “Guinness for Strength” as well as a menagerie of characters, including the famous toucan. Working for the agency that handled the Guinness account was mystery writer Dorothy Sayers, who is credited with the line “It pays to advertise.” Even Dublin writer James Joyce wanted to get in on the act who, according to Yenne, by volunteering the following tag line: “the free, the flow, the frothy freshener.”

Despite the plethora of trivia collected in Yenne’s history, the book is limited in scope. The materials for Yenne’s book were largely based on an extended trip to the archives at St. James Gate and a series of conversations with the current master brewer. For example, we’re told that there are three Guinness breweries in Africa and another in Malaysia, but aren’t given a glimpse of what they’re like. The third biggest market for Guinness after Ireland and Great Britain is not America but Nigeria, but Yenne makes no effort to describe this phenomenon. It’s simply another curious fact lost in a trove of them.

However, if you’re a lover of Arthur Guinness’ luxurious liquidation who wrongly believes that its made with water from the River Liffey – a myth that is nearly as old as Guinness itself – then Yenne’s history ought to be required reading. At the very least, the fruits of Yenne’s research are guaranteed to make you the best-informed lad or lassie at the pub.

It hardly matters if Guinness is the best. In a market where beer is perceived as being cold, gold and highly carbonated, Guinness is the black sheep of the malted beverage industry. Perhaps a better question is: what would a world without Guinness be like?

Pintless.

Posted at 09:40 AM in Reviews | Permalink

Comments

I *heart* Guiness. My pub standard.

Posted by: Anna Clark | September 24, 2007 at 01:51 PM

I found this blog 'cause I was looking for info on the Guinness brewery in LIC, NY. My family knew of it and we still have a bottle from the last run (at least I think mom does) My Da and uncles used to make black & tans from it mixing with Ballentine Ale. Guess I'm dating myself :-)

Posted by: Paddy Smith | March 07, 2008 at 04:22 PM

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The Elegant Variation

A Literary Weblog.
A Guardian Top 10 Literary Blog * A Forbes "Best of the Web" Pick * A Los Angeles Magazine Top Los Angeles Blog
"Really brave ... or really stupid" - NPR

September 24, 2007

GUEST REVIEW - THE FROTHY FRESHENER

Comments

MY NOVEL

WORTHY READINGS

TEV DEFINED

RECOMMENDED

THIS GUN FOR HIRE:
Reviews & Criticism

SECOND LOOK

Categories

The Elegant Variation

A Literary Weblog. A Guardian Top 10 Literary Blog * A Forbes "Best of the Web" Pick * A Los Angeles Magazine Top Los Angeles Blog "Really brave ... or really stupid" - NPR

September 24, 2007

GUEST REVIEW - THE FROTHY FRESHENER

Comments

MY NOVEL

WORTHY READINGS

TEV DEFINED

RECOMMENDED

THIS GUN FOR HIRE: Reviews & Criticism

SECOND LOOK

Categories

A Literary Weblog.
A Guardian Top 10 Literary Blog * A Forbes "Best of the Web" Pick * A Los Angeles Magazine Top Los Angeles Blog
"Really brave ... or really stupid" - NPR

THIS GUN FOR HIRE:
Reviews & Criticism