Guinness used to be an old man's pint, poured in old men's pubs. Now the Irish stout is selling faster than ever. It's the fastest-growing imported beer in the US, and the best-selling beer in British pubs.
This resurgence has played out against the backdrop of plummeting alcohol sales worldwide and near-apocalyptic conditions in the hospitality trade.
We sent Alex Bilmes, former editor-in-chief of British Esquire, to investigate.
He drank at the London pub that sells 20,000 pints of Guinness a week, more than any place on earth. He drank five at the Dublin pub known for the best pint of black stuff in the world. And at 10:30am on a Friday, he drank at St James's Gate, where Guinness has been brewed since 1759.
Between pints he consulted TikTok influencers, authors, cemetery workers and Diageo executives, all to understand the revival of a 267-year-old beer that was decidedly uncool just a decade ago.
Nothing about Guinness turns out to be black and white. Including the drink, which held up to the light is dark red.
colossus.com/article/guinnes…