Who Was Arthur Before Inventing Guinness? vol. II

IV

Guinness Couple After Guinness Which Produce Guinness Babies

Between all his time brewing and fighting for the welfare of the Irish working class, Arthur somehow managed to find some time between the sheets with his wife, Olivia Whitmore. Arthur and Olivia must have taken the Biblical adage of be fruitful as they had been multiplying faster than horny mosquitos and had 21 children. Probably they were drinking too much Guinness.

V

Thank you Arthur!

Throughout his brewing life, Arthur focused on both ales and porters, but by the late 18th century, after following English beer trends for some time, he gave up on ale and instead focused all his energy on producing a high quality black porter: his legendary Guinness Stout. What do we need more from the world ?

VI

Cheeeeeese!

For a man whose beer would eventually be brewed in 49 countries and would require millions of liters of water per day to keep up with demand, Arthur Guinness seemed to be wary of the spotlight. Only one lonely portrait exists of the master brewer. The father of 21 kids probably had no time for such trivialities. And you have to remember that it was a very difficult time for paparazzi. It’s easy to make a photo, but in 19th century tabloid journalists were only able to paint portraits of stars caught naked in a swimming pool and it was taking too much time to remain unnoticed.

VII

Better than politics

It’s likely that Sir Arthur Guinness had no idea how he would change the world. Not only did he produce a beer that would become so popular that, in the US, a pint is enjoyed every seven seconds, but during his life he held convictions on the improvement of working class conditions that would survive long after his death in 1803. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the Guinness board members provided employee benefits—health insurance, subsidized meals, pensions, higher wages, and more—that were unparalleled in Ireland at the time. It is hard to believe in times of employers able only to complain about taxes (few times lower than tens year ago), isn’t it ?

That’s why, next time while drinking, you should raise a glass and say slàinte in the name of Arthur Guinness.