Guinness Stout has a unique place in global beverage folklore. It is a beer with a long and colorful history and mythology, while still having a passionate following among beer connoisseurs around the world today. Indeed, two billion pints are poured and enjoyed around the world each year.

Guinness is also a remarkable family of brewers and entrepreneurs whose story is worthy of legend, and whose name is an integral part of Irish history: First, there was Arthur Guinness, the entrepreneur patriarch, who became a brewer at age 30 and four years later leased a Dublin brewery for 9,000 years. There was his son and namesake, who penned the recipe for the legendary black liquidation with the froth on the top. And then there was the third generation Benjamin Lee Guinness, the First Earl of Iveagh, who became the richest man in Ireland selling stout, and who built the family business into the largest brewery in the world.

This book is the telling of the legends of Guinness — the stout, the men and the mythology.

Having written about beer and brewing for 20 years, author and journalist Yenne here turns his attention to what he calls the world's greatest beer--the famous Irish stout porter. He sets the context be reviewing brewing worldwide and in Ireland, then begins the story with Arthur Guinness and brings it up to the present sales and technology. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

"Marvelous As Bill Yenne embarks on his epic quest for the perfect pint, he takes us along on a magical tour into the depths of all things Guinness. Interweaving the tales of the world's greatest beer and the nation that spawned it, Yenne introduces us to a cast of characters worthy of a dozen novels, a brewery literally dripping with history, and — of course — the one-and-only way to properly pour a pint. You can taste the stout porter on every page." Dan Roam, author of The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures

"Joseph Conrad was wrong. The real journey into the Heart of Darkness is recounted within the pages of Bill Yenne's fine book. Guinness (the beer) is a touchstone for brewers and beer lovers the world over. Guinness (the book) gives beer enthusiasts all the information and education necessary to take beer culture out of the clutches of light lagers and back into the dark ages. Cheers." Sam Calagione, owner, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and author of Brewing Up a Business, Extreme Brewing, and Beer or Wine?

Bill Yenne has been writing extensively about beer and brewing history for two decades and has discussed these subjects as a featured guest on the History Channel. He is the author of more than forty books on a variety of historical topics, and a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors.

Notes on Measurements and Terminology.

Acknowledgments.

Prologue. The World's Greatest Beer.

Introduction. What is Guinness Stout?

Chapter 1. Origins.

Chapter 2. Arthur Guinness, Brewer.

Chapter 3. A Family Business.

Chapter 4. Generations and Dynasties.

Chapter 5. Bottlers and the Export Trade.

Chapter 6. Building Sales While Building Rails.

Chapter 7. A Public Company.

Chapter 8. The Guinness World Travellers.

Chapter 9. To the Ends of the Earth, and Manchester Too.

Chapter 10. War at Home and Abroad.

Chapter 11. Trouble, Triumph and the Toucan.

Chapter 12. Brewed in Britain, and America Too.

Chapter 13. World War II.

Chapter 14. The Postwar Years.

Chapter 15. Great Men and Great Ideas.

Chapter 16. A Family Business at Two Hundred.

Chapter 17. Nitrogenation, the Really Great Idea.

Chapter 18. A Lager Called Harp.

Chapter 19. Into Africa, Malaysia and Beyond.

Chapter 20. Diversification and Expansion.

Chapter 21. The Watershed Decade.

Chapter 22. A Widget in the Pint.

Chapter 23. A Growing Company and The Perfect Pint.

Chapter 24. Guinness in the Twenty-First Century.

Chapter 25. Inside The Gate With The Master Brewer.

Epilogue. The World's Greatest Beer.

About the Author.

Appendix A. Generations of the Guinness Family in the Leadership of the Family Business.

Appendix B. Guinness Head Brewers.

Bibliography.

About the Author.

Index.