WATER IS A VITAL INGREDIENT. OUR WATER COMES FROM THE WICKLOW MOUNTAINS JUST SOUTH OF DUBLIN CITY

Water has always been at the heart of our brewing process. Arthur Guinness knew the importance of using clean water in the brewery at St. James’s Gate and obtained access to the Dublin city watercourse as part of his original lease in 1759.

We are obsessive about water and only the highest quality is used to brew Guinness. It comes from the Wicklow Mountains, around 40km from where you are standing right now. Contrary to popular belief, the water is not (and never has been) drawn from the River Liffey.

OUR WATER: DID YOU KNOW?

It may surprise you to know that during the brewing process, our team taste the water as regularly as they taste the beer, as any inconsistency could impact the flavour. It’s vital that our water’s quality remains the same, so that we can ensure Guinness always tastes great, wherever you are in the world.

INGREDIENTS MASTERS

SEAN LOGUE, DAY PRODUCTION MANAGER BREWHOUSE 4

“I love being part of a team of brewers and scientists who transform four simple ingredients into beautiful Guinness.As part of our commitment to reduce the amount of water we use, we are always looking for our methods to be as efficient as possible. The challenge of using less water, paired with the reward of producing perfect Guinness every time, is something I find very satisfying.”

SHONAGH DOWD, BREWING SHIFT MANAGER BREWHOUSE 4

“I work with a team to transform water, a seemingly simple ingredient, into beautiful Guinness. Brewing our liquid is an intricate and scientific process which has been refined over many years to produce excellent beer, every day. I monitor the beer at various stages of the process. My team conduct several checks to ensure it’s ready to move on to the next stage, including fermentation, yeast collection, secondary maturation and filtration. It takes time, patience and precision. There is a lot of process monitoring involved and laboratory analysis to ensure the beer is of the correct specification at each stage.”

PRESERVE WATER FOR LIFE

The Arthur Guinness legacy runs much deeper than just creating delicious brews. He also understood the value of supporting the communities around him and that ethos remains at the heart of everything we do at Guinness today. Since 1827 when the first crates of Guinness arrived in Africa, we have worked to produce exceptional beer while empowering local communities. But it's difficult to make beer in places where water is already scarce, especially when it comes to such an essential ingredient.

PROTECTING OUR WATER: WHAT WE ARE DOING

Guinness is proud to be part of Diageo’s Preserve Water for Life programme, dedicated to providing drinking water to populations across Africa. Working with partner organisations, we support projects including the construction of boreholes, hand-dug wells, rainwater harvesting and the provision of filtration devices.

We’re extremely proud of the work we’ve achieved. But we’ve more to do.

In our 10-year 'Society 2030: Spirit of Progress' action plan for building a more inclusive and sustainable world, we're committed to pioneering grain-to-glass sustainability and preserving the natural resources on which our long-term success depends.

Our grain-to-glass approach supports the provision of improved access to safe water sanitation and hygiene for water stressed communities near our sites and in smallholder farmer sourcing areas.

Find out more by visiting www.guinness.com and sign up to receive regular updates.