St. James's Gate Brewery (Guinness)
Dublin, Ireland · Est. 1759
Also known as Guinness, St. James's Gate
From the record
What we have established
Diageo also operates the Open Gate Brewery on this site — a reservation-only experimental pilot plant producing small-batch and barrel-aged beer. Recorded here rather than as a separate brewery, since it is the same address and the same owner.
Tally’s Take
The great pivot. Arthur started with traditional Dublin ales, then noticed a dark, roasted London import called 'porter.' He abandoned ale entirely in 1799 to perfect the 'black stuff,' eventually running the English imports out of the Irish market. By 1880 St. James's Gate was the largest brewery in the world.
The founding thesisArthur Guinness used a £100 inheritance to secure a dilapidated four-acre site on a famous 9,000-year lease at £45/year.
The Museum
Timeline
- 1759The 9,000-year lease
Arthur Guinness signs for the St. James's Gate site at £45/year.
- 1799Ale abandoned
Guinness bets the whole brewery on porter/stout.
- 1880World's largest
St. James's Gate becomes the largest brewery on Earth.
- 1997Guinness becomes Diageo
Guinness PLC and Grand Metropolitan merge in December 1997 in a £12 billion deal — the largest in UK history to that point — creating Diageo. The brewery at St James's Gate, leased for 9,000 years in 1759, becomes one asset in a global spirits group.
The People
Behind the beer
Turned a £100 inheritance into a global brewing empire on the strength of one dark, roasted style.
The Beer Library
Beers
Guinness Draught
Year-RoundIrish Dry Stout
Nitrogen-poured; roasted barley bitterness and a creamy cascade.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Guinness Foreign Extra Stout
Year-RoundForeign Extra Stout
Brewed strong and heavily hopped since 1801 so it would survive long sea voyages. It outsells Draught across much of Africa and Asia, and tastes almost nothing like it.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Travel Guide
Plan a visit
- Guinness Storehouse
- Gravity Bar city views
Follow the money
How it changed hands
1 recorded move- 1759Founded
Arthur Guinness used a £100 inheritance to secure a dilapidated four-acre site on a famous 9,000-year lease at £45/year.
- 1997Guinness becomes Diageo
Guinness PLC and Grand Metropolitan merge in December 1997 in a £12 billion deal — the largest in UK history to that point — creating Diageo. The brewery at St James's Gate, leased for 9,000 years in 1759, becomes one asset in a global spirits group.
Today the chain tops out at Diageo plc.
Show your working
Sources
- controlConfirmed
St. James's Gate Brewery (Guinness) is controlled by Public company.
Diageo plc Annual Report 2025 · Diageo plc · 2025-08
PrimaryHigh reliabilityAccessed 2026-08-05Reviewed 2026-08-05
Only the claims above are sourced. Everything else on this page is the archive's own research and has not yet been tied to a document — which is worth knowing rather than hiding.
Straight answers
Common questions about St. James's Gate Brewery (Guinness)
- Who owns St. James's Gate Brewery (Guinness)?
- St. James's Gate Brewery (Guinness) is owned by Diageo plc. St. James's Gate Brewery (Guinness) is based in Dublin, Ireland.
- Is St. James's Gate Brewery (Guinness) still independent?
- No. St. James's Gate Brewery (Guinness) is owned by Diageo plc and is no longer independent.
- When was St. James's Gate Brewery (Guinness) acquired?
- 1997. Guinness PLC and Grand Metropolitan merge in December 1997 in a £12 billion deal — the largest in UK history to that point — creating Diageo. The brewery at St James's Gate, leased for 9,000 years in 1759, becomes one asset in a global spirits group.
- When was St. James's Gate Brewery (Guinness) founded?
- St. James's Gate Brewery (Guinness) was founded in 1759 in Dublin, Ireland.
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