I definitely enjoyed a pint or two of the “Black Stuff” while I was in Dublin last fall, as Dubliners have been doing for the past two centuries. In fact, Dublin recently celebrated the bicentenary of Arthur Guinness’s death, and Dubliners Raise Their Glasses to Brewing Genius explains a bit of the drink’s history:
When Arthur Guinness brewed his first pint, beer was almost unknown in rural Ireland where whiskey, gin and poteen (moonshine) were the favorite tipples. It was known as porter at the time because of its popularity with porters and stevedores.
It was known as porter at the time because of its popularity with porters. I was not aware of that! Porters are big, strong guys, and they drink dark beer. Obviously then, Guinness gives you strength:
Its healing powers are legendary — Asian women have been known to bathe newborn babies in Guinness, while the stout beer was once given out free by health authorities in Britain to pregnant women.A cavalry officer recovering from wounds sustained at the battle of Waterloo in 1815, drank a pint of Guinness. “I am confident that it contributed more than anything else to my recovery,” he wrote.