Fact: Guinness Beer Is Actually Red, Not Black

Hold onto your pints, because we have a bit of Guinness trivia that is about to knock your green St. Paddy’s Day hat right off your head. Guinness, that beloved stout that you drink religiously on Saint Patrick’s Day (which you sometimes drop a shot of bailey’s into and chug) and is as filling as a dinner, is not what you think.

If you take a look at glass of Guinness, it’s black, right? If you’re being picky, it’s a deep, deep chocolate brown. But actually, it’s not black at all. It’s not even brown. This pint of beer is red ― and the Guinness website confirms it.

When you hold a pint of Guinness up to the light ― which, to be fair, doesn’t happen often considering the environment in which it is often consumed ― you’ll see that this stout is in fact ruby red. Take a look:

The ruby red color is a result of the way the malted barley is roasted during the beer’s preparation.

Now that we’ve got that all taken care off, it’s time you learned how to pour yourself a proper stout.