Guinness

Irish Harp

A part of the long history of harps in Ireland, the Irish coat of arms and the Guinness logo are modeled after the same harp at Trinity College.

The harp has been a part of Irish culture & mythology for millennia. The Irish goddess/mortal woman Cana Cludhmor (aka Canola) is said to have fallen asleep to the sound of music by the sea. When she awoke she realized the music was being made by sinews attached to the ribs of a rotting whale. From this she created the first harp (… or possibly her husband did). The Dagda, the chief god of Irish mythology, was said to own a magic oak harp named Uaithne that could fly to him when called. Playing this harp The Dagda could summon the seasons, bring peace, and more. (That said Uaithne may have been the name of his harpist and not the instrument itself.)

Henry the VIII and Elizabeth the I both admired the Irish harp while also stamping it out in Ireland. — Henry VIII and Elizabeth I both admired the Irish harp while also stamping it out in Ireland.

An instrument of politics

The coat of arms of Ireland is a gold harp set on a blue background. It’s the only country to have a musical instrument as its national symbol. The harp had been the heraldic symbol of Ireland since at least the 13th century but Henry VIII officially made the harp the symbol of the Kingdom of Ireland when he declared himself king of the land in the 16th century. Also Henry was apparently quite the musician himself, playing the harp among other instruments.

While the harp was an emblematic part of the British crown it was also a symbol of Irish resistance. In the 16th and 17th centuries harp music was enjoyed in the English royal court while simultaneously being outlawed in Ireland. The English government looked to stamp out Irish culture in order to control the people. In 1603 Queen Elizabeth I ordered harpists to be executed and their instruments destroyed. In 1652 the Act for the Settlement of Ireland was intended to subjugate and ethnically cleanse the Irish people which, among other things, again outlawed Irish harp playing.

Irish republicanism and militant groups have long used the harp as a symbol. In 1642 Owen Roe O’Neil used a gold winged harp on a field of green as his flag. The Irish forces in the Rebellion of 1798 used a similar flag. In America the Fighting 69th were a Union regiment in the American Civil War, made up up of mostly Irish immigrants, who had a flag of a sunburst and a harp. During the Irish War of Independence in the early 20th century a green flag with a simpler golden harp, along with the tricolor flag and the plough & stars flag, were used by the Irish fighting against the British.

the Trinity College Harp — The Trinity College harp, aka Brian Boru’s harp, is the oldest Irish harp in existence and the basis for many logos.

Brian Boru’s harp / Trinity College harp

The modern harp design on Ireland’s coat of arms, its coins, passports, stamps, etc. is modeled after the 14th or 15th century harp currently on display at Trinity College in Dublin. The Trinity College harp is also known as Brian Boru’s harp, named for the 11th century High King of Ireland, but the harp wasn’t his as it was made hundreds of years after Boru died.

It is unknown who the harp’s original owner was but given the elaborate construction it was most likely a high status individual. Its medieval design is similar to two other harps currently in Scotland and is the oldest Irish harp in existence.

the Guinness and National harp — Both the Guinness harp and the harp used for the symbol of Ireland are based on the Trinity College harp – one faces left and the other faces right.

the Guinness logo & the Republic of Ireland

In 1862 Guinness began to use a stylized version of the Trinity College harp in their branding and made it their trademark in 1876. When Ireland became a free state in 1922 the government looked to use a stylized version of the same harp but was faced with an odd problem. While the idea of representing Ireland with a harp had existed for hundreds of years, a stylized version of the Trinity College harp was already a registered trademark of Guinness. The solution: flip it.

The Guinness harp faced to the right and so the Republic of Ireland faced theirs to the left – both are modeled after the Trinity College harp, but face opposite directions.

Added info: created in 1960, Guinness named their lager beer brand Harp and used the same harp in its logo. You can see the Trinity College harp at the far end of the very photogenic Long Room in the Library of Trinity College.

Also the Samuel Beckett Bridge crossing the Liffy in Dublin is designed like a harp laying on its side.

A great crash course on the Irish harp.

the Guinness Widget

The plastic device that, when the can is opened and the pressure drops, helps your canned Guinness taste more like draft Guinness.

Inside a can of Guinness is a plastic object, a “widget”. It’s more noticeable after the can is empty and it rattles around. The “smoothifier”, as called by Guinness, is a ping pong sized plastic ball added to cans to better replicate a beer poured from the tap in a bar.

During the canning process an empty widget is placed inside the can, followed by Guinness beer, and a small amount of liquid nitrogen. Contrary to some sources, the widget is not filled with nitrogen. Rather, because of two small holes it becomes filled with a mix of beer & nitrogen just like the rest of the can. Once the can is sealed the can and the widget are now under greater pressure than the environment outside the can.

When you crack open a Guinness the pressure drops. To balance the pressure the nitrogen rushes to escape the can and the widget. In so doing the widget spins like an agitator, mixing the beer & nitrogen, and as you pour the can into a glass it creates a creamy head of foam like that which you get from a Guinness poured in a bar.

the Guinness Widget — The Guinness widget is a hollow plastic ball ball that spins when the can is open, mixing nitrogen and beer, helping canned Guinness taste more like Guinness from the tap.

Why Nitrogen?

Most beers have carbon dioxide added to enhance the flavor, aroma, and to create a bubbly fizzy texture. Nitrogen however creates smaller bubbles which is what gives Guinness a creamier/silkier feel. While Guinness was the first brewery to use nitrogen they are no longer the only one. Today other brands also add nitrogen as well as use their own styles of widgets.

Nitrogen (mixed with a small amount of carbon dioxide) was introduced to Guinness in 1959 by mathematician and brewer Michael Ash. This nitrogen mix creates the “surge and settle” effect you see when properly pouring a Guinness. Ash wanted to create a way for bartenders of any skill level to properly pour a pint of Guinness. Adding nitrogen was an important part of his “Easy Serve System” – a two-part pouring system we still see today. He also co-designed a two-part keg that contained both the beer and the nitrogen mix, nicknamed the “Ash Can”.

In 2021, as part of never ending nitrogen nitpicking, Guinness introduced the Nitrosurge. A USB charged device the Nitrosurge is a portable tap you attach to the top of special Nitrosurge cans of Guinness that helps you get even closer to replicating a pint from a bar.

Added info: there used to be a “rocket” widget in bottled Guinness, but it was removed after bottled Guinness was reformulated to be drunk directly from the bottle (eliminating the need to create the iconic creamy head of beer).

See the widget in action, spinning & mixing Guinness.

SYSK discusses the history of the Guinness widget.

All about nitrogen in beer.

Irish “Pub In A Box”

As part of a Guinness marketing effort in the early 1990s, thousands of Irish pubs around the world have been built using standardized design templates.

Recognized around the world, the Irish pub is one of the most well-known Irish cultural exports – and where there’s an Irish pub there’s usually Guinness. In the 1980s Guinness began to track the causal relationship between new Irish pubs and regional increases in Guinness beer sales. As new pubs opened, Guinness sales went up. If Guinness could help create more Irish pubs then they could also increase their own revenue.

Ahead of the 1990 World Cup in Italy, Guinness sales representatives traveled around Italy meeting with potential Italian business partners with the goal of opening Irish pubs. Their pitch was built around revenue generation and how Irish pubs have a more profitable beverage-to-food ratio than most other bars. From January to June of 1990 Italy opened 58 Irish pubs, welcoming Irish soccer fans and drinkers of all kinds. However, the critical factor to revenue generation was that these pubs needed to appear authentic – enter the “pub in a box”.

Pub in a Box

Successful Irish pubs outside of Ireland have the look & feel of the real thing. As part of their expansion effort Guinness assembled a team to analyze, quantify, & document the seemingly ineffable essence of the Irish pub. The Irish Pub Concept helped determine the critical success factors to operating an Irish pub. Chief among these factors is visual authenticity.

Founded in 1990, the Irish Pub Company of Dublin was one of the first companies to offer “authentic” Irish pubs for export. Instead of doing all of the work yourself they’ll take your dimensions and design, manufacture, and ship all of the necessary materials to you. Do you want the rural Irish pub style or the Victorian? Maybe you want the general “Celtic” style. They offer a variety of prepackaged pub types that come complete with all the knickknacks for the walls. To date they have designed & shipped over 2,000 pubs to more than 50 countries.

Fadó in Chicago, designed by the Irish Pub Company in their “Celtic” style.

Mandy’s Apothecary in Moscow, designed by the Irish Pub Company in their “Shop” style.

The Irish Pub Co. isn’t alone. Ól Irish Pubs and GGD Global also offer to design & ship you a “pub in a box”. This Disney-ized packaging of Irish culture is not without criticism. For one it raises questions of authenticity. It’s true these are pubs that have been designed & manufactured in Ireland. However, it’s difficult to claim authenticity when your pub has a fake Irish country store as part of the decor. Instead of organically collecting meaningful mementos for your bar, these superficial design packages ship all the rusty farm equipment, dusty old bottles, and framed photos of strangers you need to give the illusion of authenticity. Why take years cultivating a unique local flavor when you can just throw up a portrait of Michael Collins or the Molly Maguires?

An additional criticism is of Guinness for helping to bring these “pub in a box” bars into existence. Established Irish bars were expected to keep serving Guinness beer while the Guinness company was busy creating additional local competition. Beginning in the early ‘90s some bars boycotted and stopped serving Guinness. McGillin’s Olde Ale House of Philadelphia still does not serve Guinness as a result of the “pub in a box” fallout with Guinness.

The Wild Rover in Barcelona features framed photos of random Irish people, used purely as decoration.

Better than nothing

To many customers the ambiance that these cookie-cutter bars generate is all that matters – the question of authenticity never crosses their minds. The theatrical set dressing used by these bars creates a fun environment. Even for those who recognize the dubious credibility of these establishments, some feel to have a “pub in a box” Irish bar is better than having none at all.

As America has helped transform St. Patrick’s Day into an all-out extravaganza, Irish pubs (authentic or otherwise) are increasingly patronized not only by the diaspora but by people of all backgrounds. The pub offers people of all stripes an environment that is hard to find anywhere else. The long tradition of the pub serving as a gathering place for the local community can still be carried out by these “pub in a box” bars … just don’t scrutinize the bric-à-brac too closely.

Added info: If you’re interested in standardized / templated restaurant experiences, you may also be interested in learning about how the Thai government’s culinary diplomacy has successfully spread Thai restaurants around the world.