The Irish are world-renowned for their love of drinking. The whiskey produced in Northern Ireland is known as the "water of life" in Gaelic, and Dublin, Ireland, is the birthplace of the world-famous Guinness stout (Guinness). There are countless pubs of all sizes across Ireland. It is said that in Dublin, which covers an area of only 45 square kilometers, there are more than 2000 pubs. If you love spirits, immigrating to Ireland is a great choice.
Everyone should be familiar with Bushmills whiskey and Guinness stout, which are the two most representative brands of the Irish liquor industry. The Bushmills distillery is the oldest whiskey distillery in all of Ireland, with a history dating back to 1490.
The raw materials for brewing are mainly barley, yeast, and water. After the initial germination, the barley is dried in a sealed cellar and ground into a coarse flour. It is then mixed with hot water in a mashing tun to produce wort. The wort is then pumped into a fermentation tank where yeast is added to ferment into wash, which is then transferred to copper stills for triple distillation. This is the difference between Irish whiskey and Scotch whiskey that locals emphasize the most, as the latter is only distilled twice. They believe that the third distillation makes the whiskey taste softer and smoother.
People in China may not be very familiar with Guinness stout, but most know about the Guinness World Records. The Guinness World Records was a brand conceived and established in 1954 by Sir Hugh Beaver, a former executive of Guinness. The first edition of The Guinness Book of Records reached a print run of 50,000 copies in its first printing, becoming a bestseller during that Christmas season.
Guinness stout has a longer history. In 1759, its founder, Arthur Guinness, rented an abandoned brewery at St. James's Gate in Dublin for 100 pounds with a 9000-year lease, starting the brand's successful journey. Today, this site has been converted into the Guinness Storehouse, which is dedicated to showcasing its history and brewing process for visitors to experience. Guinness stout has four main ingredients: barley, hops, yeast, and water. The barley is malted, roasted, crushed, and mixed with hot water. After mashing, the liquid is filtered out, boiled with hops, and then fermented with yeast. The beer is then clarified and matured to become the finished product. Today, the brewery occupies more than 50 acres of land in southern Dublin, producing 3 million pints of stout every day, which are sold all over the world.
Where there is good wine, there are wine lovers. The Irish have a rich pub culture. Wandering the streets of Dublin, you can always see colorful pubs of all sizes. These pubs serve as community leisure and entertainment centers. During the day, people can dine and read newspapers here, while at night, it becomes even livelier, with people watching games, chatting about gossip, and enjoying energetic band performances. Because of their love for alcohol, Irish coffee also incorporates elements of spirits. The Irish like to pour whiskey into hot coffee and top it with a layer of fresh cream, creating a rich, aromatic flavor with a unique twist.