Slainte! Celebrate St. Patrick's Day With Five Facts on Guinness Beer

You don't need to be a professional leprechaun to enjoy a Guinness on St. Patrick's Day. The Irish favorite, which may actually be "good for you," has over the years become as much a staple of the annual March 17 celebration as bagpipes and shamrocks. And with 1.8 billion pints sold every year, it shouldn't be too hard to track down a glass of the beer for yourself -- assuming you have the age credentials.

But before you guzzle down a few pints, take a second and check out these five quick facts on the favorite St. Patrick's Day beverage:

1. There's a 9,000-year lease on the original Guinness brewery
That's right, in 1759 Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease on a previously unused brewery in Dublin, at the time paying about $147 down plus $66 in monthly rent. Looks like that investment worked out pretty well.

2. 100 years in, Guinness had traveled the globe
In 1858, just shy of a century after the brewery opened, the first exported shipment of Guinness arrived in New Zealand.

3. The brewery stuck with wooden kegs until 1963
After almost two centuries of brewing in wooden kegs, Guinness brew masters pulled the plug on the old-fashioned method and have since aged their beer in metal kegs.

4. There's a right way to serve this beer
Watch carefully and you too can perfect the two-part pour:

5. It doesn't travel well
At least that's what any knowledgeable Irishman will tell you -- and there's science to prove it. Collaborating researchers at the Brisbane Initiative found that when controlling for "pub ambiance," drinking buddies and other external sensory factors, a pint of Guinness is simply best enjoyed from the tap in Ireland.

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