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Don’t just toast blindly to St. Patrick’s Day this year. Riverfront Times has pulled together 10 fascinating facts about Ireland’s famous stout. The tidbits make some great conversation starters (certainly better than pinching). For instance:

What makes it black?
The dark color (Guinness officially claims it is very dark ruby, not black) comes from roasted barley. Unlike most of the barley used in making beer, roasted barley isn’t malted. Still, this seemingly defining characteristic wasn’t a feature of Guinness until the late 1920s or early 1930s — well after the company had established itself as a brewing titan.

What country consumes the most Guinness?
Great Britain still hoists more pints of Guinness than the Irish, who come in second. Rounding out the top 5 are (in order) Nigeria, the United States and Cameroon. Those African nations are even more impressive, as most of their Guinness consumption is in the form of Foreign Export Stout, which checks in at almost twice the alcoholic strength of standard Guinness.

What’s up with the head?
Most beer is dispensed with pressurized carbon dioxide. Guinness popularized a system that uses a mix of nitrogen (75 percent) and carbon dioxide (25 percent). The beer is forced through a special faucet that strips out the gases, leaving it “smooth”-tasting owing to the lack of carbonation, and letting the freed nitrogen work its chemical and physical magic to make the thick head that proudly sits atop your pint to the last sip.

Read the full story at Riverfront Times.

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