The King officially opens Guinness Open Gate Brewery London

The Guinness Open Gate Brewery, a £73 million investment, contains a microbrewery, visitor experience, restaurants, shops, and events space, and will now serve as the UK southern hub for Diageo’s award-winning Learning for Life programme. 

The London site is the fourth Guinness Open Gate Brewery site globally. The original Guinness Storehouse, at St James’ Gate in Dublin, celebrated its 25th anniversary this year and has welcomed more than 25 million visitors since opening. The three existing Guinness Open Gate Brewery locations are Dublin, Baltimore and Chicago, where 266 years of Irish brewing expertise meets American beer culture and creativity.

On arrival at the site, The King was greeted by Chairman of Diageo, Sir John Manzoni. His Majesty was then taken on a short tour of the microbrewery, meeting the team who create special Guinness brews, unique to the Covent Garden site. 

Led by Master Brewer Hollie Stephenson, His Majesty will be shown the range, including limited-edition seasonal brews, before being given the opportunity to taste the site's unique Old Brewer’s Yard Porter, Winter Warmer, and an Apricot Sour. 

Guinness Open Gate Brewery London stands on what was once Combe & Co., an 18th Century powerhouse in Covent Garden’s booming brewing district of the time, which exploded in the wake of the newfound ‘porter’ beer. This brewing revolution played an integral role in the Guinness story.

Following this, The King ventured upstairs to the 232 Bar, named after the precise temperature that gives Guinness its signature roast. Here, His Majesty met graduates of the Learning for Life hospitality training programme and The King’s Foundation ‘Introduction to Hospitality’ course. 

Learning for Life is Diageo’s award-winning programme offering free hospitality training for those looking to build careers in the industry. The King, as Duke of Rothesay, visited the Learning for Life Academy in 2021, when he officially opened The Johnnie Walker Experience on Princes Street in Edinburgh. This visit marked the launch of a partnership with The King’s Foundation to support hospitality training in Scotland.

In the 232 Bar, The King was invited to pour a pint of Guinness with guidance from one of the team, before being shown how to ‘print’ an image on the head of a pint, using a touch-screen machine. The inks used to create the images are made from barley, or carrot and beetroot. 

Founder Arthur Guinness originally had his sights set on brewing ale until the London porter began making a mark on Dublin. Inspired by the new tipple, Arthur set to work on his own version of the porter at St James’s Gate, experimenting until he struck upon the Guinness recipe known and loved today. Soon enough, pints of the black stuff were served up beside London’s porters as imports to the UK started in 1796. In 1901, Guinness Extra Stout was bottled right on this site under Combe, Watney and Reid.

Two centuries after its arrival in the UK capital, one in seven pints poured in the city is now a Guinness.

At Old Brewer’s Yard, His Majesty joined a festive celebration with local community groups and businesses who have close ties to the Brewery, as well as artist Mason London, who has created a mural in the courtyard.