Guinness® has always been a beer of the world. So when it came to the 200-year anniversary of the signing of the 9000-year lease on the brewery, we wanted to do something to celebrate. Something radical that told the story of our pioneering past, an unexpected offering that would delight people across the globe. Call it a grand gesture, but dropping 150,000 bottles into the Atlantic Ocean seemed like a fair salute to Arthur's legacy. He wasn't one for doing things in small measures, after all. 38 ships, six weeks: this was a mission befitting Guinness history of exports over the high seas.
The bottles were sealed tight, for they contained some unusual documents. Namely a certificate from ‘the Office of King Neptune', a booklet recounting the story of Guinness, a special gold-coloured Guinness Stout label and even instructions on how to turn the bottle into a table lamp. 40 years later, these bottles are still turning up on foreign shores… most recently in California, South Africa, Wales, Canada and the Bahamas. A fitting outcome for a beer so well travelled.
Certificate from ‘the Office of King Neptune’
Marking Milestones
In 2009, Guinness marked 250 years of innovative brewing with an entire year of firsts, including a retrospective campaign that paid homage to 80 years of Guinness advertising and a spectacular live TV commercial. Arthur's Day festivities kicked off a remarkable worldwide toast – joined by 50 million people – and a €2.5 million Arthur Guinness Fund was launched, created to empower social entrepreneurs across Ireland. With this in mind, it's worth noting that in 2059 we'll have been brewing extraordinary beer for 300 years... now that's a celebration you won't want to miss out on.
