News: Guinness to build new brewery west of Dublin

Guinness announced Thursday it will build its new flagship brewery west of Dublin in the town of Leixlip – where Arthur Guinness began brewing the famed dark-brown stout in 1755, four years before moving operations to the capital.

The choice of Leixlip, though historically fitting, caught most observers by surprise. Recent Irish press speculation had focused on two other suburban Dublin locations.

The deal-clincher appeared to be that most of the brewery will be built on 50 acres (20.2 hectares) of land owned by the Guinness family. Another 23 acres (9.3 hectares) is being purchased from Kildare County Council.

News: Guinness stout is hot in Africa

 

The Associated Press is reporting that  Diageo PLC, the world’s largest producer and distributor of alcoholic drinks, posted a small rise in full-year net profit to meet its earnings targets Thursday, but cut its forecast for the current year amid the global economic slowdown and rising production costs.

The maker of Johnnie Walker whisky, Guinness stout and Smirnoff vodka reported net profit of 1.52 billion pounds ($2.8 billion) for the year ending June 30, up 2.7 percent from 1.48 billion pounds a year ago.

Revenue rose 8 percent to 8.09 billion pounds ($14.9 billion), from 7.48 billion pounds, underpinned by sales of scotch in Latin America, beer in Africa and premium brands in North America.

Sales of Diageo’s trademark Guinness stout rose 6 percent, with more than 50 percent of that growth coming from Africa.