The familiar deep dark ruby red. The creamy, fine-pored foam. The uniquely smooth texture. The typical bitter-sweet taste. With its unmistakable characteristics, Guinness is regarded worldwide as the epitome of Irish beer. Now the legendary stout is also available in a non-alcoholic variant - as Guinness 0.0.

The St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin looks back on a tradition that is second to none: Brewery founder Arthur Guinness signed the lease for the premises in 1759 - with a term of an incredible 9000 years, which has become a popular fact for any pub quiz and other trivia games. Over the past 250 years or so, the name Guinness has become almost synonymous with "stout," but resting on their laurels would never occur to the busy brewmasters in Dublin. Their latest masterpiece serves an increasingly common need: to enjoy a beer while abstaining from alcohol consumption. "The launch of Guinness 0.0 underscores our long-standing commitment to innovation, experimentation and boldness in brewing," says Gráinne Wafer, global brand director at Guinness.

WHAT MAKES GUINNESS 0.0 SO EXCEPTIONAL?

After about four years of development work, Guinness is convinced that it has created a non-alcoholic beer without the slightest compromise in taste. Because basically Guinness is brewed here quite simply, with the same ingredients and in the old familiar way. A specially developed filter method allows the alcohol to be extracted again particularly gently in the next step. The characteristic notes of coffee and chocolate are retained thanks to this trick, the result is 100% Guinness with 0% alcohol.

Aisling Ryan, Innovation Brewer at Guinness, summed it up aptly ahead of the launch, "We've created a taste experience with Guinness 0.0 that we believe is unique in the world of non-alcoholic beers. We can't wait for people to finally try it for themselves!" For your first order, we have another little tip for you: "Guinness Zero" has now become the official lingo, presumably originating in the pubs of Dublin.

WHAT AGAIN - RUBY RED?

Well well, someone has been reading carefully. Yes, we referred to Guinness as ruby red in the introduction. But Guinness is nicknamed "The Black Stuff," you might object. Quite right. Unfortunately, we can't tell you who's responsible for that, and it's not completely out of the blue. At first glance, we would like to add, because on closer inspection you can see the reddish shimmer quite clearly. For example, if you take the time to take a closer look at the famous Guinness Surge:

In this sense: Slàinte!