Guinness Nigeria, a subsidiary of the prestigious Diageo Plc of the United Kingdom, was incorporated in 1962 with the building of a brewery in Ikeja, the heart of Lagos. The brewery was the first outside of Ireland and Great Britain. Other breweries have been opened over time – Benin City brewery in 1974 and Ogba brewery in 1982.
Guinness Nigeria produces the following brands – Foreign Extra Stout (1962), Guinness Extra Smooth (2005) Malta Guinness (1990), Harp Lager Beer (1974), Gordon’s Spark (2001), Smirnoff Ice (2006), Satzenbrau (2006)
Guinness Nigeria Plc is a company that believes in enriching its communities. This it has achieved by embarking on laudable Corporate Social Responsibility projects in several communities in Nigeria. These projects are Water of Life initiative, which currently provides potable water to over 500,000 Nigerians spread across several rural communities, from Northern to Southern Nigeria; scholarship and Guinness Eye Hospitals in three cities in Nigeria.
Nigerian Guinness is said to be twice as strong as Irish Guinness. In the 1800's, the Irish brewed the Guinness twice as strong, due to a fear of evaporation on the long voyage to Nigeria. However, the alcohol did not evaporate, and to this day Nigerians brew their Guinness twice as strong.