King Opens Guinness Brewery London, Highlights Training and Community

His Majesty visited the Guinness Open Gate Brewery London on December 18 to mark the opening of the new site in Covent Garden. The event highlighted the brewery's role as both a production facility and a community hub, and showcased exclusive beers brewed on site along with the training work that will reach local residents. Diageo invested £73 million in the facility, which includes a microbrewery, visitor experience, restaurants, shops and an events space geared to wider public use.

On arrival the King was greeted by Diageo Chairman Sir John Manzoni and taken on a tour of the microbrewery led by Master Brewer Hollie Stephenson. The tour presented the range of brews made especially for the Covent Garden location, including limited edition seasonal beers and three site exclusives that were offered for tasting: Old Brewer's Yard Porter, Winter Warmer and an Apricot Sour. The 232 Bar pays homage to the temperature associated with Guinness's roasted character and served as the setting where graduates of Diageo's Learning for Life hospitality training programme and participants from The King's Foundation Introduction to Hospitality course met the royal guest.

Practical features designed for community benefit were on display. The brewery will function as the UK southern hub for the award winning Learning for Life programme, offering hospitality training and workforce pathways tied to on site operations. Visitors were also shown an interactive touch screen machine that prints images on the head of a pint using edible inks derived from barley or vegetables, a hands on attraction likely to appeal to brewers and visitors interested in craft presentation techniques.

The location sits on the historic site of Combe & Co., an 18th century powerhouse in Covent Garden's brewing district, linking modern brewing practice to local history. The opening included a festive courtyard celebration with community groups and local businesses, and concluded with the unveiling of a mural by artist Mason London.

The London site is the fourth Guinness Open Gate Brewery globally, joining locations in Dublin, Baltimore and Chicago. The original Guinness Storehouse at St James Gate in Dublin marked its 25th anniversary this year and has hosted more than 25 million visitors since opening, underscoring the tourism and local economic potential the new brewery brings to central London.