About Fergal Murray

Master Brewer, Guinness

As a Master Brewer for Guinness, Fergal Murray is charged with maintaining a 250 year-old legacy of making beer that has become a standard of quality and innovation. All the while, Mr. Murray has found time to travel the world to share his infectious passion and extraordinary knowledge of the great black stuff.

Beyond beer making, he has also mastered the art of pouring the perfect pint by creating a six-step process unique to Guinness - and has shared that knowledge with bar professionals and beer lovers across hundreds of cities, dozens of countries and even a handful of continents. The goal of each visit is the same: enhance the consumer's appreciation of Guinness by insuring that it is served - and consumed - perfectly each time.

Murray began his legendary career with Guinness in 1983 as a research chemist. "I immediately was in awe of the greatness and magic involved in making a pint of the world's most famous stout and decided then that I would like to learn the art of brewing," recalls Murray. Ten years later, Fergal completed a brewing degree at the Institute of Brewing in London and was Master Brewer at St. James' Gate. Here, he learned the tradition of brewing Guinness under the tutelage of other Master Brewers who guarded the legacy and vision of Sir Arthur Guinness.

His storied tenure as Brewmaster has seen a number of innovations aimed to bring fresh tasting Guinness to more people. Murray helped to implement the floating widget device in cans to emulate the taste and creamy head of Guinness Draught. Then, Murray aided in the development of the Surger, a unit that uses small sound vibrations to release the nitrogen gas in the beer and cause a cascading effect, also referred to as "the surge and settle."

Murray not only has a tremendous passion for the craft of brewing, but also enjoys the art of drinking a pint of Guinness (Murray is quick to point out that there is indeed a method to properly drinking a well-crafted Guinness beer.)  "Drink with your eyes first, taking in the beauty of the pour," instructs Murray. "Then raise your glass proud and take a healthy first sip; always with your eyes to the horizon." Lastly, he instructs consumers to savor the sweetness of the malt and the roasted flavor of the barley, and then take in the hop with an explosion of flavor. If all fails, he says simply, "to drink a pint and experience greatness in every drop is the way to drink a perfect Guinness."