VN – 11 Jul, 2025

Nigerian Guinness and Jamaican Guinness Punch. Fermentation, colonisation, community, and diasporas: these two humble beverages embody them all. Irish in origin, Guinness is hugely popular across the Caribbean and Africa. It made its way from Ireland during the Transatlantic Slave Trade via Irish migrants, merchants, plantation owners, anti-British political prisoners, indentured labourers, soldiers, etc.

The Irish presence in the Black diaspora is complex, occupying the role of colonised people (by the British) and colonisers (in the Caribbean). Whilst Irish plantation owners made huge financial gains, the Caribbean was also the enforced destination for exiled political prisoners fighting British colonial rule in Ireland. Post-War migrants from the Caribbean, Africa, and Ireland were invited to fill job shortages in the UK. Many experienced racist, anti-immigrant hostility and formed bonds of solidarity that continue today. Brixton’s Paddy’s Yard Bar is a fitting example of these bonds.

Guinness is a type of stout beer, made from roasted barley, malted barley, and hops, and is rich in B vitamins and iron. It has long been consumed for its nourishing properties, and before advertising standards changed, doctors in the UK would recommend drinking stout to patients recovering from illness.

So, to our chosen fermented beverages. Nigerian Guinness and Jamaican Guinness Punch are widely available in London and other Black communities across the UK.

Guinness Punch is a common sight in many a Caribbean takeaway restaurant. It originates from a warm drink called flip, and usually contains Guinness (or any other stout beer), condensed milk, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon. It’s drink for adults that is best served chilled with ice.

Following colonial routes, Guinness first landed in West Africa (Sierra Leone) in 1827. Nigerian Export Guinness is known for its strength, brewed at 7.5% ABV, which enables it to travel better. It is also brewed with sorghum, which gives it a distinctive taste. Nigerian Guinness is brewed in one of the few Guinness breweries outside of Ireland. Guinness also developed their equally strong West Indies Porter for the Caribbean market, which they produced from as early as 1801.

Photo: Guinness Sierra Leone advertising campaign 1968.

We bought our Guinness Punch at Refill, 500A Brixton Road (Brighton Terrace), London SW9 8EQ, and our Nigerian Guinness at Liquor Supply, 380 Coldharbour Lane, London SW9 8LF.