Located on 36th St. between Madison and 5th Ave. , the wood-tabled brew haus has represented New York as prime connoisseur of beer since 1996, and has built its reputation on a quality selection of bottles and taps from across the world (the menu hits Australia, Italy, Japan, Switzerland and everywhere between).

This Memorial Day weekend, I took a trip to Block Island, a small island off of Rhode Island. The people are friendly, the location is surreal, and the beers are refreshing.

In 1959, Arthur Guinness bravely signed a 9,000-year lease for an abandoned brewery in Dublin. Here he brewed the first batch of Guinness beer at St. James Gate Brewery in Dublin. It was ten years later, on May 19th, 1969 when Arthur exported his first batch of ale to England.

Meet good old Guiness