A 65-year-old Four-Pack of Guinness Has Reader Thirsting for Answers
Does an unopened four-pack of Guinness Stout from 1969 have any collector value? And, almost as important, could you still drink it? We go to the source — an Irishman — to find out more.
Question: I have an original four-pack of Guinness Stout from 1969 unopened in perfect condition and brewed in Dublin. Can you tell me the value of my Guinness?
Answer: The year 1969 was a landmark year for Guinness Stout and a year that resulted in a great deal of criticism from Guinness aficionados in Ireland; it was the year Guinness made the big decision to replace cork closures with caps. Your four-pack of Guinness is from that tumultuous time period. A four-pack of Guinness at that time would have cost around $3.24 or almost twice as much as the average price of a six-pack of domestic American beer at $1.92 a six-pack (the minimum wage then was $1.45).
Properly aged alcohol typically sells for high prices, but vintage beer prices are dependent on the alcohol content and the container in which it is aged. Beers with less than 8% alcohol by volume that are aged in a bottle deteriorate over time. Alcohol content greater than eight percent acts like a preservative for hops. Guinness is 5.7% alcohol by volume, which means that the hops in your Guinness has long since deteriorated.
When discussing value for a four-pack of Guinness from 1969, the beer itself does not add to the value. The bottles, however, especially a four-pack in the original carrier, may be of interest to those who collect beer memorabilia. Empty Guinness bottles from 1969 sell in the $4 to $5 range each. A premium would be added because you have an intact four-pack that I would value at $30 to $35.
Caps or a Cork? The Great Guinness Debate of 1969
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Dr. Anthony J. Cavo is an honors graduate of the Asheford Institute of Antiques and a graduate of Reisch College of Auctioneering. He has extensive experience in the field of buying and selling antiques and collectibles. Cavo is also the author of Love Immortal: Antique Photographs and Stories of Dogs and Their People.
