Unless you've had the chance to visit the official home of Guinness in Dublin, Ireland, there's probably a lot you don't know about the company that makes the beer you enjoy every March (or year-round). From a recent visit to Dublin, I was shocked to learn so much about one of my all-time favorite breweries.

Every batch of Guinness is made with the same strain of yeast originally used by Arthur Guinness in the early 19th century. The Guinness Storehouse has been able to keep the same strain of yeast alive over its entire history by preserving and growing yeast from the original strain first used by founder Arthur Guinness. The yeast is grown at the brewery and locked inside of a cylinder in 196-degree Celsius liquid nitrogen. Only two people have access to it.

Guinness trademarked the harp as their emblem 60-years before The Irish Free State Government made it Ireland's symbol. To avoid trademark issues when it became an independent nation in 1922, Ireland had to mirror the image of the harp, which Guinness had already adopted as its emblem in 1862. The original Downhill Harp, which dates back to 1702, is on display at the Guinness Storehouse.

The largest pint-shaped glass in the world is located at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, Ireland. If it were to be filled, it could hold 14.3 million pints. That's three times the entire population of Ireland.

Contrary to popular belief, Guinness does not get their source of water from River Liffey that runs through Dublin. In fact, the water comes down from a well in the Wicklow Mountains just outside of Dublin.

The oldest artifact in the Guinness Storehouse is from King Tutankhamen's tomb. Located behind a tiny door in one of the tasting rooms is a small jar that was unearthed from King Tut's tomb in 1922 in Egypt. Inside the jar is barley, an ingredient primarily used to brew beer, which is more than 3,000-years old. Egyptians were known to drink beer, and it is believed King Tut had barley in his tomb so he could drink beer in the afterlife.

Guinness Draught really isn't black. Though marketed and promoted as a "black beer" since the brewery's first ad in 1929, you can hold a glass of Guinness Draught up to a light and see it's actually a ruby-red color. The real black stuff is their Foreign Extra Stout.

It takes precisely 119.5-seconds for the perfect pint of Guinness Draught to settle. Upon pouring the beer into a pint glass 80 percent of the way at a 45 degree angle, the foamy head will start to form as the rest of the liquid darkens.

Guinness provided unbelievable employee benefits in the 19th century. These benefits were unheard of at the time of the industrial revolution and included free medical care, doctors and nurses that provided free medicine; pensions, free breakfast, lunch and dinner; and of course two pints of Guinness per day.

The yearly rent payment for the Guinness Storehouse was at one time just 45 euros. When Arthur Guinness founded the brewery, he worked out an incredible deal on the lease that would last for 9,000 years, where the annual rent would never be more than 45 euros ($55 USD).

Guinness makes 18 different kinds of beer. Most are familiar with the classic Guinness Draught and Foreign Extra Stout, but there are many different types of beers being brewed by Guinness, including a lager, IPA and amber ale.

12 out of 13 Guinness-operated breweries are located in Africa. Besides the Storehouse in Dublin, the other 12 breweries owned & operated by Guinness are located in some eastern and western African countries. Guinness has a big presence in Africa, especially in nations that were once a part of the British Empire.

Ireland isn't Guinness' biggest market. The Irish love their Guinness, but Guinness' biggest market is actually their neighbor England, followed by multiple countries in East Africa. The United States comes in as their fifth largest market.

Ireland's largest indoor waterfall is located at the Guinness Storehouse. Guests throw coins from currencies all over the world into the water, and every six months Guinness collects them all and donates them to charity in Africa to be used to provide clean drinking water. The amount collected every six months ranges from 10,000 to 15,000 euro ($12,200-18,400 USD)

The Guinness Archives hold the records of every employee dating back to 1870. Guests from all over the world visit the Guinness Storehouse and schedule a meeting to review their family history of ancestors who have worked at Guinness. The Storehouse has many types of records, images and historical items for visitors to check out.

The Guinness Storehouse is the top visitor destination in all of Europe. It beat out the Eiffel Tower and Buckingham Palace and saw more than 1.7 million visitors last year. The Storehouse set an attendance record on St. Patrick's Day 2018, as they welcomed more than 10,000 visitors in a single day.