THE brewing of Guinness in Britain is to cease after almost 70 years.

The brand's owner, Diageo, announced it was shifting production from the company's north-west London operation back to its brewing heartland in Dublin.

About 90 jobs will be lost with the closure of the Park Royal brewery in Brent where the famous stout has been brewed since 1936.

Diageo said it had decided to consolidate production for the whole of the UK at the company's historic St James's Gate brewery in Dublin.

About four million kegs of Guinness a year are produced at the Park Royal brewery.

Investment in technology will allow production to transfer to the St James's plant, which brews about eight million kegs of Guinness a year for distribution to markets including Europe and the US.

The closure of the Park Royal brewery is due to take place during the summer of next year, although more than 1,000 staff employed in sales and marketing for Diageo GB will continue to be housed at offices on the site.

Planing permission was granted in 1999 for offices, homes and an Underground station on the Park Royal site. At the time, it allowed for brewing to continue.

Guinness is brewed in 50 locations worldwide and supplied to 150 countries. About ten million glasses of the drink are consumed every day.

The St James's Gate site, in Dublin, is where Arthur Guinness started brewing his stout in 1759.