In most overseas markets, Guinness Flavour Extract (GFE) is blended with locally brewed beer to produce FES.

Guinness West India Porter, the direct predecessor of Foreign Extra Stout, was first exported from the St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin in 1801.

[7] The beer was brewed solely in the cooler months between October and April in order to reduce acidification, and was matured in large wooden vats for up to two years, which gave the finished product greater stability.

[8] To survive the long journey overseas, which was then taken by ship, it was brewed with extra hops and a higher alcohol content, which acted as natural preservatives for the beer.

[6] Due to the expense of importation, FES was a premium product, retailing for double the price of domestic stouts.

[6] The product was not popular when it returned in the 1930s, as drinkers now preferred the lighter and cheaper Guinness Extra Stout.

[9] Following discontinuation of export during World War II, FES did not return to the United States until 1956, but this was to prove unsuccessful, and the beer was withdrawn shortly afterwards.

[9] This changed from the 1920s onwards, and among the first local people to develop a taste for the drink were the ethnic Chinese of the Malay Peninsula.

[6] By 1959, sales in Ghana had grown large enough for Guinness to establish a joint venture in the country with the United Africa Company.

[16] Breweries followed in Malaysia (1965), Cameroon (1970) and Ghana (1971), whilst licences were granted to other companies to brew Guinness under contract in other African countries and the West Indies.

[18] Historically a small proportion of Guinness production, it was this success, especially in Africa but also in Asia, that allowed FES to grow into a 4.5 million hectolitre brand.

[20] In 2013, FES received a packaging redesign in Africa and other selected markets, with a gold foil top and a new label.

[22] It uses the bitter Galena, Nugget and Target hop varieties which have undergone an isomerized kettle extract process.

[32] The use of sorghum and maize continues as it is a cheaper alternative than barley, which has to be imported, and it is less vulnerable to local currency fluctuations.

[34] The Nigerian breweries use high gravity brewing techniques to ferment sorghum and pale malt to 1090 OG.

GFE is mixed with a locally brewed sorghum lager, but it differs from the Nigerian version in that it contains no wheat and has a higher proportion of roast barley.

[citation needed] In Ghana, the product is believed to have medicinal properties, strengthening the blood and improving circulation.

[39] In 2003, a 5.5% ABV, lightly-nitrogenated variant of FES was introduced in Ghana called Guinness Extra Smooth.

[26] In China, small amounts of FES are sold, where it is positioned as a premium priced import in upmarket bars.

[19] FES was sold and then withdrawn in the UK in 1976 as Guinness XXX Extra Strong Stout; it returned in 1994 when interest in craft beer increased.

[47] The British market is supplied with both the Irish and the Nigerian brewed variants of the beer, the latter of which has annual sales of £2 million.

[54] On the other hand, it has been criticised by British journalist Tony Naylor as being "more about treacly, boozy warmth" than "complex flavour".