What Musical Instrument Appears On The Guinness Beer Label? What Musical Instrument Appears On The Guinness Beer Label? Since 1862, harp devices have represented GUINNESS in a unique way - as symbols on first bottle labels that read GUINNESS. 1876 was the year that the trademark was registered by Guinness. Harp is the trademark of Guinness' lager 'Harp', created in 1960 because of that distinctive taste.