I suppose no matter where you live, you're not very inclined to visit tourist attractions. Whether it's an old dilapidated church in the middle of a field or the Empire State Building, the wonder and novelty begin to wear off when you're passing them every day on your daily commute. For ages, my boyfriend had been saying that he'd love to visit the Guinness Storehouse and I, in typical Irish fashion, thought 'Ah sure why would you want to go there? Sure that's only for American tourists!' I didn't think that I'd be that interested in it at all. (For one, I don't even drink Guinness!) However, when I finally got over my whinging, I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised.
The Guinness Storehouse is located at St James's Gate in Dublin's inner city. It's easily accessible by bus or Luas or, if you're in the mood for a stroll, you can walk to it from the city centre. (Although it may be difficult to navigate your way back after a few pints!) Standard admission for adults is €20 and students is €18. I thought this was a bit pricey but it is a really enjoyable tour and if you're interested in brewing then you'll definitely get you're moneys worth.
The Guinness Storehouse has seven floors so there's plenty to see and do during the tour. There is no official tour guide leading the group so you're free to walk around at your own pace and look at whatever you want. The beginning of the tour focuses on the brewing process and the ingredients that go into creating Guinness. There is also lots of information on the history of Guinness and the man behind it all, Arthur Guinness. This may sound a bit boring but the layout and visual aspects of this section made it really interesting and easy to follow.
Throughout the tour there are some really cool art pieces and historical artefacts which really liven up the whole experience. One of my favourite pieces was a large sculpture of a Guinness glass which was beautifully decorated with carvings and designs representing Irish culture and the history of Guinness. There was also a seating area and information video that you could watch to learn how the sculpture was created.
My favourite part of the tour was the area which focused on advertising and branding. Guinness are well known for their advertising and the storehouse has an entire floor dedicated to advertisements, both past and present. Maybe I've watched too many episodes of Mad Men but I love looking at old advertisements so I found this incredibly interesting. There was a whole section designed to look like a zoo which was dedicated to the work of John Gilroy, the man who came up with the idea of using animals in the Guinness ads. This included lots of Guinness memorabilia and the iconic 'My Goodness My Guinness' ads.
At one point, while walking through this part of the tour, I heard a really strange whistling sound which led me to a small stage where a mechanical oyster was whistling the tune 'Whistle While You Work' from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. I have no idea what this was about but I still loved it and I would have probably spent the whole day looking at it if I could have!
Ok, so you're probably wishing I would stop rambling on about art and whistling oysters and get to the good part. Drinking pints. The tasting experience is definitely one of the most enjoyable parts of the tour. The tasting room is like something out of a sci-fi film. From the outside it looks like you're walking into a brothel in the red-light district but the inside is like a space ship. Its all white and there's big steaming vats which release scents of the different ingredients used to make Guinness. The only way I can describe the smell is like a mixture of an old man pub, coffee and chocolate. In the tasting room, they explain the whole process of how Guinness is made and how it gets it's unique taste.
Everyone is given a sample of fresh Guinness in a super cute mini pint glass. For the actual tasting part, we were brought into a room which is designed to look like a replica of Arthur Guinness's home. There the tour guide explained the technique of tasting Guinness in order to release all the flavours etc. Of course, my thirsty ass had already downed my mini pint at this stage and it was definitely the most refreshing beer I'd ever tasted! I'd only ever had a sip of Guinness once before and I thought that it tasted like licking the ground on O'Connell Street but this one was delish!
Tickets to the Guinness Storehouse also come with a token which can be exchanged for one pint of Guinness. You have the option to either pull your own pint or buy one from the bar so we opted for the latter. (I wasn't wasting my twenty quid on some self-created foamy mess!) Of course, one of the biggest attractions of the tour is the Gravity Bar which offers panoramic views over Dublin city. We got our pints in the bar and headed upstairs to the Gravity Bar to take some photos but the weather was very dull and overcast so it was hard to get any decent ones. (The only photo that I got makes Dublin look like some grey, industrial city from a Charles Dickens novel.)
The Gravity Bar is a great opportunity to get a great view of Dublin and I'm sure it would be a lot better on a nice clear day. The bar was really packed when we were there and we couldn't get a seat so we didn't stay for too long but it was a nice way to end the tour.
Overall, I really enjoyed the tour of the Guinness Storehouse. The tour is incredibly interesting and there's so much to see and do while you're there. Even if you don't drink Guinness I would still recommend this tour because there is something for everyone. I've only ever been to one other tour like this before which was the Heineken experience in Amsterdam and, not being biased because I'm Irish, I ended up enjoying this a lot more. Whether you're visiting from abroad or being a tourist in your own country, the Guinness storehouse is the perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon in Dublin. For more information visit www.guinness-storehouse.com
Photos by Conor Heavey
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