So, I've been in Ireland for a whole month now! But I still hadn't been to the Guinness Storehouse, which is one of the most iconic places to visit when in Dublin. So I decided to make amends for my sin and go there this weekend. The weather wasn't spectacular either, so a nice indoors activity was in order. The ticket for a student over 18 like me was 13 euros, so I was thinking to myself "this better be good...", and it turned out to be great!
On the way in there were some horse-drawn carriages outside and this little fella immediately put a smile on my face!
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| Horsey with a leprechaun hat |
In the beginning of the tour, a member of the staff told us the building was shaped like a pint glass and it had 7 floors. In each floor we'd learn a different step of the process of creating Guinness stout. After that everyone was free to take the tour at their own pace, since the way through each phase and floor is very well marked and you can just guide yourself through the building.
On the first floor we discover the 4 ingredients that make Guinness so unique in taste and consistency: barley, hops, yest and, of course, water.
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| One of Guinness' most important ingredients: Water! |
After that we learned about the skillful work of a cooper and how they created a wooden barrel capable of retaining Guinness' unique flavour to be transported around the globe. This was certainly one of the most impressive parts of the tour.
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| Guinness Barrels |
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| Guinness Barrels |
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| Replica of a Guinness ship |
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| Guinness train |
And then we stumbled upon this beautiful pint shaped sculpture that caught the eyes of everyone around. Truly remarkable!
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| Recreation of a Pint of Guinness |
On the Guinness Storehouse Wall of Fame there were tons of familiar faces captured on their visits to the brewery, like the Queen of England, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Paul Rudd and, my favourite, Conan O'Brien!
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| Conan O'Brien at Guinness Store House |
I also really enjoyed the Advertising and Sponsorship floor, in which you get to see some of Guinness' advertising campaigns over the years, including outdoors, bottle labels, TV commercials and merchandising.
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| Guinness Advertising Campaigns |
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| Guinness Advertising Campaign |
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| Guinness Harp |
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| Guinness labels over the years |
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| Guinness Advertising Campaign |
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| Guinness Advertising Campaign |
We then reached the Guinness Academy floor, and this is one of the main atractions of this tour because you get to learn all 6 steps to pour a perfect pint and then try to do it by yourself. If you succeed you get a certificate stating you poured the Perfect Pint and you also get to drink your masterpiece. Sláinte! (or Cheers if you prefer).
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| Guinness Academy |
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| Bar tables with Arthur Guinness' signature |
The final floor is called the Gravity Bar and it's basically a space covered in windows all around in which you can get a stunning 360º view of Dublin, while enjoying your Guinness. It's impressive and really, really beautiful!
I really loved this experience, even though I'm not a major beer drinker. It's worth the money and it's an afternoon very well spent. Now I can see why it is so popular...Highly recommend it!
