THE HOME OF GUINNESS
Arthur Guinness began brewing in County Kildare in Ireland before moving to the now-famous St. James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin, where the Guinness Storehouse tour is located.
He famously signed a 9,000-year lease at 45 pounds per year for the unused brewery. This lease is on display within the Guinness Storehouse, encased in glass, embedded within the floor of the Storehouse. In 1868, after Benjamin Guinness – Arthur’s Grandson passed. The business worth was over £1 Million and the site had grown to around 64 acres. These profits and size have continued to grow to this day as Guinness has become synonymous with the beer or Ireland.
The Storehouse tour opened to the public in 2000, as a result of €40 Million for refurbishments to the then defunct area, where yeast used to be added to the beer for fermentation.
In 2015 The Irish Times published that Dublin’s Guinness Storehouse has been named as Europe’s leading tourist attraction. Beating the likes of the Eiffel Tower in Paris and even Buckingham Palace. In 2019 the Storehouse welcomed an impressive 1.7 Million Visitors all looking to take in the home of Guinness.
THE GUINNESS EXPERIENCE
A visit to the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin lets you experience the heart, history and soul of Ireland’s most iconic beer.
Spread across an impressive seven floors, the Guinness Storehouse was designed and created to immerse each visitor deep in the history of one of the most successful beer brands in the world. The building itself is centred on a giant tulip-shaped Guinness glass and that would take 14.3 million pints of Guinness to fill.
The Storehouse includes several interactive exhibitions. Each one used to show that the process of making and selling Guinness has changed since the time of Arthur Guinness. Including old brewing equipment and a live demonstration of the modern brewing process used by the company today. An advertising exhibit focuses on old Guinness ad campaigns. Including older television ads and statues of well-known Guinness mascots like their toucan.
A SENSATION JOURNEY
Notably, guests can part take in a tasting experience when at the Storehouse. This multi sensation experience lets you encounter the most notable flavours of the iconic stout. Flavour fountains are spread around the floor of the white room. Each produces vapour with flavours of beer, malt, roasted barley and hops. Allowing guests to follow a sensation journey. Learning to identify the different notes within the beer by embracing the vapour.
Following this room, the guests move into the Velvet Chamber. A room adorned with the luxurious material where visitors learn the technique behind drinking Guinness correctly. The texture and ornaments in the room are to reinforce the richness of the liquid. It includes barley grains from Tutankhamun’s tomb in Egypt. These were excavated and sent to Guinness in the 1920s for dating and analysis by the cereal experts working there.
Along the way, each guest has the chance to put their taste buds to the test. Trying delicious Guinness-inspired food made with only the best local ingredients. From Arthur’s Bar for light bites, the relaxed 1837 Bar & Brasserie or the Brewers’ Dining Hall with its open kitchen. While at the Guinness Storehouse, join the 50,000 visitors each year who enjoy our famous Irish stew.
THE PERFECT PINT OF GUINNESS
Additionally, guests also have the opportunity to practice their ‘perfect pour’ at the Guinness Academy. Here they can learn the skills behind the art of pouring a pint of the black stuff from knowledge bar staff, even receiving a certificate following the experience.
In 2019, over one million pints were pulled and 50,000 people got involved with the innovative, “Stoutie”. This is where guests take a self-portrait photo using a photo booth and then this ‘selfie’ is then printed on the head of a pint using malt ink, the perfect Instagram-able opportunity.
The final floor is the Gravity Bar. As the highest bar in all of Dublin, it is 46 meters off of the ground. Offering an almost 360° panorama over the city, were visitors can claim a pint of the black stuff free with their ticket.
FINAL NOTES
Maybe you have been and are just taking a trip down memory lane, what did you think of the tour? Due to covid-19 restrictions, the Storehouse is closed until March. Nevertheless, it sounds like a great day out to make some memories with the family, learning about one of Ireland’s famous icons. You can book your tickets here for when the Guinness Storehouse reopens.
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