A visit to the Guinness Storehouse is, for many, a pilgrimage. Arthur Guinness began brewing the renowned stout here in 1759, and by 1868 it was the biggest brewery in the world. Today ,the sprawling complex fills several city blocks. They brew over 1.5 million pints a day.
Rather than a brewery tour, this is a Disneyland for beer lovers – huge crowds, high decibel music, and dreamy TV beer ads on big screens.
The exhibit fills the old fermentation plant, used from 1902 through 1988, and reopened in 2000 as a huge shrine to the Guinness tradition. The tall, beer-glass-shaped glass atrium – 14 million pints big (that’s about 10 days’ worth of production) soars seven stories upward past floors of exhibitions to the skylight. Arthur’s original 9,000-year lease, enshrined under Plexiglass in the floor. At 45 pounds per year, it was quite a bargain.
Each floor has a theme. Exhibits have QR codes that can be scanned to bring up audio information for the exhibits. The first couple of floors explain the making of Guinness, from the ingredients to the brewing process. One exhibit is dedicated to cooperage, the making of wooden barrels.
The second floor has the tasting rooms. In the White Room you’re introduced to using your five senses to appreciate the perfect porter. Then, in the Velvet Chamber, we’re taught how to taste it from a leprechaun-sized beer glass.
The third floor features fun advertising Guinness has created over the years. The fourth floor is for special experiences (at an extra cost), such as learning how to pull your own beer or getting your image printed on a head of beer. We did not participate in any of these
The fifth floor has a couple of eateries. The top-floor Gravity Bar provides visitors with a commanding360-degree view of Dublin – with vistas all the way to the sea – and an included pint of the beloved stout. At least it is to me… Jackie prefers the Rockshore. 🙂
