A visit to Dublin wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the Guinness Storehouse.
Walking from O’Connell Street it takes about twenty minutes to reach the Storehouse. What was once the fermentation plant from 1904 - 1988 is now the seven storey visitor museum dedicated to the history of Guinness.
Standing in the central atrium you’re able to view a copy of the original lease embedded in the floor, signed by Arthur Guinness on 31st December 1759. He signed the lease for 9,000 years at the annual cost of £45.
The tour takes you over the seven floors with each floor depicting an aspect of Guinness history from the brewing to the advertising used over the years. There are lots of facts and figures, but none more amazing to me than the fact one million pints of Guinness are drunk in Ireland each day. That in itself is pretty amazing, but with the added fact there’s only a population of four million people in Ireland this makes it all the more impressive.
Contrary to popular belief, the Liffey is not the source of water. Instead the local Wicklow Mountains serve as the source of the eight million litres of pure fresh water that flow into the brewery each day. Believe me I smelt the Liffey and all I can say is you don’t want it to be the source of water. I would happily rename the Liffey to the Whiffy if it was up to me.
I took the opportunity to pour my own complimentary pint of Guinness whilst at the Storehouse. I even tried to add the clover to the head, failing miserably only to have a barmaid demonstrate it perfectly. It didn’t affect the taste though and I was more than happy to sit in the Gravity Bar at the top of the building sipping on Guinness whilst taking in the panoramic view of Dublin and the Wicklow Mountains.
A trip to the Storehouse is worth it even if only to taste a pint of Guinness from it’s source.
The tour takes a little over an hour and the drinking session at the end is very popular with people unsurprisingly spending most of the time there! You can buy more pints of Guinness and stay as long as you like, but for us we had to meet some old friends so stopped drinking at the end of the first pint.
Why not listen to the Guinness iWalk podcasts located on the Guinness Storehouse website.
The iWalks are podcast audio guides which take you through Dublin city centre to the heart of Guinness. As you’re guided through you will be told the story of how Guinness has been intertwined in the city for centuries
Download the podcasts here
CHAPTER ONE - DUBLIN CITY CENTRE
CHAPTER TWO - GUINNESS STOREHOUSE
Download to Itunes
CHAPTER ONE - DUBLIN CITY CENTRE
CHAPTER TWO - GUINNESS STOREHOUSE
For more information and to book online be sure to check out the Guineess Storehouse website.
http://www.guinness-storehouse.com
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