Guinness is to the Irish as Vegemite is to Australians, tea is to the British, and fast-food is to Americans (sorry Americans!) So the conversation I had with my friend caught me off guard;
“You know it’s sacrilege because I love my drink but I haven’t visited yet.“
It was somewhat shocking – an Irishman who hasn’t taken the pilgrimage to the place the black stuff is made – The Guinness Storehouse – that’s how I found myself, for the second time, in stout heaven when I don’t even drink beer.
A Pint-Sized Time Capsule
Nestled in St James’s Gate (see the miniature version above), a not-so-short walk from Dublin’s infamous Temple Bar, the Guinness Storehouse is an impressive site from the moment you passed through the looming black gates. Keeping the industrial feel of a brewery throughout, you are taken on a journey through the process of what ingredients you need, how they create the brew, to the history of Guinness and even the famous advertisements featuring the Guinness Toucan which have become a brand trademark, all in a giant pint glass.
Yes, you did read that right – the Guinness Storehouse is designed around the world’s largest pint glass that would hold 14.3 million pints if filled.
“It’s like being in a church – aww, my Maam would have a fit if she heard me talking like that – but it’s like being in my type of church,” Padraig said as he gazing at the space, “Now where do we go to get a wee drink?“
Pouring the Perfect Pint
If you come to the home of Ireland’s black gold you want to try some, right? Throughout your visit there are stages you can try Guinness or even learn how to pour the perfect pint.
After spending three-months at summer camp with Padraig, including many drinks at the local bars on the weekends, I’d learnt what the ‘head’ of a pint was and also how Americans were incapable of pouring the perfect pint of Guinness.
Being at its home you get a few cheeky tastes of it during the tour – after learning about the process of making it, in the Gravity bar on the top floor, in one of the cafes or restaurants (where you can also taste Guinness inspired recipes), and you can pull your own pint – and I wanted to pull just one of the 10 million pints of Guinness that is poured around the world each day!
It takes just 119.5 seconds to pull the perfect pint, and whilst mine may have taken a few seconds longer, according to the taste master – that is the Irishman – I pulled a pint almost as well as an Irishwoman; I’ll take that as a compliment!
Looking at the Glass from the Top Down
After making it through the history of the factory, rows of the brewery’s famous advertisements, and an homage to sport – particularly rugby – where Guinness is a proud sponsor; you’ll finally make it to the top of the pint glass where the Gravity Bar is nestled – yep, that means more Guinness!
If you didn’t pour a perfect you can claim a free Guinness, otherwise sit down and soak up the atmosphere or just admire what is arguably one of the best views of Dublin.
“Aye, she’s beautiful isn’t she?“
It seemed that Padraig could read my mind as we settled down for (another) drink and to catch up on all “the craic“.
Is Guinness your favourite type of pint?
Have you explored the Guinness Storehouse?
Details
The Guinness Storehouse
St James’s Gate
Dublin 8, Ireland
Website: http://wwww.guinness-storehouse.com
Big thank you to Pod for coming down to Dublin (he’s a Northerner) and showing me around Dublin, Belfast and Londonderry/Derry – you’re a legend!
14 Comments
Leia
March 10, 2013 at 4:11 amMy husband and I went to The Guinness Storehouse & had a great time. It was fun and learned quite a bit… and we were a little tipsy– and it was only 11am! lol. Love your blog- I’m a recent follower. Hope you can come check out my blog!
-Leia @ latitudeadjustment1.blogspot.com
Nicole
March 19, 2013 at 12:06 amGreat to hear that your husband and yourself enjoyed your time at the Guinness Storehouse!
Thanks for reading and commenting, Leia! Love the colour of your site – can’t wait to get reading. =)
Monica
March 11, 2013 at 7:13 amMmm, I love a good pint of Guinness. I’m a recent Guinness fan and it wasn’t until I went to Dublin that I realised how much nicer it is over there. I definitely need to go back from a long weekend and visit the Guinness Storehouse!
Nicole
March 19, 2013 at 12:07 amI agree with your comment about Guinness tasting better in Dublin! Must be something in the water…
Hope you manage to take a trip over to Dublin soon. =)
Scarlett
March 12, 2013 at 2:40 amOhhhhh my kind of day!! xx
Nicole
March 19, 2013 at 12:07 amHope you enjoyed some Guinness for St Patricks. 😉
Jessica
March 13, 2013 at 7:17 pmThe Guinness Storehouse was my guilty pleasure in Ireland – it was kind of cheesy and over-the-top, but wonderfully so. I definitely had to take a break from Guinness for a while after visiting, – I like Guinness, but it’s such a heavy beer – you can only drink so many of them before you feel weirdly full.
Nicole
March 19, 2013 at 12:09 amSounds like a pretty good guilty pleasure to me!
I wasn’t such a fan of Guinness so kept passing my drinks to Pod and yes, after a few pints he was feeling rather full whilst I was hungry for lunch.
Hope you enjoy a Guinness sometime soon!
Jemma
March 13, 2013 at 11:06 pmWill the taste of the beer become better if you do the “perfect pour of pint”? Just curious… 🙂
Nicole
March 19, 2013 at 12:10 amI don’t fully understand how it works, however if you do pull the perfect pint the head of the drink won’t be so full and you’ll have a more equal distribution of drink and froth which is what makes Guinness so tasty.
wondernuts
March 14, 2013 at 7:52 amAdding this to the list of things to do in Ireland! Right next to pounding brews while watching an Irish band play in a bar (a la “PS I Love You”) =)
Nicole
March 19, 2013 at 12:10 amOh, PS: I Love You is a great movie and what a fun night that would be!
Hope you get to head to Ireland to tick off everything on your list soon. =)
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