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DUBLIN’S
GUINNESS® STOREHOUSE
251 Years of the Perfect Pint
One
birthday celebration is just not enough! On September 24, 2009 Guinness
celebrated Arthur's Day to mark the 250
years since Arthur Guinness signed the 9,000 year lease on the St.
James's Gate brewery. On
the last day of the year 1759, Guiness signed a lease to acquire
the St
James Brewery, then on the outskirts of the Irish capital, for a
period of 9000 years. Since then, the rich dark elixir of Guinness Stout
with its golden harp logo has become the ambassador of Ireland around the
world. Guinness is going to celebrate another Arthur's Day in 2010, with
worldwide live musis performance events commencing at 5:59pm on September
23rd at the St. Jame's Gate brewery and around Dublin, Cork and Galway.
With only 251 years so far on the lease, the famous brewery has 8,750
years
left to attain the perfect pint.
Top on the
list of many tourist visitors to Dublin is the Guinness Storehouse®.
Located in a former fermentation plant which operated from 1904 until 1988,
the historic building has been turned into a pure amusement attraction.
Today, while the beer is brewed across the street in a modern facility,
the
Guinness Storehouse takes up seven floors arranged in the shape of a
pint glass. If it were a real glass it would hold 14.3 million pints
of Guinness Stout. Underground is the busy ticket entrance. On the next
floor the self-guided tour begins with Arthur Guinness’ lease 
embedded
in the floor (it’s a copy). Rising upward on the escalator to the
2nd level takes you into the history and process of brewing, where a friendly
Guinness Master Brewer (on video) guides you through the steps of the selection
and roasting of the barley, mixing of the water, filtering, yeast and fermentation.
A cooperage exhibit allows you to wander through barrels and examine the
ancient art of cask making. Continuing higher leads to exhibits of Guinness
advertising, branding and a rather politically correct exhibit of socially
responsible drinking, focusing on the effects of alcohol on the human body,
notable now that drinking just one pint of Guinness puts you over the legal
driving alcohol limit in Ireland.
On floors above you’ll
find the history of the Guinness Storehouse
building and of the brewery. In the tasting
bar, you can sample different variants of Guinness brews and learn the
proper way to pour a pint. On the highest level, the 7th floor is the Gravity
Bar with views over the Dublin skyline, with the sights marked on the windows
for identification. Your admission ticket includes a complimentary pint
of Guinness poured by the attractive lassies in the Gravity Bar. A “perfect
pint” is traditionally marked with a cloverleaf in the foam just
to the top lip of the glass. If a single pint is not enough, Irish food
with a Guinness twist is served in the Brewery Bar on the 5th level. The
gift store is back at the bottom level.
The Guinness
Storehouse is a little to the west of old Dublin, about 15-20 minutes
walk from
the tourism office or Trinity College, follow Dame Street
until it turns to Cornmarket, you’ll see the old brewery tower, the
storehouse in a block south. You can't miss the pungent aroma of brewing
beer. The nearest tram stop is James Street. You can take bus 123 from
O’Connell
Street or Dame Street, or if you get one of the Hop-on Hop-off Sightseeing
Bus
tours,
the Storehouse
stop
is about half-way through the route. There is a free parking lot if you
drive, but remember the bit about the legal alcohol limit. © Bargain
Travel Europe
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Guinness
Storehouse
SEE ALSO:
JAMESON
WHISKEY DISTILLERY TOUR - DUBLIN
DUBLIN
- THE BOOK OF KELLS
ORVAL ABBEY MONASTERY BELGIAN TRAPPIST BEER
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