Guinness Brewery, Dublin

The Guinness Brewery & Storehouse is the number one tourist attraction in Dublin.

It is housed in an impressive building and takes you through the history of Guinness and explains the process of making this treasured nectar of the Irish.

The most interesting part of it was gaining an understanding of what a HUGE part Guinness has played in the Irish economy and Irish culture in general.

A very interesting experience.

After the tour, you ascend to the Gravity Bar, on the top floor of the building. Here you can take in the excellent views across Dublin whilst sipping on your complimentary Guinness!

Of course the Guinness Brewery is a must see. I finally found the main entrance after walking around the whole plant. Gads, it's a big place. For a bit of admittance fee I started climbing the stairs searching for that free pint that comes with the faire.
The whole place is set up as a brewing museum. I assumed I'd get to see the actual brewing process, but no such luck.
It is strictly a self-guided tour and you can go as fast or as slow as you like.
I finally reached my destination, the bar at the top, traded my chit for a pint and sat down and admired the view.
It was a nice day in Dublin for January. Sun breaks through the clouds provided some nice photos of the city from high atop.
Virtually everyone in the place was a tourist, most from the US. Being completely exhausted I settled for a second pint before taking the elevator down to the Hop Store to buy a few things to take home. And what a selection that Hop Store has!! Be careful, you can spend your whole budget here.
See my Travelogues for more pictures of the Brewery.

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Yes, there are many world-class tourist attractions in Dublin such as the Book of Kells and St. Patrick's Cathedral. Being pressed for time, I could only realistically choose one. My choice? The Guinness Storehouse. After I arrived, I learned that it is Ireland's number one international tourist destination.

Inside, there is a self-guided tour during which I learned all about the history of Guinness and the brewing process. The biggest effect of all of this information is that it was making me thirsty. No worries -- included with the tour is a card which entitles you to a pint of Guinness in the GRAVITY Bar on the seventh floor. The bar itself is large and spacious -- and offers great views of the city.

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You can't think of Ireland without thinking of Guinness - the "black stuff" has become as much a symbol of the country as the shamrock and the leprechaun! The Guinness Storehouse, located at the heart of the old St. James Gate brewery, first opened its doors to visitors in 2000, and it quicky became one of the city's top attractions. Visitors are invited to go on a self-guided tour of the storehouse's seven floors - pretty much everything you've always wanted to know about Guinness is covered in the numerous displays: from the ingredients used to the beer's unique brewing process, and from the various ad campaigns used over the years to the history of the Guinness family.

It wasn't exactly the most interesting tour I've ever been on - I usually prefer guided tours to reading information posted on the walls - but I did learn some rather interesting facts, such as how the idea first came up to publish the Guinness Book of Records, and the fact that doctors used to prescribe Guinness to nursing women to help them fight postpartum depression :o) The tour is nicely broken up by a visit to the tasting laboratory, and it ends with a perfectly poured complimentary pint on the 7th floor's Gravity Bar, where you can also enjoy a spectacular 360° view of the city - that in itself was worth the price of admission!

The Guinness Storehouse is open daily and tours last about 2 h (depending on how fast you drink your pint!). There's a small cafe where you can get refreshments as well as a restaurant. Tickets: 15 Euros, or 13.50 Euros if you book online.

I've been to the storehouse several times. The first time was the day of the re-opening day. And, that's when I had my first pint of Guinness at the Gravity Bar watching Dublin city changing color with sunset.

There are 10 floors of exhibits and bars. The exhibits shows how the Guinness is made from ingredients to brewing process, the history of the company, advertising, audiovisual, etc. My favorite is a video inside the barrel showing a cooper manually making a new barrel.

When you buy the admission ticket, they give you a glass with a drop of Guinness. You bring this up to the Gravity Bar for a free pint of Guinness. You'll learn how to pour Guinness correctly.

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Maybe the thing Ireland is most known for in the world is Guinness, the famous beer produced in Dublin, very appreciated in the world.
The brewery is very interesting to visit, even if, personally, I think it should came after the museums and the churches.
The second photo of this tip shows Arthur Guinness's celtic harp that has become the national symbol of Éire and the third reproduces some of the dozens of messages by people who love the Guinness beer.

Yes I hate the stuff. The white part on the top is good for drawing pictures of smiley faces , but the black stuff is Yuckkk.

The brewery however is worth a trip and the tower is worth the trip for the view alone.
YOu may or may not like the taste of a pint, but either way its a good day out, and if you do enjoy the taste it may just be the start to a good night .

We toured Guinness because well thats what we do.

My favorite part of the tour was when you get to the level with all the advertising banners in the ceiling. One of them had a HUGE grammatical error. That although we all make them more often than we care to admit I found funny that it had made it past all sorts of checks before being hung for all to see.

The view alone from the bar at the top is worth the tour. Defintely should not be missed. I can assure you a certain VT friend who doesn't even like Guinness is VERY happy she didn't miss it.

the guinness storehouse is a 1904 listed building that covers almost four acres of floor space over six floors built around a huge pint glass atrium. in 1759 arthur guinness started brewing ale but became aware of a black beer popular in london called porter. porter was named after the porters at billingsgate and covent garden markets. guinness decided to brew porter in ireland. today guinness is the largest brewery in europe. guinness also produces harp lager and smithwick's ale. the guinness storehouse conducts a very interesting tour which covers the history of the guinness brewery. for lovers of dark beer this is a pilgramage.

I've always considered that it is great shame that you can't see the internal workings of the Guinness brewery on a visit to the site. At one point in the exhibition a row of kegs on the production line passes through, but that is about it.

Your 14 euro (10% discount on-line) does however buy you entry to the Guiness storehouse with an absolutely first rate exhibition of brewing and the Guiness story spread out over several floors.

The exhibition, I believe, is the most visited tourist attraction in Ireland - the power of that black stuff is overwheming.

There are several highlights, including an old safe with the secret yeast recipe in. They still have a real one elsewhere on site, just in case a national disaster happens and the brew becomes contaminated. The exhibition about cooperage (making barrels) is especially well done. I rather liked the tradition that an apprentice after several years learning his trade would be 'initiated'. This consisted of putting him in a barrell of his own construction, filling it with anything revolting and disgusting that the qualified coopers could lay their hands on and then rolling it about in the yard for an hour or so. Delightful.

The real highlight is the glass of Guinness in the 'Gravity Bar' at the top of the building. It's worth going to the Guinness storehouse just for the view out over all of Dubin.

P.S. The black stuff still tastes better in Mulligans than at the brewery itself.