Our pints of Guinness at various stages of pouring. Mine is the second from the right, a beautiful sight! Lol. Sláinte!

Discounted entrance which included a pint of Guinness €14.50
Guinness Storehouse, Dublin IRELAND

The Guinness Storehouse is purported to be Ireland’s number one visitor attraction, and somehow I believe it. To jumpstart our first full day in Dublin and kick off my friend Kryan’s pre-birthday celebration, we took public transit to this brewery/museum/beer haven! It’s housed in an old historic brick building, but the interior is quite clean, beautiful and spacious.

The central atrium is actually the world’s largest pint glass! Well, shaped like one anyway. If it were filled with Guinness, the seven story tall atrium would hold 14.3 million pints! At the bottom of the atrium, displayed beneath glass, is the 9000 year lease that founder Arthur Guinness signed in 1759 on the St. James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin.

The self-guided tour takes you through multimedia displays that explain the brewing process used to make Guinness stout. This projected video shows the harvesting of barley, one of the four natural ingredients used in brewing.

A long sheet of water cascades through the middle of one room. The displays are both interesting and interactive.

Chronology of Guinness. Among the artifacts used in the brewery process are displays like this one which recount the historical events that shaped this global brand.

Copper lid from 1936 which was probably from one of their many brewing tanks.

Old copper brewing tanks/vats. Weave in and out among these large tanks, some of which have been converted to video viewing rooms.

The Guinness Academy pouring station on the 4th floor. We decided to redeem our free pints while learning how to pour the Perfect Pint. This bar/classroom was really cool! They had 4 or 5 of these stations where groups would learn the craft of pouring pints from a Guinness Ambassador (yeah, kinda cheesy but we’re on vacay, ya’ll).

Of course my friend Kryan volunteered to help demonstrate how to pour the Perfect Pint. Well I guess he was the pre-birthday boy! I was a little disappointed that our Ambassador was from Michigan, what!? I would have preferred a native Irishman so I could listen to his cute accent but Michigan-guy was actually really nice and super informative. Some things I learned (which Kryan knew btw): Guinness is a ruby red color, pouring Guinness is a two-step process with waiting involved, aim for the harp when pouring the first round, it matters whether you pull or push the beer tap handle, etc.

My other friend David takes his turn to pour with guidance from our Michigan Ambassador.

After pouring our Perfect Pints, we grabbed a table and happily consumed all 198 calories each, lol! We even got cute certificates declaring us pouring experts.

Gravity Bar sits at the top floor of the Guinness Storehouse and offers 360 degree views of Dublin! It’s a fun relaxed space where seating can become scarce, but everyone seems a little jollier with their pints in front of them.

Kryan recounts his hour of glory as the Guinness Ambassador’s assistant. Sláinte, männliche schlampe! Love you, mean it!

My travel buddies David, Kryan, and Tristen!

Even the rain couldn’t put a damper on our Irish adventure!

And our Guinness Storehouse Experience was topped off with a Susan Boyle sighting, OMG! This lady is tiny! We saw her walk by our table and we had just decided to follow her and ask for a quick photo when a group of feral students mobbed her, ruuude! That’s ok because the following day good ‘ole Suze followed us onto our Dublin Bus Tour. What a stalker, right!?