Dublin: Next Stop, Guinness

If I can convince you to do anything at all, it’s this. BUY YOUR TICKETS TO THE GUINNESS STOREHOUSE ONLINE BEFORE YOU GET THERE. I’m telling you, the line had several HUNDRED people there. It would have taken us over two hours to get inside. However, since yours truly actually had the foresight to buy the tickets in advance, we simply bypassed the entire line, went to customer service where we waited 2 minutes, and went inside. Let me tell you, there were some dirty looks thrown our way. And yes, we gloated. I’m not ashamed to admit it.

My husband is the Guinness afficionado. Personally, I think it tastes like you’re drinking watered hay. But to each, his own. They give you a plastic disk with a droplet of Guinness frozen inside, as your ticket. You also get a plastic ring token to exchange for a free drink (either Guinness or soft drink) of your choice.

The Guinness tour is self-guided. The bottom floor begins with a huge flat of barley kernels which have been partially roasted. You can taste the roasted kernels if you wish. Further on is a waterfall, to show the purity of water and a display of hop vines. They look realistic but are made of silk. Like most brews, the kernels are crushed and mixed with water to form a mash. Yeast is added, and the fermentation begins.

You go through multiple levels of the building during tour, including escalators and elevators. It’s more of a museum and not a building where they actually make the Guinness (for health and sanitary reasons). There’s an area where you can taste a small sample of Guinness after you go through each of the levels. I’d recommend it to see if you like Guinness (I didn’t). There’s an area where you can pour your own Guinness. There’s an art to it, apparently, where you pour it halfway and let it settle. Then you pour it the remainder of the way and you’re supposed to wait again for the foam to be just right. You can actually watch the bubbles rising and settling while you wait. At the top floor, there’s a bar where you can see the entire cityview. It’s really pretty. I went ahead and got my free pint of Guinness, which I tasted and then handed the rest to my husband. Poor man, he had to suffer.

The entire tour took about two hours. As we walked out, I’m sure some of the poor folks who had to wait in line were just getting inside. Overall, it’s a fun way to spend the afternoon. Did I mention you should BUY YOUR TICKETS IN ADVANCE??

So, have you ever tasted Guinness? Did you like it?
Better question–have you tasted Bulmer’s (also known as Magner’s Cider)? Now THAT is a drink that’s tasty.