Upon entering the Guinness Storehouse, you’re greeted with a view of a massive, rising tower with glass panels around the edges. Intended to convey the shape of a giant pint glass, the tower contains the brewery’s collection. Supposedly, if it was filled, it could hold enough Guinness to make three pints for every person in Ireland.
It would be fairly easy to draw parallels between the Storehouse and a particular well-known fictional chocolate factory, but Arthur Guinness seems to have been far more practical than Wonka. For one thing, he purchased a 9,000 year lease, which can be seen on the ground floor near the retail shop. After queuing up and paying for your ticket, which comes with a rather hefty price tag of €18, or €16 for students, you’re led along the ground floor, passing through a rather artful series of stops that describe the brewing process. From the waterfall to the hops, it covers all of the drink’s ingredients.
Without being allowed to sample anything just yet, you enter the next room, which features an interesting twist on a portrait gallery. The frames contain videos of the people they describe but, rather than a plaque, an actor relays information, playing the part of the portrait’s occupant.
Moving on, your tour continues through the brewery, with the guide explaining the process involved. Machinery used in the process is on display, although the actual brewing no longer takes place in that location. You can see some demonstrations, but it’s nothing particularly magical. From there, the tour moves on to the cooperage and the transport rooms, which are both fairly simple. Unlike the previous rooms, these are a little sparse. The cooperage room mainly features examples of the barrels used in the process. Some are partially disassembled, with most stacked up in piles.
After moving past a set of restrooms, you enter the transport corner where, honestly, there’s not much to see. It’s primarily a collection of artifacts from the early distribution of Guinness, including images of the rafts, one of the old captain’s hats, and other such items. They’re interesting, certainly, but not riveting. From there you head upstairs and this, unfortunately, is where you might begin to question whether the tour was truly worth the money.
To put some context into place, you should be aware that the tower is seven stories, including the ground floor. However, only the ground and first floors really contain the museum. The rest of the tower has a total of four or five things to see, such as a room with some Guinness advertising memorabilia, a map of the places Guinness is sold, and a place where you can try to pour a pint for yourself, called “The Perfect Pint”. These are spread out among the remaining four floors, with the rest taken up by rentable spaces for seminars or business conventions, as well as a couple eateries towards the peak.
While this may be disappointing, there is still one hugely enjoyable part remaining. On the very top floor of the Storehouse is the Gravity Bar, where you exchange your ticket stub for a pint of Guinness. If you’re under 18, you get a Coke instead. It might be a great deal for the children but, then again, if you’re not of drinking age, your overall enjoyment of the tour was probably minimal anyway. Once you’ve gotten your drink, find a place to sit if there’s room and take in the view. The Gravity Bar is much higher than most places in Dublin, and provides an excellent view of the city to finish off your pint to. Once finished, it’s generally preferred that you begin to make your way to the exit, especially since there is a limited amount of seating available, particularly beside the windows.
The tour is interesting enough but, for the price charged, perhaps not entirely worth it. If you are deeply interested in the specifics of beer brewing, this may be a very enjoyable time for you. If, however, you are a student with limited funds, save the cash and have a few pints at a pub. It’ll probably be much better craic all around.
