Guinness Storehouse Tour – Exploring the home of the black stuff

The Guinness storehouse tour is by far one of the best brewery/storehouse tours I have ever been on. Using my student card I was able to get a ticket for €18. Adult tickets range from special offers of €14 and go up to €20. You can check out the full range of tickets here.

Inside you will get the opportunity to explore the world of Guinness, from its production, to marketing, to enjoying a pint of the black stuff seven stories high with 360′ views of Dublin City.

The storehouse is just a stone throw’s away from The Liberties – one of Dublin’s oldest and most historic neighbourhoods. Today, the liberties is a wonderful mix between classic Dublin architecture, history, and modern technology and pharmaceutical companies.

Walking to the entrance to the brewery through the historic streets begin to give you a sense of the history of Guinness and how while the production methods of Guinness may have mechanised and modernised, the home of the black stuff has very much remained the same for centuries.

It just so happened that I went on Valentine’s day with my girlfriend and as Valentine’s dates go, it was definitely an interesting time out in Dublin city.

The brewery tour is self-guided but it also has audio tour options and maps in multiple languages so wherever you hail from you don’t need to worry about the language barrier.

Your tour begins where Guinness itself begins, with the core ingredients. You are greeted and shown the famous 9,000 year leases signed by Arthur Guinness in 1759, which in itself is a very cool way to begin the tour.

You walk through a maze of ingredients on display in dramatic ways; hop vines grow along the wall, and a cascading waterfall roars through the room.

Altogether the tour covers 7 floors. The first two are dedicated to the production, cooperage, transportation of Guinness and of Arthur Guinness’ own story.

What comes up next is a wonderful tasting experience where you are presented with a shot of Guinness and brought through the process to properly taste Guinness and get the most flavour from the drink; information that you can impress your mates with later at the bar.

Before you move onto the floor where you can learn to pull your own pint you are introduced into the world of Guinness advertising and I think that it is this floor that makes the brewery tour stick out from the crowd.

Guinness is synonymous with world-class advertising, and has been for decades. On this floor you can watch all the videos, see all of the photos and even pose with some of the props from past Guinness advertisements. They even have a photo-booth for you to break out your inner vogue.

If you have ever wondered how to pull the perfect pint of Guinness then this is the place for you. Four floors off the ground the Guinness Academy will teach you how to pour the famous pint.

Having worked as a bartender in Dublin I’ve pulled my fair share of the black stuff and I always feel sorry for the poor sods who don’t understand that Guinness is a two-part pour and they take it from the counter before I’ve pulled the second part!

I’m glad to say my pint came out lovely and creamy on top and a dark black and ruby red below.

You can enjoy your pint on the fourth floor but the Gravity Bar is where you want to be. Seven stories high with views of the entire city there is not one place better to drink a pint of Guinness, other than your local of course!

The views are genuinely spectacular and even if it’s just getting to see the city from that height is worth the entry fee alone.

The Storehouse tour is beyond value for money, engaging, intriguing, memorable, and hands on. It is a wonderful afternoon activity to do in the city, whether you’re here for the day or the week, make sure you get over to the home of the black stuff! If you are thinking about travelling to Dublin read about the time I spent a very early morning in the city