My first pint of Guinness!

Well there is the proof! This past weekend I earned my true Irish degree (the most important one that is) and may as well head back to Canada... Or at least that's what Donnal my Guinness Storehouse instructor told me after I poured a perfect pint of Guinness. The pint was pretty tasty, so I think I may hang out in Ireland a little bit longer.

This perfect pouring came about as part of my weekend in Dublin with the International Student Society. Our stops included the GAA Sports Stadium and the Guinness Storehouse, followed by an evening outside of Dublin in a small village called Glendalough. It was a pretty full weekend and I met a lot of new people, including some girls from Norway, Sweden and Germany who I roomed with at the hostel.

The Guinness Storehouse was much more museum-like than I expected. I was anticipating a tour of the actual plant, with vats of beer, barrels, etc., but I didn't actually see any real stout until it filled my glass. Instead the Storehouse is a seven storey visitor center dedicated to the history and making of the 250 year Guinness brand. As you weave your way up the levels you are educated about the ingredients, creative process, advertisement and transportation of Guinness. There is an interactive floor where you can test your beer knowledge, as well as search company employee archives for potential relatives. I found some Darbys!

On the top floors you can find food in a variety of cafés, and have a 360 degree view of Dublin from the Gravity Bar. The picture below is looking out towards the sea and the tall point on the left is the spire of St. Patrick's Cathedral, founded in 1191.

Here are some of the fun facts I learned about the Guinness brewery! Arthur Guinness, the founder of the brewery, signed a famous lease in 1759 for the land where the brewery now sits that will expire in 9,000 years! The lease is displayed in the center of the Storehouse and around it rises a massive glass cylinder shaped like a Guinness pint. The glass runs up through five floors and in theory holds 14.3 million pints!

The building was a fermentation plant from 1904 to 1988. The modern Guinness factory produces 3 million pints a day for sale and distribution. The ingredients used in stout are barley, hops, water and yeast. Guinness uses 100,000 tonnes of barley a year and their water comes from the Wicklow Mountains, south of Dublin. The yeast is grown on site and is so precious that a reserve store is apparently kept in the director's safe at all times. 

Here are a couple displays from the Storehouse:

To top off our tour, we poured ourselves a pint! One of the funniest parts of the Storehouse visit was seeing all the disgusted looks on female faces as they sipped Guinness for the first time. I am proud to say I enjoyed mine and finished every last drop! I'm sure you're wondering if it tastes better in Ireland and the answer is yes! I was not a loyal Guinness drinker before, but I thought it tasted less bitter, probably because it didn't come from a can.

Pouring my pint! I find it genuinely hilarious how hard I'm concentrating in this photo!

The Guinness Storehouse was such an experience that I filled a whole blog post.  Read my next posts to learn about the GAA Stadium and the amazingly gorgeous landscape around Glendalough.

Cheers,
Shannon