Guinness Storehouse

     The Guinness Storehouse offers a Guinness themed tourist experience.  It is located in a seven story building that used to be a fermentation plant.  When the plant was retired in 1988, the Guinness people decided to turn it into a visitor center.  The admission price is high, but we got a senior discount, and the price of admission included a pint of stout.
   

Arthur Guinness leased a vacant brewery in 1759 and started producing his libation.  He signed a 9,000 year lease for the price of  £45 per year.  The lease is embedded in the floor where the tour begins.  The lease is no longer valid because the company purchased the property outright many years ago.

This was a nice photo op.

The architecture is interesting.  Entry and ticket sales are on the ground floor.  The next floor contains the souvenir shop.  This is also where the lease-in-the-floor area serves as a starting off point for the self guided tours.  The next few floors explain the brewing process with pictures and videos.  They have also left some old equipment in the spaces.  After covering the brewing process, there is an area devoted to coopering or barrel making.  This was an important trade at one time, but now beer is stored and shipped in stainless steel.

Another floor features Guinness advertising campaigns.  The toucan became their advertising symbol in 1935 because, when it comes to Guinness, "toucan" be even better than one.
http://www.historyhouse.co.uk/articles/guinness_toucan.html

This kangaroo wouldn't give up the bottle of Guinness in her pouch.

My Favorite Ad Campaign
"A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle."

Guinness' first advertising symbol was the harp.  They began using it in 1862 and registered it as a trade mark in 1875.   

You can learn to pull your pint of Guinness, but we bailed on that activity when we saw the long line of 20-something males waiting for tutelage.  Instead we went directly to the instructors who teach you how to drink (actually, more like fully appreciate) Guinness.    We got a shot glass sized sample.  We looked at it in a darkened room.  People call Guinness "the black stuff," but it is really ruby red.  The deep red color appears black under most lighting.  We examined the head, took a swig and let it wash over our tongues, swallowed, and exhaled.  I expected this dark brew to taste awful, but it wasn't too bad.  Now we were ready to claim our free pint.   

The top floor of the storehouse contains a glass walled bar with 360° views of Dublin.  The music was so loud it drove us out.  

We went instead to the cafeteria where we got our pint.  I ordered Irish beef stew to go with my beer.  Of course, Guinness is one of the ingredients in the stew.  The beef was tasty, but the "root vegetables" in the stew weren't to my liking.  Give me carrots and potatoes.  I got my potatoes mashed and dumped on top (and they were delicious).  I got half way through the Guinness and decided I would stick to lager.