When I first started drinking beer, I didn’t know that it could actually taste good. Like most young drinkers in America, I settled for what commercials told me what I should like. Then one day, I tried a Guinness. It opened my eyes to what beer can be. From that point on, beer wasn’t something to chug, it was something to enjoy. To this day, when I walk into a bar, my eyes scan the taps for the black handle with the golden harp.
Visiting the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, Ireland, was my destiny. When friends and I booked a quick trip to Ireland, the Guinness Storehouse was at the top of the things I wanted to do. We decided it would be our first stop. Shortly after landing in Dublin, I found myself jetlagged and standing inside the Guinness Storehouse.
The Guinness Storehouse is the number one tourist attraction in Ireland, with 7 floors where visitors learn the history of the beer company. Tourists don’t actually get to visit the brewery and the storehouse is more of a museum and educational experience. We spent over 2 hours at the storehouse, and it was the perfect place to enjoy my first pint of Guinness in Ireland.
All aspects of beer making are covered during the tour. You can have a self-guided or book a group tour. We chose self-guided. Visitors learn how Guinness is brewed, bottled, transported, and advertised. Hand-written notes by Arthur Guinness and seeing his famous signature was the highlight for me.
On the seventh floor of the Storehouse, visitors get to see one of the best views of Dublin. On the sixth floor, tourists can book a lesson on how to pour a Guinness or you can get your face placed on the top of the foam. Since I was a bartender at one time in my life, I didn’t feel the need to learn how to pour the perfect Guinness. That’s something I mastered a long time ago. Instead, we chose to see our faces placed in the foam. That’s not something you get to see very often.
Visiting the Guinness Storehouse gave me the feeling that visiting Graceland did. It was as though my life lead me to that moment. When you visit a place that you’ve always wanted to see, it does something to you. As though you’re completed in some way.
Now, with every Guinness I drink, I understand the process of what it takes to reach my hand.
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