While in Dublin for the first time I was talking with a hotel manager of six years who told me that he found it incredible how people go to the Guinness Storehouse even if they do not like beer.  He said, “I cannot count how many times that I have seen guests come back from the Storehouse with heaps of Guinness gear and say, ‘I don’t even like the stuff but I just loved that place’.”  Eventually this led us to the subject of if Guinness tastes better in Ireland.  A claim that Guinness tries to answer on its website: “in blind tests (with a bunch of highly cynical journalists) none of our sample could tell the difference between Irish-brewed GUINNESS® and the locally produced variety. All the GUINNESS® sold in the UK, Ireland and North America is brewed in Ireland at the historic St. James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin.” Nevertheless, because I have heard so many times about Guinness in Ireland, I wanted to finally answer this question for myself so I thought there there is no better place to test the hypothesis than at the Guinness Storehouse the home of Guinness.  I don’t drink Guinness beyond the once every other month pint so I was not expecting to be able to tell any difference, but I most certainly could.

Over the years I have heard a few exaggerated nuggets of travel-lore such as how cheap Prague is, how much fun Berlin is and how much better Guinness is in Ireland.  Not to say that Prague is expensive or that Berlin does not have amazing nightlife but I am saying that a lot of times these experiences do not quite match their word-of-mouth.  However, I now state that a Guinness in Dublin is one of the best beers that I have ever had and better than any other Guinness that I have tasted.  In fact, it surpassed what others have told me, no matter how enthusiastic their reviews.  I did not think that the taste was significantly different as it was just lighter which I felt made it a more tasty and manageable brew.  It’s almost like Guinness in Dublin has nothing to prove because it knows it is the best and has full confidence based on the 250 years serving Irishmen and Irishwomen.

The view from the lively Gravity Bar is spectacular. Click through to be taken to Flickr photo tour of the Storehouse.

Regardless of your feelings about Guinness when visiting Dublin the decision will have to be made of wether to go to the Guinness Storehouse; I highly recommend it.  I’ve been on many brewery tours and this one follows the same formula.  The self-guided tour (there are headsets but I passed) takes you through the founding by Arthur Guinness, the business decisions that made the beer successful, the different types of advertising and then for the grand finale a fresh pint of the Irish dry stout.  The Guinness Storehouse does not veer from this usual path except that it has a tasting lab that teaches one to appreciate the unique qualities of the beer.  I suppose that the tour itself is not a compelling reason to drop the admission charge of €15 (€11 students) since €5 will buy a pint in many Irish pubs.  I recommend this experience because I feel that no other brewery has had such an impact on a city like Guinness has had on Dublin.  The whole tour is very much the story of a company and city which had intertwined fates and took care of each other.  The whole thing takes about an hour and finishes in the Gravity Bar with a free pint of the black stuff and the opportunity to enjoy the best view of Dublin.  You can only have pints in exchange for tickets so savor your free one because you cannot buy anymore.

Details:

Location: St. James’s Gate- Dublin 8

Admission: €15, students over 18 get in for €11

Visiting Hours: 7 days a week from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm (last admission at 5:00 pm); July and August 7:00 pm

Website booking available with discount.  Guinness-Storehouse.com

Click through on any of the pictures to be taken to our Flicker set which gives a picture tour.