Guinness Storehouse

So it might be touristy, but when I decided to study in Ireland, I knew I had to go to the Guinness Storehouse while I was here. 

When my parents and brother came in February, we spent their first weekend in Dublin and I decided that it would be a fun activity for their first day in the country. 

The Storehouse is within walking distance from where we stayed in Temple Bar and is shaped like a giant pint glass. I thought it was really well put together and I had a lot of fun! Since Brian isn't 18 yet, he couldn't fully participate, but he still enjoyed it! 

On each floor of the Storehouse, there are tons of facts and exhibits to look at, but they were hard to photograph because it was so dark. Excuse the quality of some of the pictures in this post; some were taken on my phone and I'm still learning how to use my big camera!

One floor had what looked like portraits of people on a TV screen, but when you stood in front of them, they began to talk! The first one I approached really spooked me!

One of my favorite floors began with a long, dark corridor. As you walked down the corridor, a delicious smell wafted through the air. The hall opened into a bright white room containing four bowls that appeared to be smoking. Inside these bowls were the source of the smell in the corridor and the smell of Guinness. From this room, we were handed mini pint glasses and ushered into the tasting room.

In the tasting room we were instructed how to properly taste Guinness. They advise breathing in, sipping through the head of the beer, and then inhaling a second time. Personally, I didn't really taste a difference using this method, but it's possible I was too busy taking pictures to really give it a try. 

Perhaps the main attraction within the Storehouse is the Guinness Academy where you learn to pour the perfect pint. To pour a perfect pint, you inspect the glass for cleanliness, hold it at an angle against the tap, pull the tap towards you until the glass is about 3/4 full. The beer then has to set before you hold the glass directly underneath the tap and push the tap backwards to top the beer off. Let it sit for a little bit longer and then serve it to someone else or enjoy it for yourself! 

 Mom, Dad, and I all gave it a go.

We successfully poured our perfect pints! It was actually much easier than I expected it to be! 

We left the Academy to drink our pints. I fully believe that the Guinness from the Storehouse is better than the Guinness in Irish pubs just because it's so fresh. What am I going to do when I get back to America and none of the Guinness is fresh!?

On the top of the pint-glass-building is a 360 degree Gravity Bar. Through the glass building, you could see all of Dublin. I pointed Trinity College and the few other landmarks I knew out to my family. Luckily, the windows were engraved with descriptions of what we were looking at. Even though the views were incredible, we didn't stay at the Gravity Bar too long because it was super crowded and you could barely move. I was lucky to sneak up to a window for a few pictures.

Just below the gravity bar are a few cafes and restaurants. We chose to eat lunch at Arthur's Bar because they were advertising 5 euro Guinness Burgers that sounded too good to resist.

The decor in the restaurant was really cool so Brian and I explored it while waiting for our food. 

Finally, the most delicious burgers were placed in front of us. We all agreed that we needed to recreate them at home. 

We happily left the Storehouse with full stomachs and a few souvenirs. Touristy or not, it was a great way to spend an afternoon!