The tour of the Guinness Storehouse took place on a cold but very bright morning on 15th February. From the moment we arrived, our members noted the friendliness and helpfulness of the Storehouse staff. Our guide, Alan, was excellent; he was knowledgeable and interested in questions and comments. There were many comments as we discovered some of our members had family connections to Guinness – probably not surprising as Guinness has played an important part in the city since 1759.
The Storehouse regularly tops polls of the favourite visitor attractions in Ireland and has been the number 1 attraction by visitor numbers for many years.
The Storehouse is on seven levels. During the tour of the first levels we learned how the raw materials are processed – how the hops, barley, water, yeast come together to make the famous pint. As we moved up the floors, Alan told us about how the product was developed internationally and about the innovative advertising and marketing – remember the Toucan and “Guinness is good for you”?
On the top floor, we visited the Gravity Bar. This room provides a 360-degree view of Dublin city. As this was a beautiful clear day, it was fun to try to identify the well-known places in Dublin, including St. Patrick’s cathedral, Howth, Croke Park and, of course, Trinity College
At the end of the tour, members were free to visit any of the dining areas or revisit specific items of interest or browse in the Guinness shop. You will find some lovely photos in the Gallery section of the website.