The epic trip to Ireland wouldn’t have been complete without a trip to the Guinness factory (brewery), right?! Upon arrival to the land of the Green I was asked by the Customs officer ‘what have you got planned while you’re in Ireland?’ And it was actually a really good prompt not just for the Republic of Ireland to know what I was getting up to, but it was a good way to start me thinking about what I should do while there (as I am a very spontaneous traveller). But that should be a stock standard question upon arrival into Ireland… ‘And on what date do you plan on visiting the Guinness Brewery?’

The Guinness Brewery (or storehouse to be more precise) is a short walk away from the centre of Dublin. Just follow the main river and canals for a bit… and then cross the canal, and walk a little up few roads, and you’ll find yourself outside of the storehouse. It’s a very industrial looking building from the outside (no surprises there), and it has a whole lot of Guinness branding from the outside. It’s interesting to note how much big brands have adopted the ‘Disneyland approach’ to marketing, and flogging their wares to the world. Increasingly, brands are going down the path of provides rides, and external stimuli to get their message to the consumer. Whether it’s beer, peanuts or just bananas, the move to highlight a brands effectiveness is alive and well, and it’s alive right here at the Guinness Storehouse.

Enter the building via one of the doors and you’ll come to a front desk where you can purchase tickets to enter the ‘Guinness experience’ and get a little bit more than a frothy beer at the conclusion. Tickets in hand, and ready to find out about the manufacturing process, I walk through to the ground floor where there is a whole lot of posters, and collateral material that’s projected onto the walls in different ways. I am in absolutely no hurry to rush this tour, and instead want to take it nice and slow so I can absorb more than just the dark aley good stuff. I want to find out about the manufacturing process. I want to find out how tools they, what machinery they have, what the process is from when they harvest the barley, right through to the boiling of the hops, and the bottling, kegging and canning process at the end… my mind is as buzzing as a dark chocolatey frothy glass of Guinness, and I want to know what gets put in, to give me, and other consumers such a celebrated and great beer.

Walking through the main gate of the brewery I’m taking as much as I can, and I find myself at what looks like the official starting point of the tour. There’s a big wall-size poster that has a whole lot of graphics pointing (rather aimedly) at the Guiness logo, and the official brandmark. This marks ‘the spot’ at where it all begins, lets start this brew tour!

Image location: Guinness Storehouse, Dublin, Ireland. Image description: A wall-sized sign marks the start of the Guinness storehouse/brewery tour.
The start of the Guinness brewhouse and brewery tour.

Ascend through to the first display on the tour, and it’s the most important ingredient of all… WATER! As the crisp blue waters of the Irish countryside drip and work their way through the holding tanks, and tankers bring it to the factory, the start of the brewing process highlights the quality of the water being used, and seeks to also highlight its importance as part of the brewing process.

Image location: Guinness Storehouse, Dublin, Ireland. Image description: A photo of an interactive display set inside of a storage tank, or boiling tank that reads '30 million bubbles in every pint'.
A photo taken on the outside of a metal or cast iron storage tank with text that reads ’30 million bubble in every pint’ and you realise just how amazing that statistic truly is.

Walking through from the water storage tank, and into a cast iron storage tank where an interesting statistic is highlighted and written on the outside ’30 million bubbles in every pint’, and this when its all said and done, and when the beer is fully brewed, but it’s still worthwhile highlighting this at the beginning of the brewing process.

Make your way into the next room and you’ll find the ‘roasting’ process, and you’ll find yourself virtually a roast, and a toast so that Guinness can boast the most… popular beer in Ireland. The roasting of the said ingredients is an important part of the process – from the mashing of the barley, to the roasting of the barley and the hops… and the fermentation process (produces the alcohol!) There are a few steps to getting to what is considered ‘beer Nirvana’, or to put it into more Irish parlance the ‘holy trinity’ of beer brewing.

Image location: The Guinness Brewery and Storehouse, St James's Gate Brewery, Dublin. Image description: The Guinness logo is painted onto a black background.
This very big Guinness logo and sign is very hard to miss.
Image location: Guinness Storehouse, Dublin, Ireland. Image description: A wall-sized sign marks the start of the Guinness storehouse/brewery tour.
The start of the Guinness brewhouse and brewery tour.
Image description: A photo animation of James Rowe in a photo on the wall, with two green looking beers and a shamrock.
The animation created to celebrate the journey to the Guinness Storehouse and Brewery, and the consumption of Irish beer.
Image location: The Guinness Storehouse and Brewery. Image description: Brewery machinery - 'steele's masher'.
This is an interesting piece of machinery… it’s called a ‘steele’s masher’ and I don’t quite know what that is (not being a brewer and all), but it does look rather industrial, ands it’s wheel is massive.
Image location: The Guinness Storehouse, Brewery. Image description: A photo of barrels stack on top of each other containing the ingredients, and methods of the brewing process written onto the tops of the barrels.
The brewing process as explained using barrels.
Image location: The Guinness Storehouse and Brewery, Dublin, Ireland. Image description: A photo of Chief Beer Correspondent, James Rowe is imprinted by a specialised printer onto the throth (or head) of the Guinness beer.
You can get your mugshot printed onto the throth of the beer at the Guinness Storehouse. You simply pose for a photo, and then wait as your beer is ‘pulled’, and then a printer somehow magically prints your photo onto the head.
Image location: The Guinness Storehouse and Brewery, Dublin, Ireland. Image description: A sign reads 'The Tasting Rooms - Arrol Suite 2.
Don’t let the sign deceive you, there actually isn’t anything exciting, or particularly interactive in these rooms… except for beer. That’s really it.
Image location: The Guinness Storehouse and Brewery. Image description: A sign which reads 'Guinness Academy - Connoisseur Experience'.
If you feel like taking your beer tasting up a level why not participate in a little beer tasting on the ‘connoisseur’s experience?’
Image location: The Guinness Storehouse/Brewery Dublin, Ireland. Image description: A wall of TV's, and signage seeks to highlight how much the Guinness beer is tasted, and tested. 'Every brew is taste tested 23 times and analysed a further 251 times by our team of scientists and brewers'.
Every Guinness is taste tested and analysed 23 times… very interesting. I would be very interested to know how they came up with that number, and what the process of all that tasting actually is. And analysed 251 times means that it’s not tasted, but rather that they do experiments of sorts, and put the beer through different processes to see if it meets their benchmarks.
Image location: The Guinness Storehouse, Dublin, Ireland. Image description: A circular sign has a watch face, along with writing in place of the numbers reading 'Guinness Tasting Time'.
The Guinness Tasting Time clock is a real standout in the tour as it signals that you’re about to enter the tasting experience, which of course is what everyone is there to do.
Image location: The Guinness Storehouse, Dublin, Ireland. Image description: Writing on a black wall reads 'We are brewers, and always have been; and in our brew we have sought, and we seek, to ally the traditions and craftmanship of the past with the best that science has to teach us'.
The Guinness creed, which explains what their chief purpose is, and where they’ve come from, and where their going in the future, and also invoking the scientific approach into their brewing.
Image location: Guinness Storehouse, Dublin, Ireland, Image description: A 'roasting' sign can be seen to depict the start of the roasting part of the brewery tour.
The ‘roasting’ part of the Brewery and storehouse tour.
Image location: The Guinness Storehouse, Dublin, Ireland. Image description: A photo of a long corridor with an illuminated sign that reads 'THE TASTING ROOMS'.
This is where you come to try the Guinness product. The rooms themselves aren’t anything all that special, and their quite bare, except for the fact that there are lots and lots of glasses of beer.
Image location: Guinness storehouse/brewhouse, Dublin Ireland. Image description: A small tiny glass of Guinness is held up by the storehouse curator who tells a story, and explains the character profile of the beer.
A Guinness storehouse curator tells a story about the beer, and explains the character profile.
Image location: Guinness Storehouse, Dublin, Ireland. Image description: A tray of half pints of Guinness are ready to be served.
A tray of half pints of Guinness are ready to be served.
Image location: Guinness Storehouse, Dublin, Ireland. Image description: A pint of Guinness sits atop a gallery-like stand, depicting almost like a glass of Guinness is a work of art, of a museum piece.
A glass of Guinness as depicted as an artwork, or museum piece.
Image location: Guinness Storehouse, Dublin, Ireland. Image description: Writing on a tiled wall says 'Brewers are precious about their water'.
And brewers are precious about their water.
Image location: A pub in Dublin, Ireland. Image description: A sign which says 'Guinness is good for you'.
A sign which reads ‘Guinness is good for you’ inside of a pub in Dublin, Ireland.
Image location: Guinness Storehouse, Dublin, Ireland. Image description: A neon sign inside of the Guinness Storehouse (factory) which shows the temperature '232 degrees celcius' that the beer is roasted at 'to create the unique flavour, aroma and colour of Guinness'.
Guinness neon sign roasting temperature. ‘232 degrees celcius – the temperature we roast at to create the unique flavour, aroma and colour of Guinness’.
Image location: Guinness Storehouse, Dublin, Ireland. Image description: A photo of an interactive display set inside of a storage tank, or boiling tank that reads '30 million bubbles in every pint'.
A photo taken on the outside of a metal or cast iron storage tank with text that reads ’30 million bubble in every pint’ and you realise just how amazing that statistic truly is.
Image location: Guinness Storehouse, Dublin, Ireland. Image description: An artwork depicting a glass of Guinness is seen on the brewery tour.,
One of many artworks on the Guinness Storehouse and brewery tour.
Image location: Guinness Storehouse, Dublin, Ireland. Image description: Writing on the truss reads 'Everyone's Irish on March 17th'.
Writing on a truss of the Guinness Storehouse reads ‘Everyone’s Irish on March 17th’.
Image location: Guinness Storehouse, Dublin, Ireland. Image description: Chief Beer Correspondent, James Rowe sits with a Guinness beer inside of an Irish pub.
The dark and stormy goodness of the Guinness.