Guinness Ltd.

The self guided tour was fun. Multiple floors (7) with information about brewing and Guinness history/today particularly. Did not eat there. Everything from merch to food to beer was expensive. The top floor where you get your free beer is 360° with great views and very crowded. Is the tour worth 24 euros/person? No, but it was fun and we’re glad we went. One and done.

The self guided tour was underwhelming. I was hoping to see the brewery operation. It was like a Disney ride. I did the stoutie with my wife to get the picture on the head of the beer. It gets you another pour. The tasting room on the top floor was nice but very crowded. Had lunch at the 1837 brassiere. Food was excellent, see ice was lacking there but great everywhere else on tour.

Any introduction I attempt to use while writing about my experience at St. James' Gate will leave me questioning myself if I had used the right one for such a storied brewery. Not only a brewery, but an inseparable part of Ireland's cultural heritage, and the nation's most popular tourist destination. Perhaps it was in the cards that, while visiting Ireland for the first time and seeing my luggage had yet to arrive, that I purchase a Guinness T-shirt at a Penney's in Drogheda so I had a different shirt to wear while I waited for my luggage to arrive. The unique dark ale, Guinness, brewed at St. James' Gate, and once perceived as the champagne of beer by a college teammate of mine, meets a near perfect balance between beer geeks and casuals. I knew I would visit someday just as I was starting my beer tasting hobby more than 18 years ago, and despite what curveballs life would throw at me, I would put the destination on the backburner until the opportunity was ripe. That would happen this past Saturday.

After a self-guided tour which sees the original document of the 9000 year lease, exhibits about how old wooden barrels were made for the brewery, and a quick sensory course, the tour slowly dissipates and you are left to redeem your tour ticket for a pour of any beer. This is where it can get complicated, because there are several spaces with different atmospheres, and sometimes a different selection of beers on-tap. Perhaps the most famous place to grab your pint will be at the top floor, with two rooms full of open windows and each a circular bar pouring Guinness and Hop House 13 Lager. It doubles as a great observation deck as you can peak above and around Dublin. A large crowd on hand, but one full of life and happiness, and adding the uptempo music create a place which I would be very happy for the night just to drink Guinness.

I was curious if there was more than just Guinness at the home of Guinness; on the other side of the Storehouse is the Open Gate Brewery and tasting room, which features a wider selection of beer, including some experimental ones which I must give credit for attempting to brew. The Open Gate taproom feels like a taproom of the many American breweries I've visited; modern, sleek, and attempting to lure you back with a rotating beer list. Sometimes you can find winner at a large brewery's taproom, and in this case I found the Escar Gose, a gose brewed with snails, to be a plenty satisfactory tart treat. In addition, there was also a session pale ale, baltic porter, New Zealand lager, Antwerpen Stout, Arthur's Last Ale, and Strong Blonde Ale, which can be ordered by the pint, half pint, or part of a three beer paddle. Other notables from the list include the year-round Citra IPA, West Indies Porter, Special Export Stout, Foreign Stout, Guinness x Timmermans, McCardles Ale. With a friend, we are able to taste six of the experimental brews, and in general were of solid quality; nothing I would rate around a 4, but appetizing enough to where a second pint would be ordered. In addition to the number of more widespread Guinness products, many of which can be found around pubs in Ireland, that's a healthy selection to have at a brewery.

If you're wondering, Guinness does not taste much different than from whatever Irish pub is near you.

Having a Guinness at St. James' Gate is on many people's wishlist, including my own. Now that has been checked off, you can do just as well to have a Guinness from the wide array of establishments around Dublin. If I were back in Dublin, I might come by the Open Gate taproom to see what's new brewing.

If you’re in Dublin, a visit to Guinness is a must.
We took the tour, lots of history here, very interesting and informative. We also graduated from the “perfect-pint” draught pouring instruction. Many other activities and exhibits to see, you won’t likely get bored or thirsty here.
The food and dessert in the restaurant was very good, great views of the city, overall a very enjoyable and satisfying experience. Everything tended to be pretty pricy, but pretty much par for the course for a place like this.

Visiting here is a fun experience but definitely be cautious if you don't like crowds. Lots to see and do as you go up the different levels of the building. Finding a seat at the Gravity bar is next to impossible but the views are better when standing up anyway.

 

 

I paid for the Guinness Brewery Experience. A bit long but a great tour, great guides, plenty of beer and food. Back stage sights and sounds you don’t get with their basic visitor center. The food in the restaurant was very good. The gravity bar has a great view but crowded. Loved it. So happy I did this tour.

Great tour, very interesting and a good way to spend an afternoon. Getting to pour your own pint and enjoy a panoramic view of Dublin city is a must.

 

 

 

After all is said and done, you essentially pay $20 for a pint of Guinness at the end. But being that you get to enjoy it at the top with the panorama view, it's worth it. Definitely worth doing once.

Definitely worth stopping by if in Dublin, although this is more a museum than a brewery. You go on a self-guided tour of the many floors of the store house and learn about the history of Guinness, how it is made, and its advertising campaigns. It was very interesting. About half way through you get a small sample, then a full sized pint when you get to the gravity bar at the top. Also if you like Guinness memorabilia the gift shop has everything you could want.

 

 

You can't come to Dublin without a tour of this place right. 5 or 6 floors of information about the history and how they make Ireland's iconic beverage. Culminating in the gravity bar at the top of it all with spectacular views of the city in all directions. The price of admission includes a ticket for one free drink that you can use in one of several bars on the way up or at the top. There is a restaurant and a cafe and also a huge gift shop. You can pay extra to have a guided tour. There are several brands offered and curiously when I ordered a cider for my wife I had to assure the bartender that she had a gluten allergy or he couldn't serve it to me. I'm not sure what that was about but I played along. The Guinness tastes the same, but it was great sipping on it looking out over the city. I'd do it again.

 

 

Great bar with panoramic view of Dublin. Opted for the Pour the Perfect Pint tour - great time.

 

Only ever been through the Guinness precinct in Dublin on a tour bus, but thought that I should give it a rating as the spiritual home of close to my favourite beer, Irish Stout. Will visit one day for the full experience.

 

 

Storehouse is Disney for beer. Geared to the masses and well produced. Best pint of Guinness I had was here, but only slightly better than everywhere else in Ireland. It's interesting and even fun, but short on the brewery experience.