My goodness, My Guinness

The guidebook that we had for Dublin suggested hitting the Guinness brewery early due to the crowds in the summer, so that's how we spent our first morning. We woke up early, had breakfast in the hotel, and walked over to the brewery. We were really excited to be first in line and then...

Fire drill!! So of course, I had to document this moment of us standing in the parking lot at the brewery at 9:15 in the morning. We actually thought it was a joke at first - who has a fire drill moments before opening? Oh, well. The place didn't burn down, and we were let back in shortly after - although the process meant that four or five small groups ended up ahead of us, which was pretty irritating. We felt like we should still get to be first since we actually made it there early enough!

Anyway, here we are!!

This year is Guinness's 250th celebration. It seems like we hit a good year for anniversaries (it's also the 800th in Cambridge, and the 200th of Darwin's birth).

This is the original lease for the brewery's building. Arthur Guinness struck a deal that allows him to lease it for 9000 years. Since they are just on year 250, it's probably safe to say you can have Guinness for a long time to come. I wonder if that's the Guinness world record for the longest lease? Side note: We actually did find out that the Guinness Book of World Records was started by the Guinness company, primarily as a reliable way for barkeepers to settle arguments among patrons.

Because of the 250th anniversary, they are allowing people to "add their names to the lease" at the brewery. For every signature, they are donating money to charity, so it's a pretty neat thing. I wonder if this means Jeremy and I now can share in Guinness profits? :)

This wall had all of the different types of bottles Guinness has used for the past 250 years. It was really kind of pretty.

Jeremy is pondering what dissertation topics he could research in the Guinness company archive. We went in to look at it, and it was very nice.

The first part of the exhibit showed a variety of the four ingredients - barley, hops, yeast, and water. We thought this waterfall was really nice. They discounted the myth that the water in Guinness comes from the River Liffey in Dublin - it actually comes from mountains in the region. Good thing, because the River Liffey is actually a little gross, like any city river.

They had a really informative exhibit on barrell making, which isn't done by hand anymore.

A shot of all the cartoon characters used to advertise Guinness over the years.

My goodness, My Guinness.

Another ad. I didn't get a very good shot of the ads with the doctor's quotes saying that Guinness is good for you. In short, they stated that it is made from all natural ingredients, settles your stomach, cures a fowl temper, relaxes the nerves, and helps you sleep. Apparently doctors in the late 19th and early 20th century would prescribe a pint of Guinness here!

At the end of the tour, you receive a free pint in the Gravity bar, which overlooks the city of Dublin. You also get a small taste of Guinness early in the tour to find out if you like it, and if you don't, you can get a soft drink.

Cheers!

A view of Dublin from the Gravity Bar

Another view of Dublin - that's the Wellington Tower.

Hopefully you enjoyed your Guinness tour as much as we enjoyed ours! More posts about Dublin will be coming in the next day or two.