You got to meet a Guinness? That s so cool! Also I had no idea there was a. Arthur s Day, and b. a c

After eight days in Scotland , it was off to Ireland for the duration of our Europe trip. My mom and sister had been to neither country, so I was excited to play tour guide for both. I ve been to Ireland three or four times it was a quick jaunt from Edinburgh when I was living car code coupon rental thrifty there and as luck would have it, our arrival in Dublin coincided with Arthur s Day . I knew nothing about this Irish holiday, but like everything else worth celebrating, the city goes all out for the occasion.
In a nutshell, Arthur car code coupon rental thrifty s Day is the celebration of the founding of Guinness, which took place in 1759. The company is older than my country how s that for comparison? and all of Ireland celebrates accordingly, with many big-name acts like Mumford Sons and Ellie Goulding car code coupon rental thrifty playing surprise performances at bars across the country. car code coupon rental thrifty (We tried to track down M S to no avail turns out they were in Cork while we thought we were hot on their trail in Dublin.) So naturally, it was the perfect time to visit the place where Guinness was born.
The last time I visited the Guinness Storehouse in 2003 with my friends Francie and Evan, we just poked around a bit and had a pint at the Gravity Bar. If you re there on your own, you can get an audio guide as you explore (included in your €16.50 admission, along with a pint at the top of the storehouse). If you have a group of six or more, you can organize a guided tour, which is offered in pretty much every major language (including Chinese). In fact, since we were there, they ve even started offering a fancier tour, the Connoisseurs Experience, in which you get to taste MULTIPLE kinds of Guinness. Every beer-lover s dream!
When Arthur started Guinness, the company occupied four acres of land; today, the storehouse is spread out over 55 acres. The original lease was a 9,000-year contract that cost an initial deposit of £100 and is £45 a year. (I d say Arthur got the better deal in that bargain.) We even got to see said lease, as they removed it from its vault for the occasion the last time it had been out in public was when the Queen made a visit to the factory.
Guinness produces four million pints a day, two million of which are exported (and I guess the Irish consume the rest? no big surprise there!). Production uses four million liters of water per day, which come from the nearby Wickelow Mountains. The water was the reason Arthur decided to settle in the first place; it s soft and doesn t need to be treated.
Truth be told: I would never order a Guinness in a bar in the United States. I ve just never liked it much. And then I went back to Guinness and had not one, but three pints, and I learned car code coupon rental thrifty why I don t like it at bars in the United States: They have no idea how to pour! A Guinness always needs to be served at 42 degrees Fahrenheit. If there s too much head on the beer, the glass is too warm.
We lingered so long downing three pints a piece of thick, chocolate-y Guinness is no quick task that Keith came back and asked us if we d like to meet a living Guinness. I mean, who s going to say no to that? The great-great-great-great-great grandson of Arthur, Rory Guinness, flew in for the occasion and did a small meet-and-greet with some of the guests.
He was absolutely delightful. There were probably 20 people in the room, and he came to each table and chatted up all of his guests. Then, he did a brief presentation in which he told about his five-times-great grandfather Arthur (he had 22 children! all by the same wife!) and showed us the Guinness commercials through the years (because let s be honest: Guinness has the most genius ad campaigns of any company, ever).
Visitor s Tip : If you purchase your tickets online in advance , you ll get a price cut of €3.50. Also, if you re over 64 or a student, have your ID handy as you also get a discount (as is the case at most tourist attractions in Ireland).
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We loved our time in Ireland car code coupon rental thrifty but my I think my husband enjoyed our visit to Guinness the most! Learning car code coupon rental thrifty how to pour is really an art and the the view from the bar at the top is really incredible. Great experience!
Robert and I spent much of our time in Ireland marveling at how much better Irish bartenders are at their craft than Americans. car code coupon rental thrifty It s not just the Guinness pours, it s how they serve every drink in its appropriate glass and take time to carefully craft a mixed drink. It s no wonder we spent so much time drinking on our trip.
In that case you need to go to the Jameson s distillery on your next trip to Dublin! You can do a tour very similar to the Guinness one, ending in a whiskey sampling (they get you to taste test the basic, fancypants and very very fancypants whiskeys and compare them) and then soak up the booze with lunch, it s great.
You got to meet a Guinness? That s so cool! Also I had no idea there was a. Arthur s Day, and b. a correlation between too much head on the beer and too warm of a glass. I wish I would ve taken the Guinness tour when I was there!
It s awesome that you were able to travel with your sister and mom! Some friends from college and I are thinking about an international trip, and Ireland is on our short-list. car code coupon rental thrifty The Guinness Tour would be a huge hit!
If you do, definitely email me and I ll give you my must-dos and must-don car code coupon rental thrifty ts. I m actually not a huge fan of Dublin I would suggest flying in and out of Shannon instead if possible but the Guinness tour alone makes it worth a day at least.
Hee hee I can teach you to put a shamrock in the top of your pint if you like! I worked in an Irish bar for 3 years as a student car code coupon rental thrifty and had all sorts of requests over the years from shamrocks to hearts and even peoples names! My best tip is always to finish off the pint by back-pouring , once your pint has settled, tip the Guinness pump back instead of pulling it towards you to top it off, you get a smoother pour as the beer comes out slower this way!
Love this post! We arrived in Dublin too late from our road trip from Belfast but these pictures make me want to visit once we go back TBEX anyone? So cool you got to do this and experience the right way to pour !