Saturday, September 11, 2010

Every Girl Needs Some Black and Tan

An old gate where the horse drawn wagons left with loads of Guinness.
Guinness and Dublin.  Can there be one without the other?  Arthur Guinness was a very forward thinking businessman.  He signed a 9000 year lease on the property where he built the brewery.  That's correct: a 9 followed by 3 zeros.  Having been a business owner, I can appreciate his positive attitude.

One of the copies of the lease.  It's under glass in the middle of the floor where the tours start.
A waterfall inside the building.  The water is from the mountains, where the same water they use to brew comes from.
 When the company changed the way it stored the grains and hops, it turned the old storehouse into one of the best visitor's center I have ever seen.  Modern, interactive, but with displays that tie you to the place and product.   The middle of the storehouse has been opened up, lined with glass panels and now is "the largest pint for Guinness in the World."

Guinness even owned it's own vessels to ship their product.

Where it is still enjoyed today.  Right John?
The tour ended at the top of the building with a round bar with glass exterior walls.  Everyone had their choice of a pint of Guinness or, if non drinkers or underage, a soft drink.  The views were spectacular out over Dublin.
Everyone seemed to be having a good time.
After spending a bit of cash at the gift shop, we exited through pints filling with Guinness.  Mirrors on the walls made you feel as though you were surrounded by giant pints.  What fun!

There was even the sound of pints filling.

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