There’s more to Guinness than a Pint of Beer
By Marilyn Loeser
When friends and family discovered my husband and I would
be visiting Dublin, the first declaration was almost always, “Drink a pint of
Guinness for me!”
 The
Guinness Storehouse is Dublin's most popular tourist attraction and although I’m
a teetotaler, I too wanted to visit the famous brewery while vacationing on the
Emerald Isle.
By touring the converted factory, you’ll be educated in
Guinness history and the art of brewing. Old brewing equipment on display is
intermixed with information about stout ingredients, brewing techniques and
successful advertising campaigns.
 Guinness
stout is made from
water,
barley
malt,
hops and
brewers yeast. A portion of the barley is flaked — steamed and rolled — and
roasted to give Guinness its dark-ruby color and characteristic taste.
 The water used in the beer comes from Lady's Well in the
Wicklow Mountains and the barley is Irish-grown. Guinness contains
nitrogen as well as
carbon dioxide. Nitrogen, we learned, is less soluble than carbon dioxide
which allows the beer to be put under high pressure without making it fizzy. The
high pressure of dissolved gas is required to enable very small bubbles to be
formed. The creamy look of the head is caused by the very fine bubbles that rise
when the brew is poured.
History
 Arthur Guinness started brewing ales initially in
Leixlip, then at the
St. James's Gate Brewery from
1759. He signed a 9,000 year lease at £45 per annum equivalent to around
$90, for the unused brewery. It became the largest brewery in Ireland in 1838,
and was the largest in the world in 1914.
 Although it’s no longer the largest brewery, it’s still the
largest brewer of
stout in the world. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the brewery
owned most of the buildings in the surrounding area, including many residential
streets for brewery employees and offices associated with the brewery. The
brewery also made all of its own power using its own power plant.
 In 1769 Guinness exported their product for the first time,
when six and a half barrels were shipped to England. Today, Guinness Stout is
brewed in several countries, including Nigeria and Indonesia, but the
unfermented Guinness wort extract is shipped from Dublin and blended with a beer
brewed locally.
Guinness uses the
Trinity College Harp as their
trademark. This circa
14th century harp, which is on view at
Trinity College in Dublin, has been a symbol of Ireland since the reign of
Henry VIII in the
16th-century. Guinness adopted the harp as a
logo in
1862.
The exhibition is spread over seven floors in the shape of
a 14 million pint glass of Guinness.
 At
the end of the tour, which, depending on your interest, can take 45-minutes to
several hours, you’re invited to sample the famous brew. Drinks are served in
the glass-walled Gravity Bar with a view of the city.
For more information check the website at
www.guinness-storehouse.com.
If you go:
We stayed at The Merrion Hotel, directly across from the
Government Buildings in the heart of Dublin city center.
 Although
the five-star hotel is grand and opulent, it offers a relaxed atmosphere for
travelers. Close by are The National Gallery and The Natural History Museum. A
short walk leads to the adjacent "golden mile" of lively pubs, shops and
restaurants dotted around St. Stephen's Green.
The hotel is actually four Georgian townhouses meticulously
restored including the magnificent Rococo Stucco plasterwork ceilings which took
six months to restore.
 The townhouses were built in the 1760's by Lord Charles
Stanley for wealthy Irish merchants and nobility. He lived in No. 22, which
became known as Monck House. The most important of the four houses is No. 24
which was leased to Garrett Wellesley, Earl of Mornington, in 1769 and has since
been known as Mornington House. The house is remembered historically as being
the birthplace of Arthur Wellesley, the 1st Duke of Wellington.
The hotel houses a large collection of 19th and 20th
Century art which is widely considered to be one of the most important private
collections in Ireland.
There are also two landscaped gardens which, even in the
winter, are glorious.
For more information check the website at
www.merrionhotel.com.
Once your plane has landed, other than a taxi here and
there, train travel is your best bet. The BritRail pass is the most convenient
and economical way to explore.
Two Britrail Plus Ireland Passes are
available: 5 days out of one month or 10 days out of one month.
 One child, ages 5 to 15, travels
free with each pass. Extra children pay half fare and children under age 5
are free.
This pass covers England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
and the Republic of Ireland including a round-trip Stena Line ferry crossing
between Wales or Scotland and the Emerald Isle. You also can leave from one port
and return from another.
Boat crossings should be reserved a day or so in advance —
sooner for holidays — and Britrail Passes must be purchases before you leave
home.
For more information call 1 866 BRITRAIL or check the
website at
www.britrail.com.
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