GUINNESS STOREHOUSE: ENJOYING THE ART OF BEER

The Bonds are still in Dublin enjoying the city, its people and its places. They have received a great surprise with the unexpected visit of Miriam, Raquel and Ruben Bond, who have wanted to join the family to celebrate the biggest Irish day, tomorrow.

Today, they have visited the Guinness Storehouse and have tasted litres of the most excellent beer. Tomorrow, they will be ready to enjoy their first Saint Patrick's Day in the capital or Ireland.

Guinness Storehouse is a tourist attraction at St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin, Ireland. Since opening in 2000, it has received over four million visitors.

More information: Guinness Storehouse

The Storehouse covers seven floors surrounding a glass atrium shaped in the form of a pint of Guinness. The ground floor introduces the beer's four ingredients (water, barley, hops and yeast), and the brewery's founder, Arthur Guinness. Other floors feature the history of Guinness advertising and include an interactive exhibit on responsible drinking. The seventh floor houses the Gravity Bar with views of Dublin and where visitors may drink a pint of Guinness included in the price of admission. In 2006, a new wing opened incorporating a live installation of the present-day brewing process.

The Bonds visiting the Guinness Storehouse

The building in which the Storehouse is located was constructed in 1902 as a fermentation plant for the St. James's Gate Brewery, where yeast is added to the brew. The building was designed in the style of the Chicago School of Architecture and was the first multi-storey steel-framed building to be constructed in Ireland .The building was used continuously as the fermentation plant of the Brewery until its closure in 1988, when a new fermentation plant was completed near the River Liffey.

In 1997, it was decided to convert the building into the Guinness Storehouse, replacing the Guinness Hop Store as the Brewery's visitor centre. The redesign of the building was undertaken by the UK-based design firm Imagination in conjunction with the Dublin-based architects firm RKD, and the Storehouse opened to the public on 2 December 2000. 

The Guinness Storehouse explains the history of Beer. The story is told through various interactive exhibition areas including ingredients, brewing, transport, cooperage, advertising and sponsorship.

At the base of the atrium lies a copy of the 9,000 year lease signed by Arthur Guinness on the brewery site. In the Perfect Pint bar, visitors may pour their own pint of Guinness. The Brewery Bar on the fifth floor offers Irish cuisine, using Guinness both in the cooking and as an accompaniment to food.

The Guinness Archive is based at the Storehouse and contains records dating from the 1759 lease of the Brewery and photographs, film, video, memorabilia, posters, maps, bottles and artifacts documenting the history of the Guinness company, brand and products in Ireland.

More information: Visit Dublin

 Beer. Now there's a temporary solution. 

Dan Castellaneta