Dublin Town

Since our time in Dublin had been shortened by at least a day and a half, we checked off what things were absolutely must-sees for us. There were really only two and a possible third if we had time: The Book of Kells, the Guinness Storehouse tour, and Dublin Castle.

The red Hop on Hop Off bus would get us a good over all view of the city and drop us off at our points of interest. We were issued ear buds and plugged into the recorded commentary as we made our way around two-thirds of the loop. We exited at Guinness and queued up for the tour.

While the tour of Guinness is not through a working brewery, it is an interesting step through time and the brewing process. Mr. Guinness was an astute business man who managed to sign a 9000 year lease for the building where the Guinness brewery is located. The brewery in Dublin only makes a small portion of the world wide distribution. Their product goes mostly to Ireland and the UK. There is a large brewery in South Africa that distributes to the rest of the world.

The process was interesting to follow as we made our way up a giant circular "glass" building fashioned after the distinctive Guinness glass. The dark color of the Guinness which they say is a deep ruby red (we couldn't see it) comes from the barley that is roasted before going into the mash process. But the most important part of the Guinness is the pouring.

When it first comes out of the tap, the Guinness appears a light chocolatey color and as you let it set, the bottom of the liquid becomes a deep brown (ruby red if you believe Guinness)and to the top rises a creamy froth that is distinctively Guinness. On one of the floors of the tour, you can give up your ticket stub for a free pint and learn to pour the perfect glass of Guinness. It starts by pulling the handle toward you and filling the glass to the Guinness symbol. Then you let it settle for a few moments and top it off by pushing the handle to the back which adds a little more froth. Of course you get to drink your pour as well. Not being beer drinkers, we saw a few eyebrows lift when we left our pours on a table. We did taste it. It is a milder tasting beer than I'd imagined and the creamy froth adds to that taste.

We passed on using our remaining free pint tickets at the bar on the top floor of the building and just opted to take pictures of the view. It was spectacular but we had to gently persuade the drinkers to let us through in a few places to get some pictures. No one complained. They were all imbibing free Guinness. What was there to complain about?