Some people say you can skip the Guinness Storehouse because it’s touristy and you don’t actually get to see the beer being made. When I was in Dublin in 2012 I did skip it, but I always kind of regretted it. This time, I made a point to be sure we came here. How can you go to Dublin and not pay homage to the most Irish of all beers?

I purchased tickets in advance, which I highly recommend, just for the self-guided tour and you also get one free beer at the end of it. Tickets are not cheap and cost 26 Euro each, which is a lot considering it is not a guided tour. You can scan QR codes while in there get more info if you want, but there is plenty of information provided just throughout the different exhibits in the place. Note that St. James Gate is not super close to where you will probably be staying in Dublin. We took a taxi here and back as the weather was not super great that day and it would’ve been about a 40 minute walk.

The building itself is absolutely massive. There are multiple floors of exhibits. At the bottom, it talks about the raw materials that go into making Guinness – the hops, yeast, grain, and water. They discuss how beer is made and the exhibits are really well done.

The higher you go, the more information you get. There is discussion about the history of Guinness, storage, shipping, and the making of Guinness all over the world.

My favorite exhibit was the floor dedicated to their marketing and ad campaigns. You can find different tokens of Guinness ads as well as full blown immersive exhibits putting you inside some of their ads. I loved the actual human-sized fish riding a bicycle and posted a reel of it on Instagram that you can check out here.

After all of this, you end up climbing to the top where there are two very large bar areas where you give them your ticket for your free Guinness. We went there on a Friday afternoon and it was absolutely bumpin’ up there. They were playing fun music and there were a ton of people enjoying their pints. You can stay up there and sample some of Guinness’s other offerings besides their most well known stout. It was tough to find a seat but we did manage to grab one right by the window offering views over Dublin. So yeah, it was cool to see a view of Dublin, but honestly, Dublin is really not that interesting to look at, so it was a bit underwhelming. We still enjoyed our pints, though, and it was definitely worth the trek out to the Storehouse to learn about one of the most iconic beers in the entire world.

The first floor is mostly taken up with a gift shop that is absolutely massive. They have everything to buy from actual beer to refrigerator magnets. I bought a bunch of paraphernalia with the Guinness Toucan on it including a t-shirt, a magnet and a wooden coaster. You can load up on all kinds of gear here, and I highly recommend a gander.

Personally, I think the Guinness Storehouse is a place that you definitely need to see once in your life if you are remotely into beer, and especially if you like Guinness. Guinness most definitely tastes the best in Dublin, and the Storehouse tour should be at the top of your list for things to see while in Dublin!