A Sublime Pint Of Guinness, Crowned With History And Passion

This may be the ultimate landmark in Dublin, Ireland. The Guinness Storehouse or brewery is a destination more than 4 million tourists each year.

Arthur Guinness started brewing beer here in 1759. He got a 9,000-year lease for the factory for £45 per year (about $73 in current dollars). Now, the brewery has been transformed into a museum, which you can visit for €15 ($21) a pop.

Here is a tour of the famed establishment.

Follow the signs to the Guinness Storehouse.

Here it is — this particular Guinness brewery building dates back to 1904. But Guinness has been brewed at this very spot since 1759.

Lets go in.

Nods to the brand’s Irish heritage are everywhere.

This is the original lease agreement signed by Arthur Guinness in 1759 for the St. James Brewery property for £45 per year and lasting for 9,000 years.

Big room full of one of the four ingredients of the Guinness beer — Barley!

Yeast — another key Guinness ingredient — kept in a safe.

Big glass columns full of Hops display the third component.

The fourth ingredient — very obvious …

Water! A waterfall at the Guinness museum is full of coins from around the world.

Chances are that if you frequent an Irish pub, you’ll get asked the ultimate question: What are the ingredients for making Guinness? Now you know.

Brew masters are also important as brewing Guinness is an art form. (Part of the barley is roasted before brewing starts which gives the beer its signature dark colour.)

Room detailing the history of how Arthur Guinness started his brewing business, and the timeline of the Guinness company.

On display — old-fashioned brewing machines. This one is a mill for crushing the barley before adding the water to form a mash.

After the barley and water are mashed together, the liquid is drained from the mash via these spouts. Then, the liquid is boiled while hops is added.

The final stage is fermentation, at which point yeast is added into the mix. The beer ferments for a couple of weeks in barrels or a vat like this one.

Unfortunately, you can’t see this process at the Guinness brewery as it is a museum. So, they show you a little video about the process and …

… some flow charts about beer-making.

A single copper holds A LOT of beer.

A huge wooden barrel.

You can see videos about the different types of bottled Guinness available throughout the world.

Posters about the types of Guinness available — draught, bottled, extra stout, etc.

Guinness bottles through the years.

Next stop is a small tasting bar.

Drink up!

The museum also features a section on how Guinness was transported and preserved.

An old-fashioned keg.

Imagine these boats shuttling Guinness barrels from Ireland to the U.S. in the old days.

The highlight of the Guinness Brewery experience is the Gravity bar, with spectacular views of Dublin.

Always crowded.

And endless beer.

360° views of Dublin.

You can see a functioning Guinness brewing facility from the Gravity Bar. The huge cement towers with white tops is the actual place where Guinness is brewed in Dublin.

One last glamour shot.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

This feature originally appeared in Business Insider.

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