Friday, August 1, 2014

How to do sightseeing in Dublin

So, Dublin, what shall we do today? It's not even raining (surprise!). The sun shines and it's slightly warm. The perfect day to do the walking sightseeing tour.

First stop, St. Patrick's cathedral. The entrance fee is 4,50 EUR. No, I'm not that into cathedrals. I could spend that money on a pint.

Next stop, Christ Church cathedral. Entrance fee 5,50 EUR. No, still not interested. I could have another pint for that.

Finally, Guinness brewery tours. Entrance fee 18 EUR. Yes, absolutely.

We can view the entrance to the home of Arthur Guinness.



Then, a long walk towards the start of the tour.


Here is an interesting fact I didn't know: the chemist who worked there was one of the first data scientists.


The four basic ingredients for making beer are barley, yeast, hops and water (due to my frequent visits to the Human Fish brewery, I knew that already).

Barley, in a huge swimming pool display


They claim that they have been using the original strain of yeast since the very beginning. A sample of the yeast is kept in the director's safe just in case something happened to the yeast in production.


Hops are imported from several countries


The water comes from the same water source



They do their own roasting


Mashing


Boiling


Some historical vats


Fermenting


And finally, when it's done, each batch is professionally tasted. The guy on the middle screen says that each time he tastes a batch, he asks himself: "Would Arthur like it?"


Some barrels from the old days


Barges that transported the barrels to the port in the old days


Ship that transported the barrels to Liverpool in the old days


Yeast waste


In order to learn how to taste Guinness, visitors must wait in a queue to be instructed


Smell


And taste, each visitor gets a shot glass


History of Guinness commercials and ads



We didn't go to the Guinness academy, the queue was too long. The brochure says that they teach you how to pour a Guinness


And finally, we get our own drinks, included in the entrance fee


Slainte