Guiness brewery in Dublin

We took a tour of the Guiness distillery in September last year and highly recommend it, well worth the time. Not being big beer drinkers, we thought it would just be OK, but were pleasantly surprised. Very interesting and beautiful facility. We bought our tickets there, not in advance, and had no problem. We took the LUAS and had a short walk to the distillery. We realized that brewing beer is a lot more involved than just putting some hops in a barrel!

Apart from the current procedures, the visit we made to the brewery some years ago fell into "just OK" category. This from a beer consumer who loves Guinness. Going against all orthodox thought, why not spend the 17.50€ per person entrance fee by visiting one or two nice pubs and chatting with locals?

It's a fun tour, but in retrospect I don't know if I'd recommend it unless you adore Guinness or are a big beer drinker. The tour was fun. You start at the bottom of the building and work your way to the top where here is a free glass of beer. (There is beer in the middle levels, too.)

But since I am not a beer drinker, I didn't have as much fun as someone who loves the brand might.

You are probably fine just showing up for the tour. If anything, you'll have to wait a few minutes but not too long.

In retrospect, I'd just hit a local pub and enjoy the ambiance.

Hi Marylee, we visited the brewery June 2017 during a free afternoon on a RS tour. I am not a beer drinker but thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent at Guinness. The facility is very nice with several floors featuring exhibits and experiences. The admission ticket includes a complimentary pint of beer which we enjoyed at the bar on the top floor. There were about 25 people ahead of us when we arrived at 2 p.m. but the line moved quickly, no need to purchase tickets in advance. We had a little difficulty finding the place, map it out before you get there.

Just remember you won't see any of the actual brewing as you might if you visit a small brewery. The modern brewery is down the road and not open to the public.

It's interesting but not an active brewery ....the "free" beer is hardly that with the entry fee. It's nice and if you're really into it great but second the advice.....enjoy a pub visit w the locals !

Going to add my two cents-we thought it was interesting since Guinness is such a part of Irish culture. Took us about 2 hours to see all the floors. The gravity bar has nice views of Dublin. But, with limited time, you really need to visit a pub as well.

We went on our first day in Dublin and agreed, the tour is just ok but the view from the Gravity Bar (it happened to be a relatively clear day) was awesome and a great introduction to Dublin.