Guinness is good for you

If you’re in Dublin and you feel like coughing up €12.60, you can take a self-guided tour of the Guinness Storehouse.

As you walk in, you’re presented with a souvenir paperweight—a plastic blob with a drop of Guinness trapped inside (along with a warning not to drink it).

And then it begins. You walk into the main area where you’re confronted with enormous video screens showing idyllic scenes of hops blowing gently in the breeze. You reach into giant vats of roasted barley, where you’re told to get a sense for yourself of the grains that bring forth the magical and distinctive taste. And, of course, you can stand under the tremendous waterfall highlighting the purity of the water used to make Guinness.


By the time you get the complimentary pint at the bar at the top, you’ve heard a loving description of Mr. Guinness, whose passion for his art was unmatched, you’ve seen a sample of the numerous advertising campaigns, which insist upon the healthfulness of the drink, and you’ve had an opportunity to contemplate various passages by James Joyce. And you can’t help but wonder how you ever drank anything else.

It’s a very well-done tour.