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TRAVEL TANGENT  RISHAD SAAM MEHTA

IRELAND IN A GLASS A pint of Guinness

Yet the story of Guinness is an interesting one. Arthur Guinness bought (or rather squandered his money according to his friends and well wishers) a dilapidated old brewery at St. James Gate in Dublin in 1759.

And, this was at a time when there were plenty of other breweries in the area drawn by the excellent water source that was the river Liffey.

A proposition that would wipe out Arthur forever, as his friends thought, turned his fortunes around. He brewed a beer with roasted barley that gave it its characteristic dark colour and was soon in direct competition with dark beers that were being imported from England. Not only did Guinness win over the Irish market, it also became the best selling beer in England too.

In 1881, Guinness was producing more than one million barrels of stout and by 1914 it had become the largest brewery in the world.

There is an interesting story about how, when the Dublin water board came to cut off his water supply because they deemed he was using too much water for his brewing, Arthur Guinness is reputed to have stood with a pick axe, ready to defend his water with his life. Peaceful negotiations followed and were in his favour.

Today this whole enchanting story can come to you at the Guinness Storehouse, at the original brewery at St. James Gate in Dublin. It’s a fascinating seven storeys of history that spans 250 years and tell about the manufacturing, the ingredients and also about the advertising that has made Guinness so famous.

It all ends with a perfect pint at the Gravity Bar on the seventh storey where you can sip your beer and have fantastic views across Dublin city.

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