A pint of plain is your only man.
Flann O’Brien (pseudonym of Brian O’Nolan), “The Workmans Friend” (1939). The Irish saying suggests that a pint of stout can solve all of one’s problems.
We spent most of today driving back to Dublin from Killarney. For lunch, I insisted on stopping at a Supermac’s, Ireland’s answer to McDonald’s. Not too bad. It’s more like a bunch of fast-food concepts rolled into one because in addition to burgers and fries, the menu includes “wraps,” fried chicken and pizza.
Back in Dublin, we took a tour of the Guinness Storehouse. It’s not a tour of the brewhouse itself, presumably because such an enterprise would be impractical, but it’s a seven-story museum adjoining the factory. It’s new and modern with plenty of audio/visual highlights, like shuffling through a database of landmark Guinness commercials from the 1950s onward. Some exhibits were even olfactory, allowing you to smell, say, toasted hops.
I learned that Guinness is indeed made from local spring water, not Liffey water as apparently many a barkeep will deadpan. I enjoyed the Guinness ads from the 1950s, particularly the iconic cartoons of John Gilroy, who Walt Disney tried to poach for his animation studios at one point, according to the museum.
I wasn’t aware there was a connection between Guinness and the Guinness Book of World Records, but it was established by the managing director of the brewery to settle questions posed in bar bets. The specific question was “What’s the fastest game bird in Europe?” and the answer was the spur-wing goose (88 mph).
The most amusing anecdote to be found at the Storehouse details the hazing of new coopers at Guinness. The new guy would make his first barrel after which some senior coopers would stuff him inside, along with beer, water, wood shavings and anything else that might be lying around, then rolled him around town for a bit.
The high point, literally and figuratively, of the museum tour is the Gravity Bar on the seventh floor, where you are presented with a free pint of Guinness and a near-360-degree view of the city.
We had dinner at Romano’s Restaurant, a nice place in a dodgy part of town; we had to get buzzed in to get a seat. For dessert, we went over to The Joy of Coffee, a Dana-favorite, for coffees and a shared slice of cake.