Dublin

Yes! The Guinness Connoisseur Experience is absolutely worth it

I've done the regular Guinness tour 15 times, and finally, I did the Connoisseur Experience.

I have been a connoisseur of Guinness my whole adult life 😄 I needed to do the connoisseur tour. I was like an excited kid on Christmas Eve when I arrived at Guinness yesterday morning.

The Connoisseur tour is the Business Class of Guinness, because out of the 1.7 million people who visit Guinness every year, less than 2% do this tour.

So you're not just paying for a better tour, you're paying for something almost nobody else gets to do.

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The Connoisseur Tour

Check-In

I entered via the quiet group side entrance where there was no queue.

Two members of staff welcomed me before calling down the Connoisseur host, Emmanuel, who personally escorted our group to a lounge area. We waited in this relaxing area for the other guests to arrive before going into the private bar.

There we were introduced to Nemo, our Guinness expert for the next 90 minutes.

I met more staff in the first ten minutes of the Connoisseur than in all my previous regular Guinness tours. Just like when you turn left on the airplane.

The Connoisseur Bar

The bar was beautiful, adorned with portraits of the Guinness family going back centuries. We could have been in the quiet luxury of a members only club.

Our tour was full with all 16 seats around the bar occupied. Nemo introduced herself and then had us do a quick intro of where we were from to break the ice.

At a relaxing pace, we tasted four different varieties of Guinness as Nemo told us the history of Guinness, the family, the stories and the scandals.

Strangers from around the world chatted easily and merrily over beer tastings.

The Perfect Pour

Nemo then demonstrated how to pour a pint of Guinness, before inviting us behind the bar to pour our own pints. New friends judged each other's attempts at the perfect pint. It looks easy but it's not, especially when you're laughing so much.

We were then presented with our certificates celebrating our new pint pouring skills. I accepted mine with pride and a big smile that comes after a few tastings.

As we left the Connoisseur Experience, a band of Irish traditional musicians bid us farewell.

The Regular Tour

Then we did the regular tour and worked our way through the Storehouse up to the Gravity Bar for another included beer. I wrote about the regular Guinness tour here.

The Cost

A ticket for the regular Guinness tour was €32 yesterday. I paid €95 for the Connoisseur Experience.

The extra €63 for a 90 minute private guide and 5 tastings was well worth it for me.

A visit to Guinness is a once in a lifetime experience for most people, so do it the best way possible.

Tour Score 9/10

Connoisseur Tickets

There are only a few Connoisseur Experiences each day so you should book it as soon as you know when you'll be in Ireland. I booked our tickets three months in advance.

🎟️ Buy your Connoisseur Experience Tickets Now

Connoisseur FAQs

I looked on Reddit and Irish travel forums for FAQs about this tour. Here's my answers to them.

How does the Connoisseur Experience compare to the Guinness Academy or the STOUTie option?

It's a lot different. The academy and STOUTie are just optional add-ons to the normal tour. They are in their own rooms, but with glass and it's not private or quiet at all.

There can be a wait to do them. You can prebook them but it's not time based, so you may end up waiting for your turn.

How long does the Connoisseur session last, and how much total time should I allocate for the entire Storehouse?

The Connoisseur part took 90 minutes. Then we did the regular tour on our own, which is at your own pace. We took 90 minutes doing that as well. So we spent a total of 3 hours in Guinness.

Should I do the self-guided Storehouse floors before or after my reserved Connoisseur Bar time slot?

You can do it either way. Do the regular tour first, then go to the Connoisseur Bar for that tour. Or do the Connoisseur Tour first, then the regular tour.

When Should I Arrive For my Connoisseur Tour?

Our tour was at noon. I arrived at 11:30 since I was guiding a group. But I'd suggest getting there 15 minutes early.

I was with a group so I legitimately used the much quieter group entrance. When (not if), I do the Connoisseur tour again, I'll use that entrance again, even if there's just two of us.

I'm paying a premium so I'm using the premium check-in. Guinness may not like me saying that though 😆