Shortages of Guinness in Great Britain may be putting a dampener on some people’s Christmas outings but Irish drinkers are glad their supplies are safe this festive season.
Some pubs in England said they have run out of pints of the black stuff after Diageo announced weeks ago that Guinness supplies to England, Scotland and Wales would be limited.
The drinks multinational said this was due to a surge in demand, fuelled by the stout becoming popular among young people and women in recent years.
Irish people also reckon it is more popular abroad due to the success of Irish artists on the world stage.
In Kehoes pub in Dublin city, people drank pints while catching up or taking a break from their Christmas shopping.
We all were drinking Heineken, and one day it all switched, everyone was drinking Guinness
Dubliners Terry Bailey and John O’Brien said that Guinness was not as popular among younger people and women when they started drinking.
“It’s the fashion now,” Mr Bailey said.
“Once the Guinness doesn’t stop flowing here, that’s the main thing.”
Katie Fleming, 25, said it was a “go to” for herself and her friends.
“We all were drinking Heineken, and one day it all switched, everyone was drinking Guinness,” she told the PA news agency.
She said she was surprised to see how popular it is in England.
“We were in London a couple of weeks ago and they don’t pour Guinness the same way we do, it doesn’t taste the same at all, but even then we were still drinking Guinness over there and people around us were drinking it.
“I haven’t been to the UK in so long and, seeing that, I was kind of shocked. I didn’t think it was as popular.”
Asked about Diageo’s decision to limit supplies to Wales, England and Scotland while keeping supplies going on the island of Ireland, she said that was fair.
“It’s made here, it’s our thing, I think it’s fair. If I walked into a pub at Christmas and I couldn’t get a pint of Guinness and I heard that Great Britain and the rest of the world could get it, you would be annoyed.”
She added that being Irish was having “a bit of a moment”, referencing Irish band Fontaines DC and the success of Irish actors.
“It’s trendy now to appreciate the Irish things. It’s good to see it as well.”
Corkonians Josh Ward and Will O’Brien agreed that Irish culture is being celebrated and that may be helping to fuel the demand for Guinness.
A few of us in Cork were joking that in London they should start importing loads of Murphy's and Beamish
“I think Irish culture is objectively having a good moment right now on the international stage,” Mr O’Brien said.
“If you look at music, bands like the Fontaines doing really well, or in film, Cillian Murphy, Paul Mescal, Barry Keoghan, and I think Guinness is maybe cooler and romanticised (because of that).”
Mr Ward, who has been living in London since January, said he was surprised at how popular Guinness is with the British.
“It definitely has become more popular with people there, I’ve only been there since January myself but you notice everywhere you go all the English people are drinking Guinness in pretty much every pub,” Mr Ward said.
“It was a bit of a surprise when I went over.
“It’s definitely in vogue, it’s become the trendiest thing and I think there’s a lot of lore around a good Guinness and a bad Guinness and people feel like they’re on the inside when they can identify somewhere that has a good Guinness.”
He said he has heard from a few people that there are Guinness shortages in some pubs in London – and said it offered an opportunity for Cork brands of stout.
“A few of us in Cork were joking that in London they should start importing loads of Murphy’s and Beamish, this is their time to break into the scene, because it’s funny, there is Guinness everywhere but it’s very rare you see a Murphy’s or a Beamish.
“There’s a pub in Peckham called The Montpelier and they’ve got some very good Murphy’s there, if anyone is looking for an alternative.”
A Diageo spokesperson said: “Over the past month we have seen exceptional consumer demand for Guinness in GB.
“We have maximised supply and we are working proactively with our customers to manage the distribution to trade as efficiently as possible.
“As we move into the busy Christmas period we will make all deliveries to our customers across the island of Ireland as planned and without disruption.”
