Guinness Shortage Ending Just In Time For Six Nations

The drink’s Gen Z popularity surge has led to nationwide shortages.

(Image: JOSH TURNER)

These shortages hit York, as Courtyard’s Guinness taps have run dry for a week. Employees said they had been affected by supply issues, as they were limited to only two kegs per week, before eventually running completely empty. 

This comes as Guinness consumption has grown nationally, with brewer Diageo announcing a 22% increase in sales at the end of last year. 

This is despite overall beer consumption being down in the same period, prompting the question of why the Irish stout has defied the general trend away from beer. Reducing interest in drinking, and drinking beer specifically, is obvious amongst Gen Z, a third of whom do not drink at all, according to Knit. For those who do drink, beer was only their fourth favourite option, as a meagre third of Gen Z women said they would choose a beer in a bar or pub. 

“Drinking a Guinness is not just about drinking a Guinness”

So it is a big surprise that the boost in Guinness sales is being driven by Gen Z and women. This is hardly for the flavour, as stouts ranked behind lager and ale for Gen Z’s favourite types of beer, but it instead seems driven by social media, namely the rise of ‘Guinnfluencers’. 

So much about drinking Guinness is not just about drinking a Guinness, it is about obsessing over the pour or trying to split the G (for those who don’t know, your first drink has to take you halfway down the ‘G’ on the glass). Instagram is full of people demonstrating this, and accounts like “ShitLondonGuiness”, sharing awful Guinness pours, create a culture around the drink. Guinness drinkers enjoy a whole conversational side that you don’t get with a regular lager, for example. 

There is a celebrity aspect to this as well. Last May, Olivia Rodrigo appeared at a Dublin concert wearing a “Guinness is Good 4 U” t-shirt, whilst Kim Kardashian was also pictured buying pints of Guinness in a London pub. 

These celebrity endorsements publicly promote Guinness to a fresh demographic, giving the ‘old man’s beer’ a new lease of life with a younger generation. 

Back to Courtyard though, fortunately they are expecting a delivery today, so pints should be flowing again in time for the Guinness-sponsored Six Nations. Hopefully they will have enough this time around! 

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