"Guinness Shortage ALERT: No Pints for Christmas & New Year?! 😱🍺"

Why Your Pint Might Be Hard to Find This Christmas & New Year. I’m afraid I may be the bearer of bad news this festive period. If you're a Guinness lover, you might want to grab a seat (and not necessarily a bar stool) because today we’re talking about something that could affect your holiday celebrations-Guinness shortages heading into Christmas and New Year. That’s right, your favourite stout might be harder to find than you think. Let’s see what’s going on and why we’re facing this issue!
A lot of work goes into these videos as you can well see! You can now buy me a pint as a means of appreciation for my work on Naked Ireland, no obligation, obviously - only if you can afford it... I appreciate it. Cheers.
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Guinness is one of the world’s most well-known beers. It’s been brewed in Dublin since 1759 and if you’re not familiar with this iconic Irish Stout, check out my Naked Ireland videos on both the regular and zero alcohol versions of this drink. You’ll find them interesting.
But recently, there’s been growing concern about a serious shortage of the beloved beverage-just in time for the busiest drinking season of the year: Christmas and New Year. So, why is this happening? The issue appears largely to be Guinness’ recent surge in popularity.
In fact, the drinks marketing company Diageo has been pushing the drink with Women and young people and indeed there have also been number of high-profile tie-ups with celebrities such as Scottish singer Lewis Capaldi and actor Jason Momoa.
Some have pointed to these, and other, so-called "Guinnfluencers" on social media as helping to bolster the drink’s popularity in a new more trendy marketplace. Recent rugby internationals have also been responsible for driving up demand.
Another factor that is bolstering the famous stout’s popularity more recently is the “splitting the G” trend. This is where drinkers attempt to down enough of their pint on the first gulp that it settles in the centre of the “G” on their glass.
So, Guinness sales have recently been bucking market trends, according to data from a food and drinks industry research firm. This is in a drinks market where beer sales fell during July - October 2024, and yet Guinness sales were up by a fifth in the same period. Business has been so good for Guinness in fact, that they are opening another brewery in County Kildare, to supplement Dublin’s massive St James Gate. Its ales and lagers will move out here leaving St James Gate dedicated to the production of Stout.
So what’s the result in all this surge in demand. Well in a nutshell, rationing and indeed the possible prospect of a price surge. With demand outweighing supply, some outlets may raise prices for what’s available, and the more limited the stock, the more expensive the pints might be.
Diageo have stated that:
“Over the past month we have seen exceptional consumer demand for Guinness in Great Britain...We have maximised supply, and we are working proactively with our customers to manage the distribution to trade as efficiently as possible."
But, if I can temper this disastrous bulletin with a small splash of good news, and this may by of little consolation to those outside Ireland, but the drinks firm have also confirmed that in relation to more local supplies:
"The limits only apply to pubs in England, Wales and Scotland, not Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland."
In fact, most of the horror stories that I’ve read about in the press relate to shortages in Pubs in Great Britian. Diageo have in fact placed limits on orders in GB. A BBC source confirmed that Diageo was allocating supplies on a weekly basis to make sure it has enough stock to meet demand over Christmas.
“So, with the holiday season around the corner, demand for Guinness is skyrocketing. People are gearing up for Christmas parties, New Year’s Eve celebrations, and the general festive spirit. I’ve already outlined some of the issues facing pubs in Britian, but perhaps you’re a Guinness drinker outside Ireland and the UK? Have you or has your local pub been affected?
I’m thinking we can set up an information line here in our comments section - let me know below if you’ve experienced this nightmare before Christmas!
Whether you’re raising a glass to a quiet evening or ringing in the New Year, there will still be pints to enjoy. Just keep in mind that you might need to act fast to get yours!”