Irish pubs in Britian run out of Guinness as supply limit bites

Some Irish pubs in Great Britain have run out of Guinness since limits were imposed on supply in the run up to Christmas.

The Liffey in Liverpool says it has been without the alcoholic beverage since Wednesday.

It is one of several pubs to tell the BBC they have run dry in recent days, with some managing to restore supplies but uncertain of how long stocks will last.

Guinness’s owner Diageo announced last week that it was limiting how much pubs can buy because of “exceptional consumer demand” in Great Britain.

The limits only apply to pubs in England, Wales and Scotland, not Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Steven Crosbie, landlord of Irish-themed pub the Liffey, said “it’s just a bit of a shambles at the moment and killing me off”.

He usually gets 12 lots of 50-litre barrels a week from his main distributor, but said that last week he was told he could only get one – and ran out entirely on Wednesday at noon.

“I’m still waiting at the moment,” he told the BBC on Friday night. “I was promised today, it never came around. We’ve been promised again now for tomorrow, but I’m not going to hold my breath.”

Guinness is usually his top seller – with Liverpool a popular destination for visitors from nearby Ireland – so the lack of it is having a huge impact.

He says some of his regulars aren’t turning up, others are staying for another pint then leaving, while some simply leave the moment they’re told there is no Guinness.

Other pubs say they, too, have grappled with Guinness shortages – but have managed to restore supply after a day or two.

At the Durham and Leicester locations of Irish bar chain Katie O’Brien’s, supplies of the drink ran out for two days this week, operations manager Shaun Jenkinson says.

He has not yet seen a widespread impact on sales but previously said its venues had struggled through last weekend, scrambling to order barrels in daily timeslots.

Kate Davidson, landlady of the Old Ivy House in Clerkenwell, central London has resorted to issuing ration cards to customers – meaning they can only get a Guinness if they buy two other drinks first.

“It’s been a bit of a talking point,” she says.

She says that she usually gets eight kegs of Guinness a week but was limited to four, leaving her with just one barrel by Friday morning – containing 88 pints.

She expects to run out this weekend and her next delivery is not until Wednesday.

“I don’t think it will impact us too much to be honest,” she said, staying optimistic that customers will buy other drinks instead.

It is understood that Diageo is managing its allocation limits on Guinness on a weekly basis and trying to avoid panic buying before the festive period.

“We have maximised supply and we are working proactively with our customers to manage the distribution to trade as efficiently as possible,” the company said in a statement.

Guinness sales have recently been bucking market trends, according to data from food and drinks industry research firm CGA.

While overall beer drinking was slightly down between July and October, the volume of Guinness consumed from kegs was up more than fifth.

Some have pointed to so-called “Guinnfluencers” on social media for helping to bolster the black stout’s popularity among women and young people.

Beer shortages in the UK are rare but normally linked to supply chain issues.

In 2021 the Wetherspoon pub chain said some of its branches had ran out of Heineken, Carling and Coors amid a HGV driver shortage.