Die-hard Guinness drinkers are raging as Gen Z punters are causing pumps to run dry but as popularity for the Irish stout ramps up – here’s some interesting facts about the stout you might not know
Die-hard Guinness fans are fuming as Gen Z punters are stealing their favourite tipple.
Pumps across the country are seeing their barrels run dry thanks to a surge in popularity among youngsters due to celebrity endorsements.
Some watering holes are even are issuing a “come-and-drink-here” plea to let punters know they’ve got other stouts available as the Guinness shortage crisis deepens.
They are urging beer fans to try “great alternative” other brands, such as Camden Stout and Murphy’s. While some are reassuring Guinness lovers that they’ve still got it on tap.
The Prince Arthur in Hackney, east London, said it has the “luck of the toucan on our side” and has “managed to secure a small number of kegs.”
Ann Flynn, landlady at The Grapes in Sheffield, said it is now a “lot more popular with young people”.
Brewer Diageo is now rationing how much pubs can buy because of the “exceptional consumer demand” up by 20% in a year.
But as we wait for stocks to be replenished, here’s some interesting facts you may not know about the stout:
Think Guinness is black? Well, you’re wrong. Hold your glass up to the light and you’ll see the legendary stout is actually a dark ruby red. The rich colour comes from malted barley, which is roasted just like coffee beans.
Starting in the 1920s, doctors used to prescribe Guinness for pregnant women. They thought the beer helped to supply the body with iron – which expectant mothers need 50% more.
But like all alcohol, Guinness is best avoided during pregnancy. It actually contains hardly any iron, but it may still be good for you thanks to heart-and-gut-friendly antioxidants and vitamins.
More than 160,000 pints of the beer are lost every year in facial hair. Hirsute drinkers lose 0.56ml of precious booze in their beard or moustache with every sip, according to a 2000 study.
Three of the five Guinness breweries are in Africa. It’s been a popular tipple on the continent since the early 1800s.
Guinness is now vegan. It used to be made with isinglass, a fish-based gelatine, until the recipe was changed in 2017.
The tiny ball at the bottom of a Guinness can, which helps create a creamy head, was once hailed as a greater technological advance than the internet. It beat the web to win the Queen’s Award for Technological Achievement in 1991.
The Guinness World Records book was inspired by an argument in a pub. In 1951, Sir Hugh Beaver, then a brewery chief, got into a debate with fellow drinkers about the fastest game bird.
The original Dublin brewery’s lease runs out in 10759. Company founder Arthur Guinness, inset, signed up to rent the St James’s Gate premises for 9,000 years in 1759.
Arthur, born in 1725, had 10 children with his heiress wife Olivia Whitmore. He worked well into his seventies, alongside sons Arthur Jr, Benjamin and William.
The first pints of Guinness were ales. The beer pioneers started experimenting with porters in the 1770s. The first Guinness described as “stout” was released in the 1840s.
The Black Velvet cocktail – a mix of Guinness and champagne – began as a tribute to the late Prince Albert in 1861.
The Guinness famous harp emblem was trademarked by the company in 1862. When the Irish Free State tried to adopt the same symbol in 1922, they had to flip their instrument to face the other way.
Guinness once tried to start a national holiday – but cancelled it after five years. Arthur’s Day saw drinkers raise a glass at 17.59pm on September 24 in memory of the firm’s founder.
The Guinness Storehouse, built in Dublin in 1902, was the first skyscraper in the British Isles. The seven-storey tourist attraction was constructed in the shape of a giant pint.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.