The Irish Embassy in London’s Christmas press and political reception last week clashed with the Spectator magazine’s festive hooley, which meant it was also a clash between rivers of Guinness and Pol Roger champagne. But in yet more evidence that the black stuff has truly conquered London, the embassy in Belgravia was heaving despite the bubbly competition.
Michael Lonergan, the Embassy’s political counsellor, stood to introduce the Irish Ambassador Martin Fraser. But first he brought news from the front. Lonergan told the assembled hordes that the Red Lion pub in Whitehall, a haunt of Westminster politicos, earlier that day had run out of Guinness. Pubs all across London have been drained of the stout amid a national shortage of it across Britain.
“But don’t worry,” said Lonergan, as a mischievous smile crept across his face. “As this is Irish sovereign territory, I can confirm that our supplies are unaffected.”
The media and political crowd, which included UK cabinet powerhouse Pat McFadden, chuckled in relief. Then Fraser addressed the room and joked that the latest Irish anxiety to arise in relations with our Anglo neighbours is “whether we’ll have to hand over some of our Guinness” to tide the British over. The embassy obliged for the rest of the evening, of course. All in the name of diplomacy.
It may have been the subject of jocular exchanges at the Embassy, but the national Guinness shortage has become a media obsession recently in Britain, where the stout is the biggest selling draught drink in pubs. If Guinness is an acquired taste, Britons have well and truly got theirs. They cannot stop talking about it – even GB News ran a feature on Monday about Britain’s love for Ireland’s favourite pint. Presenter Martin Daubney declared the shortage was “stout of order”.
Amid the shortage in UK supplies, some pubs have begun to ration the black stuff.
The Old Ivy House is an attractive boozer in Clerkenwell, an area sandwiched between affluent Islington and the edge of the City of London where many of the wealthy young Londoners who drive booming Guinness sales work. The Old Ivy’s owners printed up ration cards last Friday when they realised they were going to run out of the stout after their supplier cut their usual order in half – punters had to get cards stamped with two other drink purchases before being allocated a Guinness.
The pub ran out of stout anyway on Friday night. But by the time I arrived on Monday evening, it had received a new delivery and the pints were flowing again – the ration cards were no longer in operation. But as an after-work midweek pints haunt, the Old Ivy House was bound to be at its busiest from Tuesday evenings to Fridays. Another drought was possible heading into the weekend.
Kate Davidson, the owner of the pub, said the ration cards were a fun “talking point” for customers amid a genuine scramble for the pub’s supplies. “We had strangers teaming up the buy rounds. They all took it all in good humour,” she said.
Guinness’s owner Diageo is renowned for its clever marketing. Yet the company has insisted that the shortage of the product is indeed a real issue in Britain, where industry data suggested consumption was rising at about 20 per cent year-on-year in October.
Did Davidson believe at any stage that it could have been a marketing ploy? “Initially I thought it must be. They [Diageo] are not new to being brewers. It’s not like UK customers are suddenly buying ten times more than they did before,” she said.
But the Guinness rationing by the pub’s suppliers was no joke – the Old Ivy received only three kegs last week instead of its usual seven or eight. Davidson settled on the customer ration cards to make the best of the situation, and ended up scoring a traditional and online media hit: “If you’re given lemons, make lemonade.”
The Daily Telegraph, meanwhile, devoted an entire 1,800-word feature last week to Murphy’s as an alternative for Guinness-deprived Brits. The Heineken-owned Cork stout has sprung up in legions of London pubs, including the Montpelier in Peckham, the Dog & Bell in Deptford and the Lord Nelson in Southwark.
Back at the Old Ivy House on Monday, there was a “leader board” on the wall of punters who “split the G” – the viral drinking game in Britain where Guinness drinkers aim to get the head to perfectly dissect the first letter of the stout’s name on the glass after their first gulp.
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Irish Guinness drinkers roll their eyes at this folly, but the game has been credited with helping to drive demand for Guinness among younger British drinkers. Old Ivy local “Tony the Hat” was the standout “split the G” performer on the pub’s leader board.
Meanwhile, two men were overheard chatting at the bar about how to make a “mini Guinness”. One of them speculated that it should be made with espresso.
It was time to leave.