How gen Z helped drink Guinness dry – and its stout rivals cashed in

At the Lamb, a pub on London’s Holloway Road, Hamish Goodwin is nursing a pint of Murphy’s.

A Guinness drinker, Goodwin recently fell in love with the lesser-known stout, which he calls “slightly richer”. Though generally less common, Murphy’s has been “creeping up” in pubs and bars in the capital recently, he’s noticed.

Another Guinness drinker at the Lamb, Chris Wold, says he opts for an alternative stout wherever possible. “Guinness is hugely reliable, but it’s a bit vanilla. When I noticed they didn’t have Guinness on, I was happy to see Murphy’s.”

Yet thanks to social media – with accounts like Shit London Guinness (dedicated to incorrect pours), posts on the “splitting the G” challenge, and celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Olivia Rodrigo drinking it – the popularity of Guinness, once considered an “old man’s drink”, has risen dramatically. And especially among women and gen Z.

Drinkers have been turning to other stouts, such as Murphy’s, which are growing in popularity Photograph: Alex Segre/Alamy

Guinness 0.0 is now Britain’s best-selling non-alcoholic beer, and Diageo, which owns the brand, is almost doubling its output.

Soaring Guinness sales – 20% up in the four weeks to November compared with the same period a year before – led to a Christmas shortage. A spokesperson for Diageo said in December the company was planning to ship more Guinness to Britain than it had for St Patrick’s Day, traditionally the busiest time of the year. Supplies were rationed and some pubs were unable to stock it.

The beer’s success, and the shortage, has now opened the door to rival stouts. Though overall beer, wine and spirits sales fell by 1.6% in 2024, demand for stout in supermarkets rose by 13% .

Murphy’s has been one of the biggest beneficiaries. Last week its owner, Heineken, said sales in UK pubs and bars were up 632% in December, compared with the same month in 2023. Sales throughout 2024 were up 176%, and it is now stocked in more than 500 British pubs, with strong growth in London and the north-west. The brand is also introducing cans. It recently poked fun at Guinness’s famous slogan, with a campaign titled “Good things come to those who are waiting”.

Wexford-based Brennan’s is also benefiting. Owner Peter Brennan has made sweet, caramelly stout since the 1990s and, after Brexit, joined North Yorkshire’s Theakston Brewery to increase production for the British market. “December was a fantastic month for us,” Brennan told the Observer. “We sold three to four months of beer in just two weeks. But we have to keep our feet on the ground – the Guinness shortage is not going to last for ever.” Theakston’s said 100,000 pints of Brennan’s were consumed last year, and it believed the total could hit 250,000 in 2025.

A Guinness advert from 1954. Photograph: Picture Post/Getty Images

The Lamb recently turned to Brennan’s, but last week it sold out and was replaced with Murphy’s. The pub also stocks Black Vinyl, a stout by London-based Signature Brew. Landlord Ade Clarke said that three years ago he sold five or six kegs of Guinness a week; now he regularly reaches eight. A popular haunt for Arsenal fans, Clarke said on one matchday last year Guinness outsold lager for the first time. But Clarke was affected by the shortage and sought alternatives.

Other British stouts are also in demand. Fuller’s boss Richard Whitty said the brewery’s Black Cap has benefited from Guinness’s success. Last year, Bedfordshire’s Wells & Co launched a stout, Genesis, and ramped up production by 50% during the festive season due to growing demand.

Anspach & Hobday launched London Black in 2021, a dark porter similar to stout, which now makes up 73% of its output and is stocked in more than 300 pubs, said co-founder Jack Hobday. Sales grew 110% over the past year, predating the Guinness shortage, which sent things “up a notch. We saw some pubs come over,” he added. “Guinness is the final monopoly that craft beer hasn’t really opened up.”

Experts think that is changing. “The Guinness shortage is a great opportunity for beer drinkers and publicans to look for local and independent breweries and sample beers normally kept off the bar,” said Ash Corbett-Collins, chair of the Campaign for Real Ale.

Sarah Hall had never sold Guinness at her bar and restaurant, Peaks & Troughs, in Ingleton, North Yorkshire. But an increasing number of punters, especially younger ones, ask for it. “People automatically ask for Guinness. They don’t even look,” said Hall. She also serves stout from local breweries such as Lancaster Brewery’s Lancaster Black. Hall’s stout sales have doubled over the past year.

Diageo confirmed last week that Guinness supplies would return to normal for the Six Nations rugby tournament, which begins on 31 January and for which Guinness is the headline sponsor. A spokesperson said: “Demand for Guinness remains at unprecedented levels. We are making good progress in replenishing stocks.”

By the time they get to the bar, however, rugby fans might find a wider choice of stouts than ever.