Back in 1981, the brewers at St James’s Gate hired McConnells to launch Guinness Light ads complete with footage from NASA space rocket launches. The ads said it could “never be done” but trouble was, it was ahead of its time. More recently, Guinness Mid-Strength has proved a success with Irish stout lovers keen to keep their alcohol intake low.
Diageo is now about to roll out Guinness 0.0 alcohol-free stout.
In consumer tests by an independent panel, Guinness 0.0 “exceeded expectations” with its taste lauded as “outstanding”. Gráinne Wafer, global brand director, Diageo, said the launch of Guinness 0.0 highlights a commitment to innovation and experimentation, to create an alcohol-free beer that is 100 per cent Guinness but with zero alcohol.
Diageo says launching Guinness 0.0 has drawn on the brewer’s 261-year history dating from 1759. The company’s innovation brewer Aisling Ryan says the new stout is the culmination of a four-year project to retain the distinct character and taste of the iconic black beer, led by the technical and innovation teams at St. James’s Gate in the Liberties.
Ryan says that to create Guinness 0.0, they started by brewing Guinness exactly as they always have, using the same ingredients – water, barley, hops and yeast – before removing the alcohol through a cold filtration method. The cold filtration process allows the alcohol to be filtered out without presenting thermal stress to the beer.
Unmistakably Guinness
The brewers then blend and balance the flavours to ensure the stout’s profile and taste characteristics. Diageo claims the resulting product is a stout that is unmistakably Guinness, just without the alcohol, featuring the same dark liquid and creamy head, hints of chocolate and coffee, balanced with bitter, sweet and roasted notes.
For the diet-conscious drinker, will be pleased to learn has Guinness 0.0 has 16 calories per 100ml, which means a standard can contains just 80 calories. The new beer will be rolled out across the UK and Ireland, initially in 500ml cans in off-licences and supermarkets from November, at a recommended retail price of €6 for a four-pack.
It will be sold in Irish pubs from next spring, with overseas roll outs later in the year.
Pictured are Diageo’s Gráinne Wafer and Aisling Ryan at the St James’s Gate brewery
