Guinness has announced that production of Guinness 0.0 will increase by almost 300%, following an investment of €25 million in a new facility at St. James’s Gate to meet growing domestic and global demand for the non-alcoholic stout.
The new production facility includes six new processing vessels with a total capacity of 500,000 hectolitres (almost 90 million pints), and a two-storey building, where the alcohol is gently removed through a cold filtration system.
All global production of Guinness 0.0 takes place at St. James’s Gate with the main export markets including GB, Europe, US, Canada, Middle East and South Korea. In Ireland, demand continues to grow since the product launched in 2021. It is forecast that the non-alcoholic alternative will account for 10% of all Guinness trademark sales in Ireland in the coming years.
This is a major expansion in production capacity for Guinness 0.0 since it launched just two years ago. The exceptional quality of Guinness 0.0 is a result of a four-year development process, which sees the non-alcoholic alternative taking an additional day to produce in comparison to the original stout.
Speaking about the investment, Managing Director of Diageo Ireland, Barry O’Sullivan, said “Guinness 0.0 is now the No. 1 selling non-alcoholic beer in four pack format across both the island of Ireland and Great Britain*. This expansion in production capacity at St James’s Gate is a testament to the quality of Guinness 0.0 and the growth of the non-alcoholic category, as consumers look for more choice on different occasions. We expect the growth of Guinness 0.0 to be another export success story for Ireland.”
Speaking about the growth in popularity of non-alcohol beer, publican Oliver Barden of O’Donoghue’s said “Guinness 0.0 is one of the most popular non-alcoholic beers in this pub. It’s a great tasting alternative for those that want to experience the atmosphere and craic in the pub without any alcohol. I imagine this demand will continue to grow as the availability and quality of non-alcoholic products becomes more widespread.”
