Diageo triples production of alcohol-free Guinness

Diageo triples production of non-alcoholic Guinness amid growing consumer preference for non-alcoholic drinks

Guinness aims to triple production of its non-alcoholic brand in response to growing consumer preference for non-alcoholic beverages.

Owner Diageo – who recently appointed its first female boss Debra Crew – has invested £21 million in a facility at its St James’s Gate brewery in Dublin to meet strong demand for non-alcoholic stouts.

The production facility includes six processing vessels with a total capacity of 500,000 hectoliters – nearly 90 million pints – and a two-story building where the alcohol is removed through a cold filtration system to create Guinness 0.0.

Sales hit: Diageo has invested £21m in a facility at Dublin’s St James’s Gate brewery to meet strong demand for non-alcoholic Guinness

The drink was launched in 2021 and the company predicts it will account for 10 percent of all Guinness sales on the island of Ireland in the coming years.

The main export markets for the non-alcoholic stout are Great Britain, Europe, the United States, Canada, the Middle East and South Korea.

Publican Oliver Barden, of O’Donoghue’s in Dublin, said stout without alcohol is very popular.

“It’s a great-tasting alternative for those who want to experience the pub atmosphere and craziness without the alcohol,” he said.