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How Guinness became London’s go-to pint: “splitting the G” to the perfect pour
It’s 2019, in London. In any pub you visit, the Guinness tap stands barren. Cold. Dusty. A rarely visited tipple in these lands, serving only the hardiest stout drinkers and Irish immigrants. They say it doesn’t travel well and, debate aside, one thing’s for sure: if it’s not flowing, it’s not good.
But by early 2023, Guinness was officially Britain’s most popular pint. By late 2024, Diageo announced a national shortage, unable to keep up with demand. Pubs across London pinned up handwritten signs: “Guinness for regulars only”. It had become a privilege to be allowed to pay £6.30 for a pint of plain. Guinness has become London’s most popular pint. How did we get here?
I cringe when people call me a Guinness expert. I’ve never worked behind a bar in my life, usually found on the opposite side, which makes the whole thing feel a bit like stolen valour. Still, I’ve run two of the largest Guinness-focused social accounts in the world, @shitlondonguinness and @beautifulpints, for six years now, and I’ve watched its rise happen in real time. And, of course, I’m fond of a drop myself.
I think lockdown played a big part in creating that first influx of new Guinness drinkers. People were spending seven days a week locked in their £1,000 a month mouldy box room, staring into a laptop screen full of Zoom quizzes and fantasising about better times – a gathering of friends, a place of warmth, a shared human experience – at the pub. On social media, pictures of pints of Guinness standing proudly atop aged-oak bartops were going viral regularly while the masses discussed the umpteenth ways you could try, and fail, to pour a can of Guinness like the real thing.
Stout benefits from being the most visually appealing alcoholic drink. There’s a beauty to it. And while these pictures of perfectly poured pints crowded Instagram feeds, people began plotting where to seek them out IRL once lockdown ended.
