It’s Guinness alright, but not as you know it…
Guinness has announced the Irish launch of a new alcohol-free version of the famous drink, which will be called Guinness 0.0.
The new drink comes with the slogan ‘The Guinness with everything, except alcohol’, and claims to boast the same “beautifully smooth taste, perfectly balanced flavour, and unique dark colour of Guinness, without the alcohol”.
You may remember that Guinness 0.0 was initially launched in late 2020 but was delayed as a precautionary measure at the end of last year.
Guinness says that consumers’ health and safety is always the number one priority and since this precautionary recall, teams have been working to introduce a new filtration process and additional quality assurance measures through the production process.
Brewers at St. James’s Gate used the same natural ingredients used in Guinness to create Guinness 0.0 – water, barley, hops and yeast – before gently removing the alcohol through a cold filtration method.
The cold filtration process, Guinness says, allows the alcohol to be filtered out without presenting thermal stress to the beer, protecting the integrity of its taste and character. Flavours are then balanced and blended in an attempt to ensure the distinctive flavour profile and taste characteristics of the famous original.
Of the end product, Guinness says it is a stout that is “unmistakably Guinness, featuring the same dark, ruby red liquid and creamy head, hints of chocolate and coffee, smoothly balanced with bitter, sweet, and roasted notes”.
Taste tests by an independent panel prior to its delayed launch last year found that Guinness 0.0 “exceeded expectations” and its taste was lauded as “outstanding”.
Guinness 0.0 contains 16 calories per 100ml, meaning a standard can of alcohol-free Guinness 0.0 contains just 80 calories.
Alan McAleenan, Marketing Director, Guinness Ireland said of the 0.0 version: “Guinness has always maintained the upmost commitment to quality. We are 100% confident that consumers’ expectations of our quality standards will be met with our new non-alcoholic Guinness 0.0.
“We are delighted to bring Guinness MicroDraught, another world-first innovation from Guinness, to pubs around Ireland, meaning that Irish consumers will now have the chance to enjoy a beautiful, non-alcoholic Guinness 0.0, whether in pub or at-home, this summer.”
The launch of Guinness 0.0 in pubs around Ireland will be made possible thanks to the aforementioned world-first innovation – Guinness MicroDraught, which it claims will finally make it possible to pour non-alcoholic beers via traditional beer lines and keg systems in pubs.
Guinness claims that the new product will be delivered to pubs around Ireland in a unique “keg so small it comes in a can”. The final step involves bar staff simply slotting the can into the Guinness MicroDraught unit and serving Guinness 0.0 via a traditional two-part pour.
Brewed at St. James’s Gate in Dublin, Guinness 0.0 will be rolled out in markets globally beginning this summer.
It will be available in pubs across Ireland from mid-July and will be sold in 500 ml can format in off-licences and supermarkets from the end of August at a RRP of €6.00 for a four-pack.
More markets throughout the world will follow later in 2021.
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