Guinness Brewing Storehouse, Dublin (Mabel Williams/2025)
Pubs and bars across Canada are struggling to keep up with the demand for Guinness, after facing a major surge in sales of the iconic Irish stout.
“When you think of Ireland, you think Guinness,” says Sarah Love, who has an Instagram account with over 33,000 followers, focused on the iconic beer and is considered an online influencer in beer circles.
For over five years, Love has been rating the draught pours, the way bartenders skillfully serve Guinness.
According to the Guinness storehouse, the perfect pour is the most important factor while drinking the stout; the matter in which it’s poured influences taste and overall experience.
Some even believe drinking Guinness out of a can is uncivil.
Since bars and pubs in Canada and even the U.K. have struggled to source the fabled beer in keg form, cans of Guinness are one of the fixes.
“The first time [a shortage] occurred, we only went four days without product, and offered guests alternative Irish products like Murphys stout, or indeed… Guinness in a can,” says Erik Greiner, a manager of the Old Irish Triangle in Halifax.
“I’m a purist. Drinking from a canned product is fine for domestic consumption, but to fully enjoy Guinness, it should be a draught.”
The Guinness shortage isn’t only happening in Eastern Canada, pubs worldwide are feeling the pressure, as demand for the beer rises.
“The shortage in the UK has been really tough,” says Kolby Greenwood, who gained a following on his Instagram handle pintsofg. “A lot of people have been unable to drink their favourite beverage. This is due to the popularity of the drink, with the celebrities drinking it.”
Even Kim Kardashian has been photographed drinking the stout.
As in the U.K., the Old Irish Triangle has struggled with the shortage over the past few months. Their Guinness taps have run dry on two occasions since the new year.
Greiner said the pub has experienced a surge of 26 per cent in Guinness sales since November.
A factor that is playing into the Guinness shortage could be the decline of the craft beer market.
“For almost a decade, we have been in the midst of [a] craft beer revival. That trend is beginning to wane significantly. [I’ve] noticed many small brewers giving up manufacturing, as it is an oversaturated market,” says Greiner.
The peak of Canadian craft beer took place right before the pandemic. Currently, experts say the industry is on a decline. Donald Trump’s tariffs are an element involved in the downswing.
“You may think that tariffs would be a really big problem, but in practice Canada is the world’s second largest producer of barley,” says Jordan St. John, a Canadian beer expert, former editor of “The Growler” beer magazine, and head of the Beer Certificate program at George Brown College.
“Tariffs are more prevalent on other materials – the cost to expand your brewery with new equipment. Most of the equipment you’d get from overseas is impacted by tariffs. That’s a problem.”
Additionally, he explains that packaging is now an issue due to the aluminum tariffs.
“Guinness is a pretty inexpensive beer to make, but it’s considered a premium product. That means it’s profitable, even though it’s shipped from Ireland,”says St. John.
Part of its profitability comes from the beer’s popularity with the younger generations. This comes after the viral challenge “Split the G” phenomenon.
Guinness Brewing Storehouse, Dublin (Mabel Williams/2025)
Splitting the G is a new internet trend. It involves taking a huge swig of Guinness on your first sip. The goal is to have the stout perfectly levelled in the middle of the G, on the Guinness glass.
Noonan’s is a popular Irish bar in Toronto’s east end. Owner Jane Noonan says that they haven’t experienced a shortage of Guinness, although she has noticed an increased demand over the past few months.
“The popularity of Guinness has definitely increased in the last year. Largely due to the split the G contest,” says Noonan. “It takes a brewery a while to increase capacity. It’s a tricky balance, because the popularity could wane and then there would be an excess of the product.”
This is a difficult issue for establishments across Canada, especially when customers are accustomed to coming to their favourite Irish pub for that specific taste of Guinness.
“We have become known as one of the best places in the city to [enjoy] Guinness. It’s important to us,” says Noonan.
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