With many St Patrick’s Day celebrations starting this weekend, there is sure to be a lot of Irish dancing, singing and beer drinking. However, supply problems mean that Irish pubs in Amsterdam and other Dutch cities may not be able to meet the event’s high demands for Guinness.
Limited supply of Guinness to Irish pubs in Amsterdam
Guinness is a stout originating from Ireland in the 1700s. On March 17, to celebrate the country’s patron saint, St. Patrick, a lot of this stout is consumed, making it a popular beverage among revellers. However this year, the drink is only available in small quantities due to a supply shortage.
"What there is mainly goes to Ireland and Great Britain," Brian Krijger, owner of Irish pubs Molly Malone’s, Mulligan’s and Murray’s in Amsterdam told AT5. "The Netherlands is kind of at the back of the line. So we've been calling for days now.” Even if they manage to place an order, they can only order so much due to limited storage space in the Dutch capital.
Owner of Aran’s Irish Pub Edgar Rodrigues Pereira predicted this might happen based on the shortages towards the end of last year, and began stockpiling Guinness ahead of time. "I heard through the grapevine that problems were coming. We started with 25 kegs right away. Then the suppliers set a limit and we started buying 10 kegs a day until we couldn't do it anymore."
Growing popularity of Guinness causes shortage
While there are other stout beers available, Guinness has become increasingly popular due to social media. The beer has been popular among rugby fans and visitors to Irish pubs for years, but the younger generation has caught on because of a trend on Instagram and TikTok.
With the “Split the G” trend, the goal is to gulp down enough Guinness in one sip so that you split the G on the glass the stout is served in. As more people visiting bars take part in this trend, the demand for Guinness is growing faster than suppliers can keep up, causing shortages not only in the Netherlands but in Ireland and the UK as well.
The shortage means that anyone visiting an Irish pub in the Netherlands on St Patrick’s Day this year will have to temper expectations. While there may not be an abundance of Guinness, several pubs are prepared to offer alternative stouts. "We have a combination of Guinness, Murphy's and we also have our own stout now brewed ourselves with Two Chefs, so at least we have something," said Krijger.
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