Stout has become so popular that it is now the fastest-growing beer variety in the UK, with sales rising by 35 per cent over the past year, a recent report stated on Monday (1) citing the statements from supermarket giant Tesco.
Apart from popular brand Guinness that everyone is drinking, Brewdog, Wychwood and St Austell are also helping to drive interest by adding stouts to their ranges. Brewdog’s stout, Black Heart, which was brought onto the market in January last year, is now Tesco’s most popular after Guinness, The Times reported.
Tesco believes growth in demand for stout is being driven young people’s interest in craft brewing and the invention last year of the Guinness Nitrosurge, a device that can be put on top of special Guinness cans and is intended to replicate the quality of a pub-drawn pint.
Christian Clark, a buyer of stout for Tesco, said, “Guinness has created major demand thanks to its game-changing Nitrosurge device, which has finally given fans a pub-quality version of the drink to have at home.
“But there has also been a general rediscovery of traditional British beer tastes brought about by the ongoing craft beer boom. In the last few years, a younger audience of drinkers has emerged who are looking for beers with great character and exceptional flavour to challenge their taste buds.”
Clark said Tesco now stocked 15 different stouts, “something which would have been unthinkable five years ago”. The introduction of the alcohol-free Guinness 0.0 has also helped to boost the market, he added.
However, the report further added that stout still has a long way to go before it threatens the pre-eminence of lager, which still accounts for about 70 per cent of beer sales in pubs, according to GCA, the research company. The top ten bestselling beers in supermarkets are all lagers, with Stella Artois being the most popular.
Earlier, similar findings were reported by Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) which stated that stouts and low ABV beers are leading the charge when it comes to trends in beer for the on-trade.
