Non-alcoholic beer sales have increased dramatically worldwide in recent years, representing a genuine bright spot for booze-makers in general and Heineken in particular, given 0.0′s global dominance. Irish consumers have, by and large, followed that trend but significant room to improve remains, according to the Dutch brewing giant.
And Diageo, which is spending €30 million boosting production of Guinness 0.0 at St James’s Gate Brewery in a move that will almost double capacity for brewing to 176 million pints a year for the Irish and international market, hopes to have the product in 2,000 pubs by the turn of the year.Ireland has won the corporation tax game for now, but will that last?
It’s certainly nothing to sniff at, given beer remains the most popular beverage in Ireland, representing 42.9 per cent of total alcohol sales here. Yet, it’s completely out of whack with other European countries, Heineken says. The case for growth in Ireland is clear. Here, as in the rest of the world, consumers are drinking with increasing moderation and the popularity of alcohol-free options is tied broadly to that trend.