A massive half BILLION litres of stout were produced in Ireland last year, new figures show.
Guinness, Beamish, Murphy’s and local stouts account for 63 per cent of all beer production in the country.
And much of it goes abroad, making Ireland the seventh biggest exporter of beer in Europe, with our creamy pints heading to over 60 countries.
And according to the representative group Drinks Ireland, stout is Ireland’s second favourite beer behind lager, accounting for 29.3% of all beer consumed in 2018.
“A whopping 500 million litres of stout was produced in Ireland in 2018, to be enjoyed by consumers at home and abroad, demonstrating the sheer size of this exciting and dynamic homegrown sector,” said Jonathan McDade, Head of Drinks Ireland|Beer.
While stout’s share of the beer market has declined from 35.5% in 2009, it is still a high percentage share compared to other beer markets, the group added.
Like ale, around 80% of stout consumed in Ireland is in on-trade in pubs and restaurants, compared to 55% of lagers, revealed Checkout magazine.
Previous surveys have shown that lager is increasingly the beer of choice in Ireland, while craft and non-alcoholic brews are also carving out market niches.
A recent survey found that 63.8pc of all beer sold in Ireland last year was lager, up 3pc from 2017.
While stout’s share fell by 2.9pc to 29.3pc, ale also dropped by 0.3pc to 6.3pc.
Alcohol consumption in Ireland has declined by 23pc since 2001 but beer sales continued to rise by 3pc overall last year, driven by a 3.8pc increase in production.
Employment in breweries also rose by 3pc to 1,103 nationwide.
The average pint of lager was €4.94, including €1.41 of tax, and stout was €4.55 with €1.33 going to the taxman.
Beer delivered €430m in excise duty to the government last year, while wine contributed €376m, spirits €372m and cider €61m.
Ireland has the second highest excise rate on beer in the 28-nation EU, behind only Finland.
