Trial extended for lighter Guinness

The trial of Guinness Mid-Strength in Ireland has been extended even further, the Morning Advertiser has learned.

The 2.8% abv Guinness Mid-Strength was launched in Limerick back in 2006, and extended into Dublin the following year.

The company has taken the decision to keep the variant on trial for longer and is considering branching out into other Irish cities.

It said it has no current plans to trial Mid-Strength in the UK. "We're always looking at opportunities; however, Ireland is currently the only market trialling Guinness Mid-Strength," said a spokesman.

In March, Diageo ruled out a rollout of Guinness Red, which has been on trial in the Central TV region for the past two years.

Innovation commercialisation director Steve Hamilton said: "We are very pleased at how Guinness Red is performing in the test region, but we are still in the process of working out the best way to make sure the variant can be expanded successfully across the UK in the long term."

A campaign with the tag "Looks dark, tastes light" was extended, however, as the company continues to monitor the variant's performance.

A number of lower-alcohol brand variants have hit the market in the past 12 months as suppliers have been looking to capitalise on the interest in weaker alcoholic drinks.