Guinness asks UK to pour their own

Diageo is in talks to bring its "Pour Your Own Pint" tables for Guinness to UK pubs.

The company has already trialled the system, which lets consumers serve themselves from taps in the middle of a table, in 220 venues in Dublin. Guinness sales in the best-performing outlets went up by 17% in volume, the company said.

Customers book tables in advance for free and get a quick tutorial on how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness and a supply of clean glassware for the duration of their visit.

A credit card deposit secures the table and a digital display shows drinkers how many pints they have consumed.

Staff control the system from behind the bar, where a panel that allows them to pause or completely stop the flow of beer at any time.

In Ireland the brand is partnered with Carlsberg lager, as Diageo owns the brewing and distribution licence for the brand in the market, to give the tables wider appeal.

The company is "in discussions" with potential lager partners to trial the tables in the UK.

"Other brands could do this but there is something about the ritual of pouring a pint of Guinness that consumers find fun," said Brian Duffy, Guinness global brand director and chairman at Diageo Ireland.

Duffy also told the Morning Advertiser​ the company hopes to bring Arthur's Day back to the UK in 2011, following a successful second year in Dublin last week.

"It wasn't a huge event in Britain this year, though it was successful last year, and we'd like to support pubs by running it again," he said.