Rice refused to comment on the reported Guinness shortages last year, but said: “We said ‘good things come to those who are waiting’ and we had a bit of fun with that last Christmas and we went again around St Patrick’s Day, which was good too.
“If you’d have told me a year ago I’d be on Sky News talking about Murphy’s, I would never have believed it but that’s the interest in stout and when pubs ran out of one stout, we were more than happy to help licensees up and down the country when they needed [an alternative].
Stout is becoming a little less seasonal but it’s at its most popular when the rugby is on and also at Christmas, Rice said.
“We’ll continue to support Murphy’s. It’s got a good following. There’s some real loyal Murphy’s drinkers out there now and we have some really loyal Murphy’s customers as well.”
Murphy’s in 1,500 pubs
He added Murphy’s is very popular in sites such as the Nancy Spains estate in London and Manchester, and the drive to push Murphy’s on TikTok and Instagram also continues unabated. Meanwhile, providing an alternative to Guinness is key to keeping the stout category at its peak.
Murphy’s is wholly owned by the Heineken group and although established in Cork, Ireland, it is brewed by Heineken UK in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire.
You can find Murphy’s in almost 1,500 pubs now, a figure that has pretty much trebled since February this year.
Rice stated: “You see it in more and more places now and when the dark beer categories are expanding, we can offer consumers a choice.”
He added some pubs warrant one stout while others may have two or three but if you go somewhere like the Coach & Horses in Covent Garden, there’s a lot of stout drunk there and competing on the bar are draught taps of Guinness and Murphy’s.
Sales are good
Rice commended the Heineken team on doing a good job at putting Murphy’s in at more places. He added: “Sales are good so we are pleased.”
When asked whether the likes of Murphy’s, the rarer-to-find Beamish, Jet Black from BrewDog and Anspach & Hobday’s London Black are making a dent in Guinness’s dominance on the stout scene, Rice stated: “Ultimately, yes because the stout category is expanding and [Diageo] is not taking all of it.
“There are more consumers coming into the category but growth is slowing a bit. However, stout has been on a really positive trajectory for the past two or three years and the fact consumers are talking about it is great for pubs.
“We have a really credible offer [in Murphy’s]. Being from Cork, it’s authentic, we’ve got the right glassware and do the basics really well. And it keeps a bit more money in a customer’s pocket, which always helps.”
