IRELAND’S STATUS as the home of great stout has been highlighted with the release of new figures showcasing the amount produced each and every year.
According to the representative group Drinks Ireland, a whopping half a billion litres of stout were produced on the Emerald Isle in 2018.
The figures show that pints of Guinness, Murphy’s and other local favourites account for 63% of all beer production in Ireland.
Drinks Ireland confirmed that stout is Ireland’s second favourite beer behind lager, with stout accounting for 29.3% of all beer consumed in 2018.
Though this marks a decline on the figure of 35.5% reported in 2009, it remains relatively high compared to other beers.
Previous research found that lager accounted for around 63.8% of all beer sold in Ireland, up 3% on figures for 2017.
Ireland ranked as the seventh biggest beer exporter on the continent, with Irish pints heading to more than 60 different countries in the world.
Commenting on the data, Jonathan McDade, Head of Drinks Ireland|Beer said:
“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.”
Though stout and lager remain the popular pints of choice, craft and non-alcoholic brews are continuing to make inroads into the market.
