The Devonshire introduces Guinness 0.0 on draught

Rogers’ pub, the Devonshire, on Denham Street in London, became the first venue in Soho to serve Guinness 0.0 on draught in the UK this week, and the industry stalwart has been pleased with the reception. 

The venue has six standard Guinness lines and sells between 15,000 and 20,000 pints a week, priced at £6.90 each.

After selling such a high volume of the standard product, Rogers opted to add one line of the alcohol-free version to appeal to consumers looking for low and no options, which has proved a popular move.

Rogers told The MA​ more than 100 pints of Guinness 0.0, costing £6.35 each, were sold at the Devonshire on the first day alone and praised its quality.

He said: “With the huge volume of Guinness we already sell and the fact the zero product actually tastes really great, I thought it would be good to put a 0% option into the range on draught and that Guinness was the best one to do it with.

“People do ask what they can enjoy when they're not drinking and there's a lot of people who do need to have something that feels and looks right for the pub. It makes them feel good to hold a decent pint that looks the same as the real thing and tastes almost as good.”

Bespoke installation 

In addition, the operator commented during a blind taste testing on Thursday (29 August), around 60% of the eight staff members and regulars preferred the Guinness 0.0 option over the original product.

The pub has recently gained a solid reputation for its bespoke Guinness serve, which includes using a different gas mix and temperature alongside wider lines and different taps, and the alcohol-free option has been set-up with the same installation.

Furthermore, the Devonshire has also benefited from a bespoke badge for its Guinness 0.0 draught option.

“We've put it through that bespoke installation and everybody who's tasted it, certainly in comparison to the canned version, [seems to have found it] a million times better.

“I didn't want to have a standalone font because we didn't have space, so it's gone on the coffin box with a beautiful blue tap, and I think it looks pretty good.

“We've had a lot of interested people coming in and wanting to try it so I'm happy about that”, Rogers continued.

He added while the pub also serves Lucky Saint lager alongside a wider range of bottled alcohol-free options, Guinness 0.0 seems to have taken the market share since being introduced on draught.

Huge demand 

The product was launched on Wednesday 28 August by former professional footballer Peter Crouch, who pulled the first pint at the Devonshire.

Rogers added: “Having one solid line with the ability to sell up to 20 kegs a week will keep us going for, for, for now. I can't see us putting a second line in in the short term, but you never know.

“I think there'll be huge demand for this product, I really don't think it's going away.

“Having a no and low range that is comparable in flavour, taste, texture and look to what people are traditionally drinking in the pub is very important.”

Rogers, who carved out a reputation working for famous Youngs’ site the Guinea Grill in Mayfair, opened the Devonshire, which is behind Piccadilly Circus, with Flat Iron founder Charlie Carroll last autumn.

The pub, which was previously a Jamie’s Italian and has a 150 cover restaurant upstairs, took the title of Opening of the Year in June at Restaurant Magazine’s top 100 restaurants awards​.

In addition, the Devonshire was also crowned Best New Opening at the MCA Hospitality​ Awards in March.