Since The Morning Advertiser (MA) broke the story of supply challenges last week, pubs are already reporting unavailability and claim suppliers are warning of rations, while other wholesalers are advising pubs to over-order ahead of Christmas to avoid disappointment.
Max Heaton, who runs the Shibden Mill near Halifax, West Yorkshire said he has received no Guinness supplies ahead of this weekend and has been unable to source replacements with other providers across the area.
Add to carnage
“We ordered four or five kegs and none came, we rang Matthew Clarke and they said they can’t get any this week, and have told us to put orders in for the next six weeks and over-order as well, which is only going to add to the carnage if there’s shortages,” Heaton said.
He added Matthew Clark had told him that Diageo “have placed Guinness on allocation as they cannot keep up with demand”.
The Morning Advertiser contacted Matthew Clark for a response and a spokesperson said: “We are aware of the situation surrounding the supply of Guinness and are working to mitigate the impact on our customers, engaging closely with Diageo to coordinate our allocation of stock.
“While we are unable to comment on specific orders, we are advising customers to order the volumes they require and not any additional stock.”
Other operators said supplies are still holding up, but there are issues.
Exceptional demand
Oisin Rogers, who runs the Devonshire in Soho, said he was hopeful they would be ok: “We’re still selling it for as long as we can get it. So far we have managed to almost get what we ordered. I can’t say what’s going to happen next week. My suppliers can’t guarantee anything, however we do not think we will run short. Who knows?”
When asked about the issue last week, a Diageo spokesman said: “Over the past month we have seen exceptional consumer demand for Guinness in GB. We have maximised supply and we are working proactively with our customers to manage the distribution to trade as efficiently as possible.”
The MA asked Diageo for further comment but have yet to hear back.
