Donegal publicans 'disappointed, but not surprised' as price of Guinness soars

News that the price of a pint of Guinness will rise by more than 12c next month has been meet with 'disappointment but not surprise' in Donegal.

Diageo, who produce Guinness, wrote to publicans this week informing them of the hike.

Publicans will now have to pay an extra 12c for a pint of Guinness as a result of this price rise.

The company also distribute Hop House 13, Harp, Rockshore and Smithwicks and follows on from the pre-Christmas 9 per cent increase by Heineken on a keg of beer.

The increase on Diageo brands is to take effect from February 1.

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“The time of the year is a big problem here,” Aengus Haughey, proprietor of The Olde Glen Bar, says.

“An increase on a pint in the month of February will be met with resistance - and rightly so.

“Our hands will be tied, unfortunately. We will just try and carry on as best we can. Maybe if they had held off until July 1, we could have absorbed it into tourist season.”

In a circular, Diageo said: “Like many businesses in Ireland, we are facing significant inflation in input costs across our operations.

“We have absorbed these costs for as long as possible but unfortunately, we can no longer continue to do so.”

Publicans are getting hammered from every angle at the moment and this news from Diageo is a further blow to the trade.

Businesses in the industry were already reporting worries with energy costs are at all all-time high, while at the same time the trade faces losing the 9 per cent hospitality VAT rate at the end of February.

Aengus says: “Heineken jumped first and that has prompted a chain reaction. I'm not that surprised by it; disappointed, but not surprised.

“Everything is going up. The energy issue is, I believe, more of a crisis. The price of heat, electricity, has gone up by a couple of hundred per cent in the last two years. Costs then have to rise accordingly.

“The Vintners Federation have been calling for Diageo to reverse the move, but that isn't going to happen. Diageo are just the second of many – more will follow.

“It has been a tough couple of years in the industry. Between three different lockdowns, we were closed for up on 12 months.

“People are predicting that inflation will slow down by the third quarter this year. We just hope that that is the case. The price of a pint couldn't really get much higher – at least I wouldn't want to think so anyway.”

VFI Chief Executive Paul Clancy said: “We’re heading into the quietest few months of the year for the trade so the increase in the price of a pint couldn’t come at a worse time.

“Due to the unprecedented cost of doing business publicans will have to pass on this price increase to their customers, which is something they are very unhappy about.”