Brewery has 'fallen into the same trap as Guinness'

An independent microbrewery has told the BBC it has "fallen into the same trap" as Guinness, after the Irish stout faced a shortage ahead of Christmas.

Pig Beer, in Brockenhurst, Hampshire, said it does not supply many pubs, meaning the sales of its kegs had not seen an upturn.

But it added that there had been a marked increase in bottled sales of their BLAK stout.

It comes as Guinness manufacturer Diageo has limited the amount of the Irish stout that pubs can buy in the run-up to Christmas after "exceptional demand" over recent weeks.

Harry Baynhams, from Pig Beer, told BBC Radio Solent: "One of my colleagues excitedly sent me a link to the BBC article about Guinness running out of stouts and said, 'Hey, maybe we could take BLAK to a few pubs'."

"I looked in the stores and looked at the one keg that I had sat there and went 'um, well, maybe'."

"Sadly, we've slightly fallen into the same trap as Guinness," he said.

The brewery's sales of its bottled stout has "certainly" increased over the last couple of months however, Mr Baynhams added.

Meanwhile, it is understood Guinness is currently working at 100% production capacity, and has placed limits on orders in Great Britain.

Diageo is allocating supplies on a weekly basis to make sure it has enough stock to meet demand over Christmas, the BBC understands.

"We always run out of things here and there, but we've been brewing for four years or so," Mr Baynhams said.

"I think Guinness have a little more experience than we do, so it's kind of reassuring for us to see that even the big boys can get it wrong."

Guinness has been rising in popularity with women and young people, and recent rugby internationals have put a strain on supplies.

Mr Baynhams said: "The market for stouts does tend to swing more towards female than most of our other beers."

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