THE GREAT GUINNESS HEIST: FESTIVE STOUT SHORTAGE DEEPENS WITH MIDLANDS KEG ROBBERY

In the frantic lead-up to Christmas, stout enthusiasts across the UK faced a sobering reality: a Guinness shortage so severe that pubs were forced to ration pints of the iconic drink. With supermarket shelves under constant threat of being cleared by panicked customers, the situation grew so dire that Diageo, Guinness’s parent company, called on emergency reserves from Ireland.

Amid this chaos, the plot thickened with a bold heist that exacerbated the stout drought. A truck carrying 400 kegs of Guinness—equal to a staggering 35,200 pints—vanished from a depot near Daventry, Northamptonshire, in mid-December. Destined to quench the thirst of pubs desperate for fresh stock during the festive season, the cargo’s disappearance sent ripples through the already strained supply chain.

While Diageo has remained tight-lipped about the incident, sources confirmed that a subcontractor reported the theft to the police. Northamptonshire authorities have yet to locate the missing haul, leaving the fate of the purloined pints shrouded in mystery.

The Guinness shortage has been partly attributed to its surging popularity among Gen Z, who have taken to showcasing the “black stuff” on social media. Diageo has capitalised on this trend, ramping up its marketing efforts and partnering with influencers to position Guinness as the drink of choice for a new generation.

This daring heist is just the latest in a series of festive-season food and drink thefts. In December, a Michelin-starred chef issued a heartfelt plea after thieves stole his van containing 2,500 artisan pies, urging them to donate the goods to those in need. Meanwhile, in a case that raised eyebrows across the food industry, detectives arrested a suspect in connection with the theft of 22 tonnes of cheese—valued at £300,000—from Neal’s Yard Dairy.

For Guinness, however, theft is nothing new. The Great Guinness Heist of 2024 echoes a similar caper in 2007, when a van brazenly drove into the St James’s Gate brewery in Dublin and made off with 180 kegs of Guinness, alongside stock of Budweiser and Carlsberg, totalling 40,000 pints.