Diageo introduces ‘Guinness 0.0’
Diageo has launched Guinness 0.0, a new non-alcoholic beer from the brewers at St James’s Gate in Dublin that boasts the same beautifully smooth taste, perfectly balanced flavour and unique dark colour of Guinness, without the alcohol. The journey to launching Guinness 0.0 has drawn on Guinness’s proud 261-year history of innovation and brewing brilliance dating from 1759. A commitment to retaining the distinct character and taste of Guinness was central to the four-year process led by the technical and innovation teams at St. James’s Gate, the Home of Guinness.
To create Guinness 0.0 the St James’s Gate brewers start by brewing Guinness exactly as they always have, using the same natural ingredients; water, barley, hops and yeast; before gently removing the alcohol through a cold filtration method. The cold filtration process allows the alcohol to be filtered out without presenting thermal stress to the beer, protecting the integrity of its taste and character. The brewers then carefully blend and balance the flavours to ensure the distinctive flavour profile and taste characteristics of Guinness.
The resulting product is unmistakably Guinness, just without the alcohol, featuring the same dark, ruby red liquid and creamy head, hints of chocolate and coffee, smoothly balanced with bitter, sweet and roasted notes. In taste tests by an independent panel, they found that Guinness 0.0 ‘exceeded expectations’ with its taste lauded as ‘outstanding’*.
Gráinne Wafer, Global Brand Director at Guinness, said: “The launch of Guinness 0.0 highlights our long-held commitment to innovation, experimentation, and bravery in brewing, harnessing the power of our brewers and our ingredients, to create an alcohol-free beer that is 100% Guinness but 0% alcohol.
“We know people want to be able to enjoy a Guinness when they choose not to drink alcohol without compromising on taste, and with Guinness 0.0 we believe they will be able to do exactly that.”
Aisling Ryan (pictured, Innovation Brewer at St James’s Gate, said: “Guinness has always had an unwavering commitment to quality and our entire brewing team is hugely proud of the care and effort that has been put into the four year development process for Guinness 0.0. We have created a taste experience that we believe is truly unrivalled in the world of non-alcoholic beer and we can’t wait for people to finally be able to try it!”
Guinness 0.0 is also a low-calorie option for those choosing to moderate, with just 16 calories per 100ml. This means a standard can of alcohol-free Guinness 0.0 contains just 70 calories.
Guinness 0.0 is brewed at St. James’s Gate in Dublin, the Home of Guinness, and will be rolled out in Great Britain and Ireland. Launching in Great Britain, Guinness 0.0 will be available in 440ml can 4-pack format in off-licences and supermarkets. Guinness 0.0 is available to purchase from Waitrose and Morrison’s online and in store, before rolling out to other retailers. It will be available in pubs across Ireland and Great Britain from Spring 2021 and available in more markets throughout the world later in 2021.
*SOURCE: Nielsen Product Advisor
