St. Paddy's Day without Guinness? A shortage has St. John's pubs sweating

A pint of Guinness is almost as synonymous with St. Patrick's Day as a shamrock or pot of gold, but bars in the St. John's area fear taps might run dry this year thanks to a global shortage.

Allan Bearns, owner of Erin's Pub, said his bar has been without Guinness for around two weeks. The stout beer gets shipped in from Ireland to Halifax through a company called Diageo before it make its way to Mount Pearl.

"No one gets upset with other beers when we run out. But yeah, the Guinness drinker is a passionate drinker," Bearns said Wednesday. "People come here for the Guinness."

Other bars in St. John's, like the Peter Easton pub and Duke of Duckworth, said they've also been out for some time.

Terry O'Rourke, co-owner of the Duke of Duckworth, said the pub serves around 150 pints of Guinness a day. He recently travelled to Scotland, and it was even sold out in pubs there.

"More recently it's really gotten a lot of traction," he said. "The last I heard was that they were hoping to have it some time around the middle of this month...Hopefully we'll have it for St. Patrick's Day," he said.

Bars are serving other stouts including local options to fill its place for now, but O'Rourke said people value being able to drink authentic Guinness.

At Peter Easton's, employee Conan Coates said the stout has gained in popularity recently, especially among young people.

He credits that to a social media challenge called 'Splitting the G' — where drinkers try to swallow enough Guinness on their first sip to land the liquid line halfway through the G on a branded glass.

In an emailed statement to CBC News, Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation Spokesperson Tara Haley said supply chain issues led to a delay in the latest shipment of the product to their stores, but a delivery was expected on Wednesday.

Bearns hopes his shipment comes sooner rather than later.

"I imagine all the other bars in town that sell it are going to probably stockpile it when it comes in. I just hope whatever I get can survive until then, but I honestly don't know," he said.

"I hope it's here for St. Patrick's Day. I need it for St. Patrick's Day."

In an emailed statement to CBC, Diageo spokesperson Luis Carlos said shipments of Guinness are on the way to Atlantic Canada and kegs should be back in pubs throughout the next week.