UK: Heineken brings Guinness rival Murphy’s back to UK supermarkets

Heineken has brought its own stout, a rival to Guinness, back to supermarkets, after three years off the shelves, The Sun reported on March 2.

The decision to revive Murphy's comes amid unprecedented demand for the drink, with stout giant Guinness even facing shortages late last year.

Four-packs and ten-packs of Heineken's 4 per cent tipple will now be available across various shops from next month, the company has confirmed.

These will be priced at around £5 and £10 respectively - with cans measuring in at 440ml each.

Murphy's has not been stocked in supermarkets since 2022, when it was in Tesco.

It was previously axed from Asda in 2021 and Sainsbury's in 2019.

However, Heineken has seen huge growth in its stout category, with a 176 per cent increase in sales last year - as bosses said Murphy's had "performed incredibly well".

Alexander Wilson, HUK’s off-trade category and commercial strategy director, said: "Given stout’s surging performance across the total market, we have seen consumers explore the category further.

"As a credible, authentic stout option, Murphy’s has exploded in the on-trade over the past year.

"This expansion of formats in the off-trade will enable even more customers to maximise the stout opportunity and provide consumers with quality options to enjoy at home."

However, Guinness retains the lion's share of the market - enjoying a whopping £146.1 million in sales last year.

This was in part by due to the "splitting the G" trend, in which punters knock back gulps until the liquid settles in the centre of the "G" of "Guinness".

The huge uptick in demand led to supply issues in December - with some pubs even enforcing rations of the famed "black stuff".

The Old Ivy House in London, for example, issued ration cards to limit consumption.

The shortage drove a huge 632 per cent uptick in Murphy's the same month - with 100 pubs deciding to stock the drink for the first time.

Over the course of the year, pubs serving Murphy's went from 200 to 500.

Will Rice, on-trade sales director at Heineken UK, said at the time: "Obviously at a time when people are struggling people are going to ask if we can help and obviously we are more than happy to oblige."

Guinness supplies have continued to be stretched this year, as pubs around Cheltenham saw a blackout over the racing festival.

In January, Sun writer Thea Jacobs taste-tested different stout alternatives amid the ongoing Guinness shortage.

In at number one was the Forged Irish 4.2 per cent, which she gave a perfect 5/5 rating.

She said: "I would say it is actually creamier than the can of Guinness.

"And it has a more complex flavour, leaving coffee and chocolate dancing across the tongue.

"I would rather stock up on this one than cans of Guinness – and it’s cheaper."

Four-packs of the Guinness alternative can be picked up from Asda for £5.75.

Other options include Fuller’s Black Cab Stout, Black Sheep Milk Stout, Aldi's Coffee Stout, Hobgoblin Stout, Dark Arts Surreal Stout, Kakawa Chocolate Stout and BrewDog Black Heart.

02 March, 2025