Russia: Irish pubs in Russia run out of Guinness

Many Irish pubs in Russia has reportedly run out of Guinness as exports to the country were halted during the Ukraine invasion, The Irish Sun reported on April 29.

Diageo stopped shipping Guinness to both Russia and Ukraine shortly after the Russian invasion.

And stock in both countries is running extremely low, with reports that Irish pubs in Russia have completely run out of the stout.

Diageo have paused the export of products to Ukraine and Russia and are supporting humanitarian efforts, according to the Irish Independent.

Diageo’s business in Russia contributed to less than 1 per cent of sales and operating profit in the first half of this year.

The alcohol giant has under 300 employees in Russia and only a handful in Ukraine.

Several pubs in Moscow have reported that stocks of Guinness and Kilkenny have disappeared completely.

Oleg, a barman at Harat’s Pub in Moscow, told the Irish Independent that his premises has run out of Guinness.

He said: “Our last barrels of Guinness and Kilkenny have finished sadly but we have plenty of other Western beers and Russian beer in stock."

He added that there is discussion about brewing Russian-made Guinness, but it has not come to any fruition yet.

Several other mega companies have stopped business in Russia since the war began at the start of February, including Disney and Coca-Cola, Adidas, Microsoft and TikTok.

McDonald's, which employs 62,000 people in Russia, shut all 850 of its restaurants temporarily at the start of March.

In an open letter to employees, McDonald's President and CEO Chris Kempckinski said closing these stores, for now, is the right thing to do.

He said: "As we move forward, McDonald’s will continue to assess the situation and determine if any additional measures are required.

"At this juncture, it’s impossible to predict when we might be able to reopen our restaurants in Russia.

"We are experiencing disruptions to our supply chain along with other operational impacts. We will also closely monitor the humanitarian situation."

29 April, 2022