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Thieves make off with 35,200 pints of Guinness
A lorry containing 400 kegs of Guinness — the equivalent of 35,200 pints of the black stuff — disappeared from a Northamptonshire depot in mid-December, exacerbating the shortage which hit UK pubs over the festive period.
A truck carrying 400 50-litre kegs of the Irish stout disappeared from a depot in the Midlands in mid-December, the Guardian has revealed.
The vehicle’s contents were destined for pubs desperate for kegs of Guinness over the festive period. Guinness owner Diageo said in the lead-up to Christmas that it was struggling to produce enough stout amid “unprecedented” demand, leading to a shortage.
The company said in a statement: “We are producing more Guinness today than we ever have in our 265-year history, and we continue to work closely with customers across our network to manage Guinness distribution as efficiently as possible, ensuring we maximise supply and minimise disruptions for pubs and retailers.”
Diageo even raided security stocks in Ireland to boost shipments to the UK. The reserves are usually earmarked for Irish consumers, but were instead used to ease pressure on UK pubs.
The Guinness owner also said it would put shipments bound for North America on standby for potential diversion to the UK in case the security stocks fail to fill the gap in demand.
Thieves running off with kegs containing 35,200 pints of the black stuff exacerbated the shortage in the run-up to Christmas.
The truck was stolen from a logistics hub near Daventry, in Northamptonshire. Diageo, which owns Guinness, declined to comment on the alleged theft.
However, the Guardian reported that sources familiar with the incident confirmed that a subcontractor working for a company in the Diageo supply chain had reported the theft to the police.
The newspaper has approached Northamptonshire police for comment but the whereabouts of the stolen Guinness is understood to remain a mystery.
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