Guinness sales in Australia significantly spiked during the British & Irish Lions Tour, with 1.2 million litres estimated to have been poured.
That’s equivalent to 2.1 million pints and 1.9 million Guinness cans.
The British & Irish Lions combine the best players from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, touring either Australia, New Zealand or South Africa every four years – meaning the Lions only visit Australia every 12 years.
Guinness was the official beer of the sold-out Aussie tour, with nine games played in six weeks across the country, including matches against every Australian Super Rugby team, a combined AUNZ invitational XV and a new First Nations Pasifika XV.
The tour culminated with a three-Test series against the Wallabies. While the Lions triumphed in the first two matches, the Wallabies claimed a 22-12 victory in the final match at Sydney’s Accor Stadium on August 2.
Data from Guinness in the past 12 months has also confirmed that Australian rugby fans drink more Guinness than other sports, with 18% of fans being Guinness drinkers. This is compared to NRL fans (7%) and AFL fans (12%).
How to pour the perfect Guinness
Global Guinness Ambassador Padraig Fox was in town from Ireland to show Aussies the right way to pour a perfect pint of Guinness during the tour.
Here are his three steps, which he demonstrated to Wallabies team members, below:
- Step one: Hold the pint glass at a 45 degree angle underneath the tap and pull all the way down on the tap handle. As the beer starts going down at that angle, slowly start to tilt the glass upright and keep filling it until hitting the top of the Golden Harp. Once hitting the top of the Golden Harp, sit the glass down and let it settle.
- Step two: Fill up the remainder of the glass by pushing backwards on the tap, filling the glass all the way up with a dome just coming over the top of the glass.
- Step three: Serve it down on the counter with no spills over the top and a smile for the customer.