I’m not sure I can remember exactly when I sensed it. Maybe it was when some of the more gimmicky London pubs introduced “stamp cards” to ration out Guinness after news of a shortage; maybe it was when I was served the 500th London Guinness rating video by my Instagram algorithm. Regardless of the precise moment the notion arrived, however, I have felt for a while that we are heading for a change when it comes to the pint du jour. For a few years now, Guinness has been the fashionable choice for millennial and gen Z drinkers, swept up in the aesthetic renaissance of the Good Old-Fashioned Bloody Pub. But I think the tide is turning. This will probably be the year that the Irish stout stops being cool.
I’m pretty sure that what will finally usher the Guinness hype train back into the station will be the same thing that came for Aperol spritzes and truffle: overexposure. The Aperol, once a genuinely trendy, vaguely Sex and the City-ish aperitivo-style drink is now a cultural behemoth in its own right – delicious, certainly, but definitely no longer “cool”. And truffle, well … would you like a side of truffle fries for that truffle mac and cheese garnished with truffle oil?
