Guinness recalls its new alcohol-free stout as it warns of ‘microbiological contamination’ in some cans which makes it ‘unsafe to consume’
- Some cans of Guinness 0.0 may have unsafe ‘microbiological contamination’
- The company has recalled all of the cans, urging customers not to drink them
- Guinness launched alcohol free version in October after four years development
Guinness has urged anyone with cans of their non-alcoholic stout in Great Britain not to drink it amid concerns of unsafe microbiological contamination in some cans.
The brewer announced the ‘precautionary’ recall of its recently launched non-alcoholic stout this morning, with thousands of cans thought to have been purchased in the three weeks since it launched.
Guinness said in a statement: ‘As a precautionary measure we are recalling Guinness 0.0 in Great Britain because of a microbiological contamination which may make some cans of Guinness 0.0 unsafe to consume.
The Irish brewer says Guinness 0.0 could be unsafe to drink as some of the cans may have ‘microbiological contamination’
‘Guinness 0.0 currently is not on sale to the general public in Ireland.
‘The issue is isolated to Guinness 0.0 and does not impact any other Guinness variants or brands.’
Guinness launched the alcohol free version of its famed stout on October 22 after a four-year endeavour to replicate the taste of the original black stuff.
The Irish brewer said Guinness 0.0 was a response to a growing consumer appetite for non-alcohol, lower-calorie beverages.
Guinness’ famous St James’s Gate brewery in Dublin Ireland where Guinness 0.0 was developed by an innovation team
The brewer stated that the possible microbiological contamination is isolated to Guinness 0.0, with no other Guinness variants or brands are affected
The product was developed by an innovation team based at Guinness’s brewery at St James’s Gate in Dublin.
The early stages of the brewing process mirror those of standard Guinness, with the same main ingredients used – water, barley, hops and yeast.
The key difference in Guinness 0.0 is the use of cold filtration which is used to remove alcohol from the brew.
At its launch to the UK three weeks ago Guinness insisted feedback from independent taste tests had exceeded expectations.
The launch of Guinness’ alcohol free version of its famed stout, following a four year endeavour to replicate the taste of the original black stuff, October 2020
Guinness 0.0, is destined for a worldwide market with a global launch of the product pencilled in for next summer
Five years ago Guinness trialled an alcohol-free malt-based drink in Indonesia in response to the introduction of stricter drink laws in the south east Asian country – Guinness 0.0 is the first non-alcohol version they have launched in the UK.
Guinness 0.0, is destined for a worldwide market with a global launch of the product pencilled in for next summer.
Draught Guinness 0.0 is hoped to be available in pubs from the new year, with production due to recommence ‘when we are completely satisfied that we have eliminated the root cause of the issue’, the brewer said.
A message on the Guinness website told customers that a full refund would be available on all Guinness 0.0 at their point of purchase’.
The statement added: ‘The health and safety of our consumers is our number one priority.
‘We are sorry that this has happened.’