Beer is losing drinkers almost everywhere, and sales are falling even at the biggest brewers on Earth.
But one old brand is going the other way, and it is not even close. Guinness is growing fast, and investors are starting to notice.
Guinness keeps pulling drinkers in, and the numbers are striking. Its sales rose 13% in the year through June 2025, while the amount it poured rose 14%.
The big brewers went the other way. AB InBev, the maker of Budweiser and Stella Artois, still sold 2.2% less beer in the first half of 2025.
Molson Coors poured 6.4% less, and even Guinness's own parent felt the chill. Diageo owns dozens of liquor brands, yet its total volume grew less than 1%.
So one dark stout did most of the heavy lifting for a giant. In Britain, about one in every nine pints sold is now a Guinness.
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The surprising part is who is buying it. Guinness is winning over women and younger drinkers, two groups that beer brands usually struggle to reach.
Much of the pull is cultural. A trend called "splitting the G" turned a slow pour into a game, where drinkers try to land the foam line right across the G.
Big sports moments helped too, and the timing was perfect. At one rugby tour in Australia, fans drank about two million pints.
Wider reach did the rest, as Diageo added 886 new taps in Australia in just three months. At one retailer, sales of its big can jumped more than 500%.
Guinness is the rare bright spot for a firm having a rough year. Diageo expects its total sales to fall 2% to 3% this year as shoppers cut back on pricey liquor.
People are drinking less, but they want better when they do, and a premium pint fits that mood. This is not a one-year fluke, either.
Guinness grew the year before this one, too, and it keeps finding new fans. It is now pouring into more US bars, a market better known for cold lagers.
Picking one winning brand like this is hard, though. That is why many investors lean on an index fund instead of trying to buy individual stocks.
The big question now is whether one beer can keep carrying a giant this large. Guinness still has room to grow, with its own Netflix drama on the way.
Beer overall has been shrinking for years, so Guinness is swimming against the tide. That makes its run even more unusual.
For now, the heaviest beer in the fridge is the one Diageo leans on hardest.
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