Finding the G spot

Move over PBR – there is another new-old trendy beer on the scene. In case you don’t have an internet connection, “splitting the G” – an online trend where drinkers attempt to gulp their Guinness down to where the line between the stout and the foam hits the middle of the branded “G” on the glass – is all the rage. Everyone from the Jonas Brothers and actor Jason Momoa to pro-wrestler John Cena is doing it, according to a recent story in the New York Times.

But it’s not just a viral challenge that’s fueling the resurgence, according to the Times. In recent years, Irish culture has become hip thanks to people like actor Irish actor Paul Mescal and author Sally Rooney. In addition, the stout beer has been shedding its image as a “meal in a glass.” At just 4.2% ABV  and 125 calories per 12oz., it’s on par with Bud Light and lighter than Modelo Especial, making it a darling of the low-carb crowd.

(As an aside, breast-feeding mothers for years have been told to drink Guinness to boost milk production. The medical community advises against this, but you do you.)

“The numbers are completely bananas,” Oran McGonagle, owner of the Dubliner, a Boston pub, told the Times. In 2023, his pub sold the most Guinness in the city, which admittedly skews heavily Irish. This year, the Dubliner’s Guinness volume is up 63% to meet rocketing demand. “Irish culture is having a big resurgence,”  McGonagle said. “We’re at the peak of where we’ve ever been.”

Although Guinness sales are obviously strongest in cities with large Irish populations, it’s a popular pick in Durango, too. El Rancho Tavern has Guinness on nitrogen tap and in the can, said co-owner Chris Lile. He said sales of the stout are right up there with Coors Light and the bar’s other “heavy hitters.” (Incidentally, Guinness is also a key ingredient in another bar standby and one of our personal favorites, the Irish car bomb.)

“Guinness is having a great year,” he said. “We can’t be without it.”

According to the Times, the trend of “splitting the G” started in London around 2017, then spread to Ireland and eventually across the pond. Whether or not the new trend has the staying power of say, U2 or James Joyce, remains to be seen. But with its 265-year history, the big G is likely not going anywhere.