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Dublin / London (APA / AFP) – Dark brown, the "Irish champagne" flows from the bottle, the cream-colored head typical of the foam forms in the glbad. Guinness is not only popular in its home country, but is also an export success for the island. Since 1778, strong beer is produced in the St. James's Brewery Gate, in the Irish capital, Dublin.
The beer leaves the brick factory in silver tankers and is brought to Belfast in Northern Ireland for bottling. This road could be a problem for the brewery: the trucks continue to roll smoothly over the invisible border. However, after Brexit, border controls between the European Union, Ireland and Northern Ireland, which belongs to Britain, could slow down the process.
"The Irish beverage industry is on both sides of the border," said Patricia Callan, president of the Irish Alcohol Producers Association. 23,000 border crossings count the industry per year. "Even an hour late at the border would cost about one hundred euros per truck."
London and Brussels want to prevent border controls on the island. But there is still no way to avoid customs controls at the future EU external border.
Guinness is part of the international beverage group Diageo, which has achieved a net business turnover of more than 12 billion pounds (13.8 billion euros) last year. According to 2014 figures, around 35% of Diageo's beer is produced in the Dublin brewery, including three million pints (1.4 million liters) of Guinness a day.
"The good crossing of borders for people and goods is extremely important for us," said last year Diageo's President and CEO for Europe, John Kennedy. A large company like Diageo could master the border difficulties – for small suppliers it would be much more difficult.
Seamus Leheny of the Irish Freight Association fears that Diageo is closing the plant in Northern Ireland because of Brexit. "The emergency plan for the Brexit disorder plans to relocate some operations to the Republic of Ireland."
Guinness for export will have to cross borders twice: after bottling in Belfast, it will return to Dublin, where it will be transported by ship. The higher costs would probably be borne by the consumers.
At least John Fearon, who runs the rustic pub The Gap O 'the North in Jonesborough, Northern Ireland, half a kilometer from the border, fears that. "This pub is known for its good glbad of strong beer," says the 65-year-old. If it becomes more expensive, the customer could stay away. "It's hard enough to bring guests here."
~ ISIN GB0002374006 WEB http://www.diageo.com/~ APA142 2018-11-12 / 10: 49
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