New Guinness 470ml can

Cocoon · 09-10-2020 10:27pm #1

I bought a slab of Guinness this evening, poured into my usual glass to discover it doesn't fill it up any more. Not only that but the old style widget is gone too.

New can is only 470ml, fresh stock from Dunnes Stores

09-10-2020 10:30pm

This is due to a shortage of widgets. The usual widgets are being used for regular single can, 8 and 12 packs. The Christmas slabs use a different type of widget in the base of the can.

L1011 · 09-10-2020 11:31pm

Oh god, another size for people to complain about! (see the 440ml thread)

Cocoon · 09-10-2020 11:35pm

L1011 wrote: »

Oh god, another size for people to complain about! (see the 440ml thread)

Nothing more satisfying than a nicely poured pint, this can't be achieved with a smaller can. Makes no sense.

Darc19 · 09-10-2020 11:38pm

Cocoon wrote: »

Nothing more satisfying than a nicely poured pint, this can't be achieved with a smaller can. Makes no sense.

Can't be achieved with 500ml either ðŸ˜‚

L1011 · 09-10-2020 11:38pm

Cocoon wrote: »

Nothing more satisfying than a nicely poured pint, this can't be achieved with a smaller can. Makes no sense.

It'll probably fit the 500ml glasses they recently offered as a retail bonus better than the 500ml can did, though.

Darc19 · 09-10-2020 11:41pm

I suspect that it is USA size. 470ml = 16oz or a USA pint.

Cocoon · 09-10-2020 11:42pm

L1011 wrote: »

It'll probably fit the 500ml glasses they recently offered as a retail bonus better than the 500ml can did, though.

This is how it poured in a pint glass..

Insect Overlord · 09-10-2020 11:43pm

Was the difference reflected in the price at all?

Atlantic Dawn · 09-10-2020 11:43pm

Ah here 2020 was bad enough without them starting to mess around with can sizes for Guinness.

Darc19 · 09-10-2020 11:44pm

Maybe there was an argument about, 440ml v 500ml and they split the difference

(I'll get my coat)

begbysback · 09-10-2020 11:49pm

If you can’t put the price up, then put the quantity down.

Cocoon · 09-10-2020 11:53pm

Insect Overlord wrote: »

Was the difference reflected in the price at all?

Priced at €34 for the slab, if the 12 pack remains unaffected I'll buy that in future.

BeerNut · 09-10-2020 11:54pm

Darc19 wrote: »

I suspect that it is USA size. 470ml = 16oz or a USA pint.

If that's the capacity of the can then you're getting less beer than that because of the widget displacement. Left Hand's nitro-widget cans, which I assume are a standard 16oz, advertise 404ml of beer inside.

1990sman · 09-10-2020 11:54pm

oh God no. say it isn't so!

Atlantic Dawn · 09-10-2020 11:56pm

Just a heads up if you hadn't seen it on the BA forum, from tomorrow it's 2 crates of Guinness for €50 in Dunnes so €40 with the voucher.

VeVeX · 09-10-2020 11:57pm

begbysback wrote: »

If you can’t put the price up, then put the quantity down.

That's why there's only two bites in a snickers now. You need a microfiche machine to see a current funsize snickers.

irish_goat · 10-10-2020 12:00am

Diageo in profit squeezing shocker...

10-10-2020 12:33am

This is literally only affecting the Christmas slabs. All other packs of Guinness are the same as before. They usually do about 700,000 slabs at Christmas but only have 400,000 widgets to spare this year so the slabs get put out in the smaller cans with the different widget in the base.

L1011 · 10-10-2020 12:38am

Deleted User wrote: »

This is literally only affecting the Christmas slabs. All other packs of Guinness are the same as before. They usually do about 700,000 slabs at Christmas but only have 400,000 widgets to spare this year so the slabs get put out in the smaller cans with the different widget in the base.

How is changing supply chains and production kit to get a smaller can with a different widget that much easier than just making more floating widgets?

10-10-2020 12:40am

L1011 wrote: »

How is changing supply chains and production kit to get a smaller can with a different widget that much easier than just making more floating widgets?

I have no idea, it's just what our Diageo rep told us at work.

L1011 · 10-10-2020 12:42am

Deleted User wrote: »

I have no idea, it's just what our Diageo rep told us at work.

Diageo excel at marketing spin. Hence the two part pour and indeed every single bit of Guinness mythology.

Its not a plausible reason, basically. What other product (by anyone at all) uses a 470ml can with a fixed widget that would cause there to be a significant supply available?

John Hutton · 10-10-2020 12:44am

I'll be getting a load of Beamish so

ted1 · 10-10-2020 12:52am

[Deleted User] wrote: »

This is literally only affecting the Christmas slabs. All other packs of Guinness are the same as before. They usually do about 700,000 slabs at Christmas but only have 400,000 widgets to spare this year so the slabs get put out in the smaller cans with the different widget in the base.

Don’t buy it. Each cab requires a widget , if there’s a widget shortage then are the cans bigger

L1011 · 10-10-2020 12:53am

Please don't talk about Beamish, I'll have to go rock back and forth in the corner if its mentioned too much. The one benefit of visiting lots of vaguely sketchy inner city pubs is they usually have decent pints of Beamish for half nothing and I've been missing it since March.

John Hutton · 10-10-2020 12:57am

L1011 wrote: »

Please don't talk about Beamish, I'll have to go rock back and forth in the corner if its mentioned too much. The one benefit of visiting lots of vaguely sketchy inner city pubs is they usually have decent pints of Beamish for half nothing and I've been missing it since March.

This is also how I discovered a taste for it ! It's not bad out of a can (to my surprise).

10-10-2020 12:59am

John Hutton wrote: »

This is also how I discovered a taste for it ! It's not bad out of a can (to my surprise).

I worry that the pour is illicit. The devil is a terrible paymaster and so is an awkward can decanted into a glass. I fear for the soul of man, is there any hope for absolution.

John Hutton · 10-10-2020 1:02am

Deleted User wrote: »

I worry that the pour is illicit. The devil is a terrible paymaster and so is an awkward can decanted into a glass. I fear for the soul of man, is there any hope for absolution.

? You've lost me !

I think bed might be the best for you now haha

Darc19 · 10-10-2020 8:21am

BeerNut wrote: »

If that's the capacity of the can then you're getting less beer than that because of the widget displacement. Left Hand's nitro-widget cans, which I assume are a standard 16oz, advertise 404ml of beer inside.

Legally if it states 470ml contents it must have 470ml.

Open the Pubs · 10-10-2020 10:49am

First they take our pints and pubs now they take our cans

And they're threatening the offies, plus on Tuesday it's the budget we know what that means.

L1011 · 10-10-2020 10:52am

Open the Pubs wrote: »

First they take our pints and pubs now they take our cans

And they're threatening the offies, plus on Tuesday it's the budget we know what that means.

The last alcohol excise increase was 2013; the "old reliables" just became the "old reliable" of tobacco in recent years.

I think that excise increase was actually just returning it to an older level as it had actually been cut to try help the sector in the crash; but I might be imagining that!

Open the Pubs · 10-10-2020 10:56am

One might think this little switcharoo would be publicised or have a price reduction? Of course not in the rip off republic!

Just seen a family member has purchased 24 of these bad boys, that won't fill the glass. How many will do the same and they piss off in the process? Nice one Diageo! How can they run out of widgets!?

Open the Pubs · 10-10-2020 11:01am

L1011 wrote: »

The last alcohol excise increase was 2013; the "old reliables" just became the "old reliable" of tobacco in recent years.

I think that excise increase was actually just returning it to an older level as it had actually been cut to try help the sector in the crash; but I might be imagining that!

Isn't there minimum pricing coming soon too? Although from what I gather this will affect the Tesco cider and Dutch Gold drinkers rather than Guinness?

noby · 10-10-2020 7:28pm

What's also coming soon is a ban on price based promotions, and quantity discounts. What that means is, if you offer, say 24 cans of 500ml for €24, then if you also sell single cans of the same product they cannot be sold for more than €1.
But if you sell, say slabs of 470ml cans, but don't offer the same product in lesser quantities, then quantity discount doesn't come into play.

Or, you know, maybe they're just out of widgets, as the rep said...

bobbyy gee · 10-10-2020 8:11pm

Less is More

Quackster · 11-10-2020 12:17pm

noby wrote: »

What's also coming soon is a ban on price based promotions, and quantity discounts. What that means is, if you offer, say 24 cans of 500ml for €24, then if you also sell single cans of the same product they cannot be sold for more than €1.
But if you sell, say slabs of 470ml cans, but don't offer the same product in lesser quantities, then quantity discount doesn't come into play.

Or, you know, maybe they're just out of widgets, as the rep said...

I think this is it in a nutshell. The new law comes into effect in early January when stock of Christmas slabs are likely to still be floating around.

Man Vs ManUre · 11-10-2020 12:21pm

There is only 1 solution to this. Book a return flight to Australia, quarantine for 2 weeks in a hotel at your own expense, then head into the city and buy yourself a scooner glass and then fly home. Then you can pour the Guinness and it will be a full glass.

biko · 11-10-2020 12:23pm

There is quite a difference.
I don't see why we have to bend over for Americanisms all the time.

A proper pint is called imperial pint in the colonies and is 20 fl ounces, not a feeble 16.

Darc19 · 11-10-2020 12:25pm

noby wrote: »

What's also coming soon is a ban on price based promotions, and quantity discounts. What that means is, if you offer, say 24 cans of 500ml for €24, then if you also sell single cans of the same product they cannot be sold for more than €1.
But if you sell, say slabs of 470ml cans, but don't offer the same product in lesser quantities, then quantity discount doesn't come into play.

Or, you know, maybe they're just out of widgets, as the rep said...

They may ban sales of more than 2L in a package, so no more slabs of 24 - instead 6 x 4 packs.

It's a psychological thing of loading up a trolley with numerous packs

Effects · 11-10-2020 2:12pm

Cocoon wrote: »

Nothing more satisfying than a nicely poured pint, this can't be achieved with a smaller can. Makes no sense.

The trick is to add water to the glass first, then pour the Guinness, and it'll reach the correct level.

Insect Overlord · 11-10-2020 3:31pm

Man Vs ManUre wrote: »

There is only 1 solution to this. Book a return flight to Australia, quarantine for 2 weeks in a hotel at your own expense, then head into the city and buy yourself a scooner glass and then fly home. Then you can pour the Guinness and it will be a full glass.

Probably cheaper to order one off Amazon, but the holiday could be nice!

rubadub · 11-10-2020 4:48pm

Effects wrote: »

The trick is to add water to the glass first, then pour the Guinness, and it'll reach the correct level.

Or add guinness from a can. If you do not drink a lot you can pour it in a bottle and keep it in the fridge. About a half inch does it.

If they are doing this to scam the discount system I can imagine the poor (pour?) engineers who worked on this multi million euro project are even more sickened to see them actually reduce it down further!

What a complete and utter waste, I have said before the conspiracy theorist in me makes me think they never wanted people to have a decent pint at home, makes no sense to have the 500ml size, the can is NOT standardised in size in case anybody comes up with that excuse, it had to grow to house the widget. I have never seen a decent looking poured 500ml can of guinness in a 568ml glass, it simply cannot happen, unless your standards are in the gutter.

470 might suit a 500ml glass though, as mentioned.

tallaghtfornia · 11-10-2020 11:03pm

Noticed the these cans on sale in dunnes on Saturday and thought I was seeing things also I noted on the side on these 470 ml cans that the contact details are for both NI and ROI which I have never seen before - they normally sell 440 ml in the north with UK contact details in then and 500 ml in the south have ROI contacts- also I noticed looking at the base of the cans these are manufactured in Runcorn GH/GJ are the caning lines in Runcorn and GE is the line in Belfast - BG is a canning partner they use when they are busy but only can largers like Carlsberg harp and tuburg no nitro beers - the irish 500 mls are normally canned in Belfast maybe it’s just a one off for Christmas or as pointed out it’s to do with. MUP.

Quackster · 11-10-2020 11:27pm

Nothing to do with MUP, but with the ban on multi-buy promotions from January 11th next.

Presumably slab deals will be illegal if the price-per-can works out cheaper than the price a single can retails for but if the slabs consist of cans that aren't sold loose, then that should be fine.

rubadub · 12-10-2020 11:21am

A trick they can do with bars in multipacks is not have the legally required nutritional info listed on the individual wrappers, only on the main one. The "from a mulitpack, not to be sold singly" has no legal bearing.

But now many bars have gone below 50g and I think they might be exempt.

They could have a different barcode on the cans I guess, or if the law covers that it could be reduced to 4.1% like in the UK.

Open the Pubs · 12-10-2020 12:06pm

I think I will just pay for the 4, 8 or 12 packs if they remain at 500ml. Why must we be such a nanny state and try to ban everything,

12-10-2020 12:09pm

begbysback wrote: »

If you can’t put the price up, then put the quantity down.

There's a 2 Ronnies sketch about British Rail and theres a line in it something like: "Despite recent inflation we have not increased the price of a cup of tea on our services. We have however, reduced the size of the cup".

12-10-2020 12:19pm

Open the Pubs wrote: »

Isn't there minimum pricing coming soon too? Although from what I gather this will affect the Tesco cider and Dutch Gold drinkers rather than Guinness?

Theres a huge other thread for that discussion, but do you not think when Dutch Gold costs the same as Guinness, they might put up the price of Guinness to distinguish it from the "cheaper" brands?

Effects · 12-10-2020 5:02pm

Open the Pubs wrote: »

Why must we be such a nanny state and try to ban everything,

Cause we drink too much and can't control our own intake. It's seriously bad for your health.

irish_goat · 12-10-2020 5:37pm

Mod: Please keep the discussion on topic.

rubadub · 15-10-2020 1:36pm

Just wondering if the 470ml can is the same height as regular 500ml cans of non-widget beers. Might be handier for can stacking, printing, shrinkwrapping etc.

guy saying/wondering similar here

tobsey wrote: »

You lose just over a can in the 24. I'm surprised it took them this long to do it. The widget meant the guinness cans were always bigger. Now I guess they are standard 500ml cans but the widget takes up some space.

New Guinness 470ml can

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