As someone watching across the pond in Canada, it definitely seemed misguided to release this in Ireland to say the least. It was always such a mystery for me… why would anyone looking to have a delicious stout go with islands edge instead of a Guinness, Murphy’s or beamish when in a pub in ireland.
I reckon Heineken seen what Diageo done with Rockshore lager and thought they could replicate that with stout. Difference being rockshore is a very light beer that anyone (that’s of age) likes. Stout takes a lot more getting used to. Perhaps if they went with something more similar to Murphy’s that is a lot more palatable to the masses could’ve been a different story 🤷♂️
You’ve called out one of the biggest issues for me in the first few seconds of this video. Launching a new stout in the middle of summer…. Bloody madness. They can say it’s refreshing all day long, but stout simply isn’t refreshing. I love Guinness (it’s probably my favourite drink) but between the end of April and end of September I hardly touch the stuff. If you’ve been out busting your nuts in the garden on a warm summer’s day, you want something refreshing after your efforts. A nice ice cold larger or cider…. Not a bloody stout. Similarly, if you’re sat in a beer garden on a roasting hot day, you’re not gonna be sinking pint after pint of stout. I’ve never found Guinness heavy (it slips back) but it’s certainly not what I’d call refreshing. Stout defo a winter drink for me.
Bit of a stretch to claim social media lads like yourself made Guinness popular with young people. Everyone I know was drinking Guinness from the age of 19/20 which would have been 2007. Also Arthur Guinness day was mainly aimed at young people.
I'm a stout drinker as my go-to drink, and Guinness is my favourite drink by a distance when I'm home, but I think the Irish market is a little too closed off to the idea of stout as a drink beyond the traditional big Irish stouts. Not all stouts are anything like Guiness and the rest, nor should they be. There's a lot that can be done with them with regards to flavour and texture that can be really enjoyable, and I quite liked Island's Edge the couple of times I had it. This could be because living away from Ireland now if I have a stout it is more often than not something other than Guinness. I think it offered a lot as a something to drink with a meal, more so than the traditional options, but lacked a lot of what make the big three so good as standalone things to consume. With Island's Edge, though, it did seem almost like an 'Irish Stout-lite', if that makes sense. It's possible to do something completely different with stout so that there aren't even comparisons to the big Irish names, but think they ended up being too middle of the road that they didn't ever really have anything distinct to offer. I do wish Ireland would open up to the idea of stouts not just being Irish stouts, as there are some really brilliant and different ones out there, and I think it's a pity to see Island's Edge go.
The thing about stout is it carries a bit of either history or locality with it, to attempt to have a trendy corporate feel to it missed the mark entirely , they'd have been better off pushing beamish or murphys ' I live two seconds from the brewery and wish them every success but that was dumb af, a younger drinker who goes for a stout wants to feel like he's having a drink their grandfather had ,not some trendy lite version.
. Hello darragh! Worth noting the Arthurs day affect. Guinness was not drank by young people at all in 2007/8. When Arthurs day kicked off in 2009 It was all people were drinking. My group of pals went from Heineken drinkers to nearly all Guinness drinkers over the course of a year. It was a genius marketing campaign. It was not purely down to social media. Great content by the way! Islands edge above all else tasted like piss
What’s up Frank here from San Diego Cali What Heineken needs to do is bring Murphy’s and Beamish over here. I had a sample can of Murphy’s from my pub and it was delicious 🤤. I’m a loyal patron to my pub The Field and if they had murphy’s and beamish on tap I would have a pint. Don’t get me wrong I bow 🙇♂️ down to Guinness but sometimes someone like me would like something different. Sláinte friends 🍻🍀
I believe Guinness is popular among younger people now because their marketing is unreal. The advertising, the Instagram posts and everything else is out of this world
Both Beamish and Murphys are actually nice in their own way. Beamish is just painfully uncool to order, as it's consider a poor man's Guinness (years of advertising 20p cheaper per pint etc.) They should spend some marketing revamping the Beamish image.
I agree with you they got the marketing all wrong with this one. The name, logo, glass and taste were all a bit off. They tried to cash in on the stout revival in Ireland and failed. Fortunately for them 20 million is nothing. On a side note i cannot get over the explosion of Guinness popularity over the past 5 years. Its definitely because of social media. Profile pictures on social media of young men and especially women with a pint of Guinness are everywhere!
High paid ‘marketing executives’ all sitting round a table coming up with islands edge, every decision made was a calamity, from the glass, the name, logo, Ad’s, just everything… 20 mill in the hole…
Went into bar when it was launched. The barman suggested trying it. As a Guinness drinker , i said no . He said it’s a serious pint and should try it . Black beer is what I’d describe it . Not surprised it failed. In Cork we are blessed. Beamish is a serious pint too 🇮🇪
I think you must be regretting the move from Guinness Guru by now are clearly struggling with videos. This is all so generic, haven't even improved production on the videos or anything. Culzy would be turning in his grave
Congested market. Big dog - Guinness. Murphy's and beamish after that. Plus now the mega marketing of McGregor 's gear. Even the likes of Brewdog are in on it.
"Unexpectedly refreshing" just isn't what I'm looking for from a stout. Island's Edge was nice but unless it was substantially cheaper than Guinness, there wasn't really any reason why I would buy it over Guinness.
It failed because it didn't taste nicer than Guinness. If you're bringing out a new stout & it isn't nicer than Guinness, you're wasting your time, its never going to become popular.
I actually didn't think it was that bad and I liked the marketing, but like why would I drink this when I already have Guinness, Murphys, and Beamish to choose from? I live in Cork and pretty much every bar has those three on tap, and there was absolutely no need for a fourth stout. It made no sense for Heineken to introduce a new product to compete with the two stouts they already have. It was grand, but Guinness is far far grander.
Agree with everything here. Only thing I think you’ve missed is McGregor’s stout probably final nail in the coffin. Anyone looking for ‘new’ stouts suddenly had two - if it was just one it may have worked out.
Number 1 reason was that Poxy glass...It actually wasn't bad but Guinness is so good its hard to pay good money for another less quality Stout..The local done a promo on it and I got a few cans during lock down but never felt the urge to go back to it
I tried it when it first came out, and I just thought it was ok, I wasn't dreaming of the next creamy pint, like with Guinness. Bad timing may have also played a part, just after lockdown? Everyone's sick of being told what to do, and then you have someone saying, " Drink this it's surprisingly ok."
I think there is some margin issue with Beamish and Murphys where they wouldn't make as much from them as they would for a beer brand they create from scratch. Hence why they probably did it, still a stupid idea from Heineken. Not sure the ins and outs but similar with Guinness supposedly selling Smitwichs, Harp and other breweries they acquired over the years due to not making as much margin on them.
The name was off. I said "Irelands end" the one time I ordered it. It may have been marketed to the high heavens, but being only alright isnt going to win over stout fans. Murphys is my stout as far as Heineken stouts go. Should have marketed Beamish and Murphys more.
I was in Ireland last weekend and was surprised to see that it had practically disappeared from the pubs since I was there last summer. We went to Dublin, Galway and Kilkenny and I didnt see it on tap once (not saying its not on any, we just didnt see it). The only place I did see it was in a random pub in Naas we stopped off at on the drive from Kilkenny back to dublin. I did try it last summer and thought it was ok so its a shame to see it die off so quickly.
I’ve drank Guiness longer time than you have even . Never liked it for sesh. Just liked a pint. My first pint in Dublin I was 17. You were 7 then. But your videos have inspired me at 40 to use Guiness as a session beer. I now am having 12 cans of nitrosurge every Saturday! The nitrogen surger is FANTASTIC. And I manage my drinking better with Guiness than Lager 🍺
@@brownsey1 that’s light drinking to me . I used to drink 30 cans of Stella but that was when I was on the coke 😂 40 is young . You realise that when your 50 👍😂😂
Independent breweries like rye River brewery, have an amazing beer which verges on the scale of imperial Nocturne Try it and you won't drink any other stuff if you like black stuff in a glass
As a Murphy's stout drinker & odd pint of Guinness i tried a pint of islands edge honestly i didnt like the after taste of the pint and felt it didn't set right in my stomach most will laugh at this comment but i been drink stout 35 years & it just didn't set with me it was like they mixed beamish & Murphy's together and added something else to the stout in my day we called that slops that were once served under the counter of bars to customers not from the area.enjoying the channel Daragh up the Rebels 😊
Wrong. Young ones don't sit in a bar anymore, they dont sit in the bar after work and have a pint or 2 and a it of craic. They go out to a club once a week get absolutely fucked and that's it. There is no bar culture in them. Blame America, the internet and globalisation.
I Have to admit that I really liked Island's Edge. If I saw it on the bar, I'd probably choose it as I knew I could get Guinness pretty much anywhere. I thought it had a slightly different taste (which was good as a 'change!) One major issue was that a lot of the bar staff didn't seem to know what it was (I had some pulling a pint and being surprised it was a stout!) I did also then start to get situations where I'd order a pint and it was sour/'off' as it wasn't being ordered and not 'pulled through' enough. That did seem to be the ;'beginning of the end' and it's gradually disappeared (and some of the pubs that were 'forced' to stock it then resented that they had to use lines/pumps for it. A real shame in my opinion. I'm a huge stout fan and it was good to see another option on a night out!!
