I tested stouts as Guinness shortage starts to bite… winner was complex, creamy pint from brewery linked to sport star
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THESE are dark times for Guinness drinkers as pubs up and down the country run dry – due to a viral TikTok trend. “Splitting the G” involves draining just enough from a pint glass in one gulp to leave the line between the remaining beer and its foamy head cutting through the letter “G” in Guinness, as shown in this picture.
![[Thea Jacobs tests and marks some of the top alternatives]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/568150-sun-sun-features-stout-875618532.jpg?strip=all&w=629)
It is leaving boozers short of the bevvy. This is a problem compounded last month by the disappearance of a truck in the Midlands, which was transporting hundreds of 50-litre kegs of the Irish stout – equalling 35,200 pints. Fortunately, if you are struggling to get hold of a Guinness at your local, there are plenty of other contenders lining our supermarket shelves.
![[These are dark times for Guinness drinkers as pubs up and down the country run dry – due to a viral TikTok trend]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/e238ce8b-4343-4f68-9c08-cf0c4c7750cf.jpg?strip=all&w=708)
Here, Thea Jacobs tests and marks some of the top alternatives – which range in strength from a classic 4.1 per cent ABV to 6 per cent. THIS isn’t as carbonated as some of the others, and certainly not as fine. BrewDog says it has an in-can widget, just like Guinness.
![[BrewDog Black Heart scored two out of five]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/568150-sun-sun-features-stout-875618269.jpg?strip=all&w=640)
But that being the case, I have no idea what it is doing. The head is lacklustre, at best. It’s not so much creamy as semi-skimmed. And it is much more bitter than the others, which is not what I’m looking for. BrewDog sells it as an old dog with new tricks.
![[Kakawa Chocolate Stout scored three out of five]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/139bdd97-42b1-48f1-b701-2c077837e50e.jpg?strip=all&w=834)
But I don’t think this can of stout has any tricks at all. It’s not bad, but not standout. I suppose it would do if there was nothing else. AS I cracked open this can, there was barely any pressure released. But even though I was not expecting to find that much of a head, I was pleasantly surprised at the one that did materialise.
![[Dark Arts Surreal Stout is actually a really tasty drink and scored four out of five]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/c1d47b9b-389b-45ad-84d2-f1aa0298826b.jpg?strip=all&w=830)
