Guinness is officially the best-selling beer in British pubs, according to data & insight consultancy CGA.

The black stuff narrowly beat out top rival Carling to become the ultimate beer champion. In terms of value of sales Guinness now accounts for 1 in 9 pints in London. It gained an impressive 19% sales boost in Europe last year.

Officially they say Guinney came out on top because of the return to pubs post-pandemic, a large Irish population, a lower starting price, and the Six Nations. You can also attribute it to the fact that it’s just a better beer than anything the Brits make themselves.

Ireland’s biggest export after our charm, Guinness, has proved that good things come to formerly colonised countries who wait it out. Speaking to the Daily Mail Senior Account Manager at creative agency Red Brick Road Max Fairhurst said:

‘It’s the romance of Guinness – it’s consistency – the fact that my Grandpa drank it in pubs as does my Dad. Its marketing is as incredible and historic as the drink itself… Guinness is a colossal corporate worldwide brand. But its marketing with its rich history gives it a friendly, reassuring and familiar feel.’

‘When so many pubs and ales my Grandpa drank at in his twenties have closed, there’s something nice about going down to the pub and having a Guinness just like he would have done with his mates at my age 61 years ago.’

We have known for generations that a creamy boi was the only way to go. But even in Ireland, Guinness itself had gone from strength to strength since the era of drinks connoisseurship kicked off when millennials came of age.

It may have taken us 900 years, but we conquered the conquered, and that deserves a pint in celebration.

Elsewhere on CHAR: How to Consume Nothing but Guinness on Paddy’s Day