Cheating publicans sold Heineken beer as craft beer

How could this happen? Heineken Ireland has claimed that some of its beers have been purposefully mislabelled and sold as fake craft beer in certain pubs in Ireland, fuelling consumer debate over what constitutes a ‘craft’ beer. The scandal broke in September 2016 and has had punters wagging their tongues since.

Reportedly, some of Heineken’s draught beers had been sold at a number of pubs under the guise of local craft beers, although the company claims that the practice has since stopped. It is unknown how widespread this practice was, or for how long it went on. It is also unknown if any Heineken employees were aware of the mislabelling at the time.

Heineken’s portfolio of beers in Ireland includes Tiger, Fosters, Coors Light, Beamish, Sol and Amstel. Its smaller volume brews include Cute Hoor and Orchard Thieves.

Although it should have secretly made Heineken proud that consumers could not taste the difference, the brewer has publicly apologised to its consumers and has appointed the financial services advisory firm, Grant Thornton, to investigate the issue. This process began in early September and is ongoing.

The scandal comes on the back of the recent launch of a new craft brewers’ stamp by The Independent Craft Brewers of Ireland (ICBI). The symbol offers reassurance to consumers that the beer they’re buying is indeed from an independently owned, small scale microbrewery as recognised by Revenue.

It is estimated that there were 63 microbreweries operating in Ireland in 2015, of which 48 were production microbreweries and 15 contracting companies.