Taste for Guinness wanes in changing Ireland

By Matthew Tostevin

DUBLIN (Reuters) - How about a glass of wine to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day in Dublin?

That might not sit well on the stomach of many residents of Ireland's capital this Saturday as they mark the year's biggest party with copious quantities of Guinness, the rich, dark beer with a creamy head that is the national drink.

But the cliché of the Irish pub filled with Guinness drinkers is giving way to a different picture as new wealth, new opportunities and immigration transform tastes and drinking habits in one of Europe's fastest growing economies.

Alongside the decline of Guinness is an increasing appetite for wine, spirits, cider and imported beer.

"You'll still sell Guinness, but you'll sell the likes of wheat beers, beers from the Czech Republic, beers from Poland," said Eddy Martin, who runs the Bailey Bar.

"Beer sales are declining while the amount of wine is phenomenal. Before, people would say they wanted a white wine, now they'll say they want a Chardonnay," he said at the bar in the heart of Dublin's smartest shopping district.

Latest figures from global drinks giant Diageo, which owns Guinness, show local sales for the brand down about 7 percent in the six months to the end of December 2006 from a year before. Wine now accounts for over a fifth of alcohol drunk in Ireland.

"The lifestyle shift has meant that Guinness has been impacted to a higher degree," said Grainne Mackin, Diageo's head of corporate communications in Ireland.