Come on, Men of Poland, pull your finger out and bring the market price down. My mouth waters at the thought of a creamy pint of stout. Perhaps now's time to mention the git out of (naming no names) my parents who decided it would be fun to open a can of Guinness on Skype last night. (Clue... it's the male parent).
Luckily I'll be in the UK for my Name Day on the 17th March where every river and stream will flow with black and cream. Until then, at Varsovian prices, I must bide my time. Slainte!
I've seen the same prices here in KRK for Guinness, so I don't think it's specific to that pub. I just get a feeling that it's shipped in at a high price, so the cost is passed on.
ReplyDeleteWhat you really need to do is start convincing Poland that everyone should be drinking it, meaning they would import more in bulk and get discounted prices for the bulk.
Decoy
ReplyDeleteI'm no expert on dark beers here - tried Zywiec porter once but it was rather unpleasant - but I am surprised at how Guinness hasn't made inroads into the booze market in Poland. Their history of mocne beers would suggest they were ready for it.
I know from speaking to people that the beer market is strongly regional and brand loyalty is incredible, so perhaps that's why.
But I also feel Guinness (or Diageo rather) are rather lazy in Poland. I can buy Draught and Original it in my local delikatesy (for 6zl a can) but there's no marketing to speak of. I think they should be positioning themselves as Carlsberg have done as a top-end beer (but not at that price at the tap).
Worst Guinness price I've encountered? Probably 22zl at "The Irish Pub" at the top of Nowy Swiat in Warsaw. At that price it'll be a hard sell to persuade anyone to try it.
Draghtflow Guinness (440ml) in Auchan is 5.59zł a can. Out of interest - how much is a pint (568ml) of Guinness in a pub in central a) Dublin, b) London?
ReplyDelete22zl? jeeez thats steep.
ReplyDeleteIt's 14zl in Wro which is bad enough. When I first came to Wro I made the mistake of buying a round of 4 for other English teachers.... That was an expensive gap between lessons.
You are right about the marketing. Searching on Polish Google didn't give me any distributor or producer promotional links, whilst Polish Wikipedia just links to the English language Guinness site.
ReplyDeleteI've always been impressed by the Irish Pub's ability to combine having the best location for Warsaw visitors and being one of the worst places to visit. The only person I knew who liked it was a Polish girl trying to find the best possible foreign husband. Her near engagements always seemed to end in the latest man of her dreams leaving unexpectedly, for some reason.
I prefer Belfast, anyway, but even that was over 4zl in a local shop yesterday.
You can get four 330ml bottles of Guinness Original in Real for 14zl or 3.5zl a bottle.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's just wishful thinking but given that the most I ever paid for a pint of Guinea in London was £4.20 - through gritted teeth - which works out at about 19zl, is it too much to ask for a pint in a pub here in Poland to be less than that?
Pan Steeva, I went in there on Independence Day to get inside and get a bit of warmth. The welcome from the bar staff soon put paid to that idea! I've never been in there on a Friday night but assume it's a mixture of oddballs.
I wonder, is drinking Guinness a 'statement' by young professionals, as the draught price is so high?
Another question for old hands: do Poles celebrate St. Patrick's Day as is common in the UK, US, Ireland etc. etc? I've never been in Poland for it and indeed am missing it this year as I will be flying to the US for my brother's wedding.
@Michał - A pint of Guinness can cost between €4.20 and €5 in Dublin, within sight of the St. James' Gate brewery. That translates to between 16 and 20zl, although I'd presume the transport costs are a bit more to Poland.
ReplyDeletePoles generally don't celebrate St Patrick's Day, but you may well find city people you know are going to one of the 'Irish' pubs. I'd never even heard of green beer - Polish lager with tasteless green food dye - until I went to Warsaw's Patrick's Irish Pub (a completely Polish pub) on St Patrick's Day (the Irish celebration). Why didn't they sell that in Kilburn when I was there?
ReplyDeleteWell Pan Steeva I'd offer to join you for a pint of Green Beer at Patrick's (no relation) but alas I'll be in the Toucan just off Soho Square. They do it for £2 a pint on the 17th and I shall be revelling in it!
ReplyDelete