Every year when the calendar creeps closer to St. Patrick’s Day, one of Philadelphia’s best-known Irish bars reminds its customers why it doesn’t serve Guinness. The annual social media post from McGillin’s Olde Ale House usually includes a photo of an alternative beer from Ireland available on tap and a slogan of sorts: “You can get Guinness anywhere — a steakhouse, a sushi place, a Flyers game — but not at McGillin’s!”
This beef with Ireland’s signature stout goes back to 2000, and McGillin’s wasn’t the only Philly bar involved. Roughly a dozen Irish bars in the city stopped selling Guinness over its support of the “bar-in-a-box” company that brought Fadó to Center City and, the boycotters said, unfairly infringed on their business.
The company in question was Irish Pub Co., a Dublin-based firm promising clients a unique turnkey service. For a fixed fee, their team of architects, designers and craftsmen would deliver an Irish bar from concept to installation, right down to the tankards. Irish Pub Co. achieved rapid success in the 1990s, thanks in part to its partnership with Guinness. The brewery nurtured the company’s growth by promoting it to investors and offering business advice to new owners. To this day, Irish Pub Co. brands itself as “the official partner of the Guinness Irish pub concept.”…