Guinness hypes up its "miniature pump" MicroDraught in Belgium ahead of St. Patrick's Day

As the commemoration of Ireland's patron saint approaches, the oldest importer of the famous stout, the Belgian group Anthony Martin, is selecting the Horeca businesses that can benefit from this innovation, facilitating access to the "Guinness experience."

© Gondola Foodservice / Guinness

The "world's smallest Guinness keg" and its miniaturized tap. The MicroDraught – a patented can filled with the same beer as that brewed at St. James's Gate – and its air pump, without hoses or gas cylinders, are the result of two years of development. It is an innovation that the Dublin-based company readily describes as the "biggest technological leap" since the appearance of the widget, the small capsule that has allowed for the simulation of a draft pour from a can for nearly forty years.

The system already allowed certain licensed establishments to serve a Guinness Draught according to the rules of the art, regardless of their size or configuration. Compact, easy to set up, and plug-and-play into any standard power outlet, the MicroDraught presents itself as an alternative to complex installations and other keg fridges. Naturally, the Irish brewer is promoting it in the lead-up to St. Patrick's Day, with more than 13 million pints being enjoyed on that single day of March 17th.

In Belgium, too, this celebration is bringing more and more people together, and the "Guinness micro-pump" could therefore facilitate the sale of additional pints. The century-old family group Anthony Martin, which introduced the famous black beer to the Belgian market as early as 1912, has been selecting the Horeca businesses eligible for this innovation since this month.

"As long as the potential for this iconic stout is present," specifies the import and distribution house. "This invention is not intended to replace the mythical Guinness taps adorned with a magnificent harp, but to allow points of sale with more limited potential to serve Guinness to their consumers."