Publicans have been told that the price of Murphy’s Irish Stout will be frozen for the duration of 2026.
Brand owner Heineken UK described the price freeze as a move to ‘help support the great British pub’, but it could certainly also be interpreted as an effort to build upon the huge growth that the stout market challenger has enjoyed this year.
Last Christmas, in response to reports that London pubs were running out of their usual ‘black stuff’, Heineken arranged publicity-grabbing deliveries of free kegs of Murphy’s in time for Christmas Eve.
Sales saw a year-on-year growth of 632% over this period and distribution and awareness of Murphy’s Irish Stout has continued to climb rapidly over 2025.
Murphy’s Stout is now available on draught in 1551 pubs – up 480% on the year – with sales volume up 607% and value up by 666%.
Against that background of record growth, the price freeze on Murphy’s may encourage more pubs to benefit from the historic Cork stout’s new momentum.
Heineken UK is actively encouraging pubs to make the switch from the UK’s leading stout brand to Murphy’s.
In what it described as the category’s ‘renaissance’, Heineken said that consumer drinking habits were being re-shaped, and Murphy’s was winning over more UK drinkers.
On trade director Will Rice said: “Pubs are under sustained cost pressures yet demand for Irish stout keeps building.
“Murphy’s 2026 price freeze is about backing pubs and giving them price certainty on a brand that is soaring in popularity.
“Murphy’s, first brewed in Cork in 1856, combines heritage with a crowd‑pleasing, silky and less bitter profile that’s winning over a generation of new drinkers.”
