I wouldn't be surprised if Beamish is not hurting Guinness more than we are hearing about. 50c a pint cheaper in the pub, that's a considerable difference.
As far as I can see a lot more drinking is now done at home. When people are buying tinnies for home consumption, they will not necessarily remain loyal to tins of their of their favourite pub drink (I havn't seen Dutch Gold, Orangeboom or the Lidl or Aldi largers in any pub yet). But seriously, people who drink Guinness in a pub often decide to drink another drink at home - Heiniken, Bulmers etc
Between buying a few beers in a pub, getting there and paying for a taxi home following a massive queue, the smoking ban, the Garda crackdown, the price of takeaway eaten on the hoof (or indoors but not enjoyed as your afraid of having the sh1t kicked out of you by some lunatic out of his head on a mixture of drink and drugs) and just the whole price of a night out. You wouldn't have much change left by the time it's finished. The highlight of the night is to go out into the freezing cold breeze and wet every time you want a puff.
On the other hand, round to a mates house, couple of 6 packs/bottle of wine from the supermarket/offie, smoke your head off in comfort, order a pizza/curry and walk/stagger home.
I think the draught stout in a tin, of which they were so proud, has come back to bite Guinness hard. The taste of the stuff you drink at home has improved considerably over time..
Guinness are now matching Beamish for price in the supermarkets. I'm probably the wrong person to ask as I prefer the taste of Beamish, but it appears to me that the price of tins of Guinness, which were initially much more expensive, have come down recently to match the price of the tins of Beamish.
Murt