No brand of beer is safe, as 2026 continues to be the “Year of the Great Beer Heists.”
In yet another example of a concerning trend that’s called “cargo theft,” Guinness is currently looking for two trailers of their famous, dark beer. Over 70,000 pints were stolen from a depot in the Liverpool area (northwest England), and the Guinness that’s missing is estimated to be worth around $155,000.
The value of the trailers themselves has also been estimated to be just shy of $70,000.
British police are currently investigating, but it’s clear that it’s another case of cargo theft, which has become more and more commonplace over the years as shipping and delivery has become more automated. The haul of Guinness was set to be delivered to pubs in the area, but two drivers had other plans for the brew. They pulled right up to the industrial park where the beer trailers were parked and got out of there with enough beer to last a lifetime (or a year or two for the die hard Guinness drinkers across the pond).
Det. Sgt. Gary McClatchy of the Cheshire Constabulary had this to say about the missing beer:
“It is famously said that ‘Guinness is good for you,’ but that is only the case when it has been bought and paid for. We will settle for nothing less than the full recovery of all the items stolen.”
And Guinness isn’t the only famous beer brand to be hit by cargo theft in recent weeks. Pabst Blue Ribbon is also frantically searching for an estimated $70,000 worth of their inventory after falling victim to two separate “heists.”
First, an entire beer delivery truck went missing as it was traveling to San Diego, California. The truckload of beer was last seen in Montclair, and PBR has done all they can to make the public aware of the thievery… and even offered up a $20,000 reward to anyone who can help.
About an hour after that now missing truck left a Southern California warehouse, another cargo theft occurred – and Pabst Blue Ribbon was the victim of that one as well. According to police reports, a “purported subcontracting company” provided fake documents that allowed them to drive off with another $25,000 in beer.
The Montclair Police are investigating the theft, and have reason to believe that both incidents are connected, and were likely conducted by the same group of thieves:
“Investigators identified similarities between the two incidents and are investigating whether they were committed as part of the same fraudulent cargo theft operation.”
So much beer missing…
What the beer brands are dealing with has impacted a lot of distributors in the past couple of years. “Cargo theft” is a real problem, and PBR and Guinness are just the latest to have to deal with the headache. All I know is there is an attack on the beer industry right now, and thieves must have found out that the beer brands have been rather lax with the security around their distribution.
If you have a PBR or Guinness this weekend while watching college football, make sure to pour a little out for all of the pints that are currently M.I.A.. Here’s to hoping the good guys track down the bad guys, and all of the beer is returned to their rightful owners.
