Scots share what they really think about Tennent’s Lager

What Scottish people really think about their country’s most iconic lager has been revealed in an online debate that has divided opinion.

Tennent’s Lager, known along with whisky and Irn Bru as one of Scotland’s national drinks, is consumed by pubgoers all over the country. However, according to local reports, while some praise Tennent’s as “cracking” others believe it to be “very average” and “tasteless”.

The beer, which was originally brewed in Glasgow in 1885, has since become Scotland’s bestselling brew. Now owned by C&C Group, the lager has recently undergone a rebrand for its iconic cans for the first time since 2018.

According to the Scottish Daily Express, social media account Pints of Beauty asked its followers on X for their “honest opinion” on Tennent’s, with most not holding back.

One account on X, insisted the lager was “very, very average”, while another admitted: “Been a while since I was in Scotland but even then I prefer others.”

Others responded to state that they found the beer “very gassy, very average flavour and belongs alongside what I call the ‘C beers’ — weak but cheap lagers that start with a C. I’m just leaving now to put my ‘beer snob’ t shirt on.”

Another user explained: “Due to a stranglehold on Scottish pubs you can barely find anything but Tennent’s on tap. This has led to people thinking that it’s a good pint when it isn’t.“

Others said: “It’ll quench the thirst if it’s nice and cold on a hot day. Tasteless drivel, though. Not a patch on a decent continental pilsner. It’s hard to understand its popularity.”

Despite its online panning, many others were quick to defend Tennent’s. For instance, one user stated that it was: “Simply the greatest lager on the planet. I find it crazy it isn’t exported more widely around Europe”.

Another pointed out that it was popular with people from all over the world and said: “Whenever I have German or Austrian friends and family over they all like it. If it had an Italian-sounding name us folk from Glasgow would probably enjoy it more”.

Another X user added: “Cracking pint easily as good as Estrella, Super Bock, Peroni, Tropicana etc.”

Amidst the online debate, many adopted a more measured approach and indicated that the quality of Tennent’s Lager often depended on the specific pint. But, irrespective of the popularity of the Tennent’s brand, in a recent trading update, Tennent’s owner C&C Group revealed that it expects the group’s first-half operating profit to fall. Although the drop is not necessarily connected to Tennent’s Lager’s performance, it does show that the brand still has an opportunity to outperform expectations and turn things around for the wider business.