Boston is no stranger to beer shortages. But when over 20,000 Scottish football fans rolled into town for the World Cup, the city’s bars saw something they’d never experienced in three decades of pouring pints.
Henessy’s Bar, a central Boston staple, ran out of beer entirely on Sunday night. Noelle Somers, the bar’s chief operating officer, told the Boston Globe that the post-match surge following Scotland’s game against Haiti was three times larger than St. Patrick’s Day — a holiday that typically rewrites the city’s sales records.
“We’ve been here for over 30 years and we’ve never seen anything like it,” Somers said. The bar restocked Monday morning but is already bracing for another delivery Thursday, just ahead of Scotland’s Friday night clash with Morocco.
Sam Adams Got Hammered — in a Good Way
The Boston Beer Company’s Sam Adams taproom also went dry over the weekend. Demand for Boston lager spiked to four times what the brewery sees during a typical holiday period. Billy DeCain of the Sam Adams Boston Taproom told NBC Boston: “We’ve never seen anything like it.”
Bars across the city reported similar scenes. Blue tartan and Saltire flags flooded every corner of the city as the Tartan Army — a famously good-humored traveling fanbase — made Boston their temporary home for Scotland’s first two group stage matches.
One Scottish Bar Was Ready for the Onslaught
The city’s only dedicated Scottish pub, The Haven, became an unofficial embassy. Owner Jason Waddleton had the foresight to order more than 100 kegs of Tennents ahead of the tournament. According to local reports, the bar has been packed wall-to-wall since the first whistle.
But the Scottish invasion wasn’t limited to pubs. The Tartan Army also marched to Fenway Park for a Boston Red Sox game, complete with kilts, bagpipes, and a level of pregame energy that Fenway staff admitted they’d never seen from a visiting fanbase.
What This Means for Boston Hospitality
The shortage isn’t just a quirky headline — it’s a signal of how global events can reshape local economies. Boston’s hospitality sector, still recovering from post-pandemic staffing challenges, saw an unexpected windfall. But the strain on supply chains is real. Distributors scrambled to reroute deliveries, and several bars reported having to limit customers to two beers per order during peak hours.
“We’ve learned a lot about logistics in the past week,” one bar manager said. “And also about how much a Scotsman can drink.”
With Scotland’s next match against Morocco on Friday, Boston’s beer suppliers are working overtime. Whether the city can keep up remains an open question — but for now, the Tartan Army is drinking its way through a World Cup run that nobody in Massachusetts will forget.
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