The Renewed Partnership
Guinness is keeping its college football playbook intact, extending its partnership with Notre Dame Athletics for three additional seasons and retaining Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana as a brand ambassador — a relationship now entering its seventh year. The stout brand will continue as the Official Beer of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Alumni and Fans, a title it has held since 2020.
For on-premise operators and beverage directors, the renewal signals that Guinness is doubling down on college football as a primary seasonal activation platform. The partnership gives the brand a direct line to one of the most loyal and nationally distributed fan bases in collegiate sports, making it a useful comp for bars, restaurants, and hospitality venues that program around Fighting Irish game days.
The Limited-Edition Can
To open the 2026 season, Guinness is reintroducing its annual limited-edition Notre Dame Guinness Draught can — this year with a notable first: the Football Leprechaun mark appears on the packaging for the first time. The can is available now in select markets while supplies last, and Guinness says distribution is broader this season than in prior years, reaching more Fighting Irish fans across the country.
Limited-edition seasonal packaging has become a reliable traffic driver in the beverage industry, and the expanded availability of this can gives retail and on-premise accounts a timely, conversation-ready product to merchandise alongside football programming.
Montana's Role and Community Activation
"Guinness and I share a respect for tradition, a commitment to service, and, most importantly, a belief in bringing people together," said Montana, who played at Notre Dame before his NFL career. "There's nothing like raising a pint on game day."
Karissa Downer, Director of Guinness in the United States, framed the long-running partnership as a natural cultural fit: "Notre Dame fans have an incredible respect for legacy and a real sense of community that feels right at home with Guinness and Joe."
Beyond game-day appearances, Montana will continue working alongside the Guinness Gives Back program, partnering with local organizations in communities the brand serves. That community-focused dimension adds a layer of brand equity that is increasingly relevant to hospitality operators looking to align with suppliers who invest beyond pure marketing spend, a trend well documented in restaurant and hospitality industry coverage.
Guinness has more than 265 years of brewing heritage and operates U.S. taproom locations in Baltimore and Chicago through its Guinness Open Gate Brewery concept. The Notre Dame partnership, now stretching toward a decade, remains one of the most visible collegiate sports sponsorships in the craft-adjacent import stout segment.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
