Bottled beer continued to make inroads on the humble pint yesterday as Guinness increased its choice of products and launched its 33cl bottle of draught complete with a floating `rocket widget'. Guinness, which launched the product in both Britain and the Republic yesterday, stated it had invested over £10 million in the project.

Increased choice there may be, as Ms Fiona Mulcahy, innovation manager pointed out, but drinkers were left in no doubt how they should tackle the new product. `Drink from the neck', the advertising states, while the bottle demands that it be served extra cold. All this could be bad news for the 75 per cent of beer which is still consumed in draught form in the State, in contrast to the international pattern of a mere 33 per cent of beer being poured from the tap.

The target consumer is for `active drinkers', males who are `LDA [legal drinking age] to 29'. So far, the response has been good: 92 per cent of consumers said they would try the product, said Ms Mulcahy, while 97 per cent of target consumers believe it is suitable for active drinking.

"What's active drinking?," one, no doubt seasoned, drinker asked? Someone who cannot be bothered to wait for the pint, who stands rather than sits and who is surrounded by a big crowd, was the reply.