Guinness Ireland has confirmed that Breo, its wheat beer that cost close to £5 million to develop, is to be withdrawn because of "an insufficiently large consumer base".

Breo -- which means 'glow' in ancient Irish -- was seen by many as GI's last great hope -- a chance for St James's Gate to show Diageo, GI's parent company, that Dublin could still create new beer products.

But it has failed spectacularly, despite a £300,000 advertising campaign. Ciaran O'Loan, new product manager at Guinness Ireland, said that, during the Breo test marketing, consumers reactions were polarised between those who really liked it and those who loathed it.

But the failure of Breo doesn't mean the end of new product development at St James's Gate, said Pat Barry, head of corporate affairs.

Guinness bottled draught is mentioned by Barry as an example of new product development that has worked.

Bottled and canned in Runcorn, England, it's aimed at younger drinkers. But industry sources have indicated that the bottled draught is not going down well with the under-30s who -- despite being bombarded with advertising and sponsorship of events like Witnness -- just don't buy the product.

Sources in Guinness Ireland have also suggested that, if bottled draught doesn't meet its sales targets soon, production will stop. Barry described this as "complete speculation".

"Bottled draught Guinness has surpassed the volume sales figure for Budweiser during its first 12 months on the Irish market, and Budweiser would be regarded as a sort of a benchmark for bottled beers in the Irish market," he said.