But it’s no coincidence so many beers are reducing their ABV and that so many are settling on 3.4pc.
The real reason they are watering down your pint to this level, experts say, is because it allows them to save tens of millions of pounds in alcohol duty each year, thanks to reforms made under the previous Conservative government.
In August last year, the Tories expanded the duty discount for lower-strength beers from 2.8pc ABV up to 3.4pc ABV.
Under the new system, draught beers with a strength between 1.3pc and 3.4pc pay £8.42 in duty per litre of pure alcohol. Any beer from 3.5pc to 8.4pc pay significantly more, at £19.08 per litre of pure alcohol.
In practical terms, for every pint Carlsberg sells on tap, it is saving 25p in alcohol duty by lowering its ABV from 3.8pc to 3.4pc. We drink 7.8 billion pints each year in Britain, so these savings quickly add up.
Kim Verberckmoes, of accountancy firm Blick Rothenberg, says she expects “more and more brewers will be looking to lower their ABV to fall into the lower duty bracket”.
Never quite sure whether this was true or not. But the story is that Watney’s Starlight was so weak that it didn’t classify as a beer at all. Not that they dropped the price to match it not paying duty at all.
Ah, Starlight. Very thin brew, little flavour.
About 30 years ago I was talking with a marketing man who mentioned he had done the plan for Starlight. Don’t recall if he confirmed the legend that it wasn’t legally beer. But he did say it was designed as a “session” drink. You could drink gallons without ill effect. Teenagers could go out and brag about how many pints they had downed. And I suppose I did.
Now – well, a Bath ale, a Butcombe, or a Tangle Foot . . .. .
Butcombe, yes. Bath Brewery wasn’t open last time I lived in town. The OGT has a nice boys bitter made under their name…..
A session beer? A beer less than 3.4% isn’t a session beer, it’s a session lemonade and where’s the fun in that? A session beer is when the barmaid starts to look attractive after 6 pints even if she looks like Jo Brand…
OK, I forgot what she looked like. Perhaps 6 pints of Famous Grouse…
Kronenbourg was my tipple of choice till Heineken sold it to Carlsberg Marstons (CMBC) who promptly reduced the alcohol content from 5% (in the UK, the Frogs get the real 5.5%) to 4.6%. This is still in the same duty band, so no idea why they decided to fuck it up.
Tim Martin (PBUH), dropped Kronenbourg and started to sell San Miguel on draught so I moved onto that (fun fact: San Miguel was originally brewed in Manilla, Philipines).
CMBC then lost the licence to sell San Miguel in the UK to Budweiser* owner ABinbev and ‘Spoons stopped selling it and we now have Birrificio Angelo Poretti (4.8%).
I do wish they’d stop buggering about…….
*aka ‘sex on the beach’ ie: fucking close to water.
Not certain about the “not beer in the UK” thing but apparently a Sunday Mirror article showed that Watney’s Starlight was so weak that it could legally have been sold in the US under Prohibition
“Weak” doesn’t necessarily mean “not tasty”. I prefer weak beers and generally look for the weakest the pub has. Many pubs nowadays offer tasters; if the weakest is piss I move up the scale. I prefer not to get pissed, especially if I’ve nipped in for a quick afternoon half with the missus. We generally have things to do later that require a bit of motivation.
I heard the same about Starlight. Never tasted it since Watford marks the end of civilisation & on the maps I had, the area to the north had the legend “Here be dragons”. Double Diamond hovered around the lower limit didn’t it?
When I lived on the French/Belgium frontier, had Brit mates come over to visit. Always fun taking them out on a lunge. Some of the local brews run to 8% & there’s supposed to be outliers hit 10. Amusing to see seasoned boozers poleaxed after 3 pints. (And yes of course we have pint glasses. It’s France remember. Pint’s a legal measure.)
I remember when Caffrey’s was launched in the nineties at 5.2%, it caught out a fair few who were switching from Guinness or John Smith’s.
I’m not averse to a weaker beer though, I remember a delightful 2.9% mild my local had years ago, made an ideal couple of pints to go with a lunchtime pork pie.
@BiS 10% for Belgian/French border is easy.. That’s the Double/Double category ( basically strong brown Ale at 9-11%)
Tripels run from 11-14%, and then you’ve got the classic “Coachman’s Beers” ( what Guinness pretends to be ) that run from 13-18%.
Anything under 5% isn’t beer to begin with. 4.8% is debatable, because that’s basically a result of more accurate testing of the end result of the same brewing process and optimising for the average of alcohol tax laws across the world.
4.3% is taking the piss, literally. Anything under that is a laugh.
Addolff:
Reducing alcohol percentage could have a number of reasons.
– selling into a market that restricts higher percentage (or charges much higher duty)
– changing the yeasts (or the grains involved) means it ends up with a different percentage when it finishes fermenting
– for distilled spirits, it could be selling more gallons for the same inputs (except for water)
The other side of that would be that Prohibition in the States likely resulted in higher percentage. After all that means fewer barrels to hide. We’ve seen that with e.g. marijuana THC percentages increasing over time.
“Amusing to see seasoned boozers poleaxed after 3 pints. … It’s France remember. Pint’s a legal measure.”
What’s the definition? 500 ml? If so, it would be fun to tell them they’ve actually only had 2½. (Okay, a little more. But not much.)
M @12.19, the first and third of your points don’t apply. The second point is possibly the issue behind CMBC and Kronenbourg but if they’re using a different recipe it is no longer Kronenbourg. They kept the change to the alcohol content quiet and made it look like a simple refresh of the artwork.
*Bugger that was wrong thread*
We’re only going back to what was served pre 70s. From chatGPTm
“ The average strength of beer in England in the 1960s was lower than today, with most beers ranging between 3% and 4% ABV (alcohol by volume). Mild ales, which were popular at the time, typically had a strength of around 3% ABV, while bitters were slightly stronger, often closer to 4% ABV.
Stronger beers, such as stouts and premium ales, were available but less common, with ABVs around 5% or higher. Over time, beer strength increased due to changing consumer tastes and brewing trends.”
Which is why Haigh’s claim about drinking 12 pints or so across a whole day isn’t as ludicrous as it sounds.
Round our way we’re spoiled for choice, both pubs and beers. Having grown up on Marston’s Pedigree and draught Bass, I have come to believe there isn’t a better pint out there than Stroud Brewery’s Budding pale ale (4.5%). My missus quibbles – she’s a Uley Brewery Old Spot or Pigs Ear drinker, though she can only do a pint, pint and a half tops. Both 5%, and very nice, but I like volume and 5% is a bit punchy for a session these days. This time of year they usually do Pigor Mortis, which is 6% and heading towards Belgian territory.
Around Cambridge there used to be a delicious Herts beer sold: Rayment & Co. Ltd of Furneux Pelham. It seems to have vanished. Greene King’s Abbott Ale was pretty good last time I had one but that was ages ago.
There’s a range of Suffolk Cyders (local spelling) we like – Aspall’s. They’ve been taken over by a Canadian/American company so we await events.
There’s a IPA in the US, Dogfish Head 120, which is 18% ABV. I found it on draft in Canyon, Texas. It is served in schooner glasses. I wish I could tell y’all what it’s like, but I don’t remember much of that evening.
My local when I was a kid served Old Spot and Old Hookey as regular beers. I’m very glad the brewery is still going and intend to catch up on a few pints while I’m visiting family next week.
What’s the definition? 500 ml?
No. It’s a pint. Napoleon’s decree of (I believe) 1703 acknowledging that metric was France’s official measures but no Frenchman shall be prosecuted for using Imperial. I’ve bought a garden shed advertised in inches & loose wine at the market in pints/gallons. Our local had some Brit mugs & straight glasses behind the bar. And you could get a decent Full English at the aire at St Eloi. France is vaguely civilised.
1803!!!
In any French market people will ask for “une livre” of carrots or tomatoes and they’ll get 453g (maybe 500g these days). Similarly in Germany and “ein pfund”.
Of course the pub down the road when I were a lad sold Robinson’s Old Tom on draught – about 8% I think. They still brew it but being no longer in The North I haven’t seen it on draught for years. I used to drink Brown &Mild though – 1/2 Mild and a brown ale -1/10d at the time. That was a Duttons pub in Rochdale. Duttons managed to avoid the Watneys takeover horror show when at the time all the little local breweries were being taken over.
I can’t stand lots of bitters today as they are all far too hoppy. Give me a good flavourful dark beer any day. Sadly round here I have to wait for wintertime when Adnams start brewing Old Ale.
Good beer is good beer, regardless of ABV. I rather like a session ale at 3-3.5%. I also like Belgian and French beers at 6-7%. The key is that all of these beers have been brewed to a recipe and alcohol level which works.
If you take a beer traditionally brewed to 5% and then brew it to 4% you are changing the product and probably for the worse.
Theakstons Old Peculiar is 5.6% and a very agreeable drink – https://www.theakstons.co.uk/pages/theakstons-old-peculier
Joe: Ambrosia of the Gods! Sadly our local doesn’t seem to get it in any more. I can find it in bottles but it’s not the same.
<pendant>You mean Peculier – it’s an old word for a parish</pendant>
Well, sorta. It’s an ecclesiastical asset – including a parish – which is outside the authority of the bishop of the diocese in which it is located. It can also mean the person who does administer it. on/pendantry