Brewers' swoop
Beer duty, Issue 1668 FANCY a pint of expensive but watery beer? Just go to a pub near you – if there's one still open – as new taxes and prices come into operation.

Alcohol duty rose by 3.66 percent at the start of this month, in line with inflation. The government says this will add around 2p to the price of a pint, but it's certain to be more by the time it reaches the bar.

The giant global brewers that dominate Britain's beer industry have responded to the increase by reducing the strength of their brews. This, the brewers claim, will be good for people's health. Heineken says: "We are supporting consumers choosing a more balanced lifestyle." And Carlsberg states: "We are supporting public health."

But they will also reap a rich reward by slashing their tax bills.

Call of duty
The tax dodge has been coming down the tracks for some time. In 2023 the last government revised excise duties and brought in a new band that meant beers below 3.5 percent alcohol would pay less tax.

At the time, Andy Slee, chief executive of the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA), the voice of smaller brewers, warned that the global brewers would use the band to reduce the strength of their lagers and ales. He said this would undercut his members, who couldn't follow suit as they felt they had to offer full tasting beers to discriminating drinkers.

Slee's warning was spot on. All the global brewers have brought their beer below 3.5 percent or close to the new tax band. Carling, the UK's biggest lager brand, has been reduced by Molson Coors from 4 to 3.6 percent. The brewer is a Canadian/American group that occupies the former Bass breweries in Burton-on-Trent.

Carlsberg, a Danish giant with a factory in Northampton, has reduced its lager from 3.8 to 3.4 percent. Grolsch, owned by Asahi of Japan, has been cut from 4 to 3.4 percent. The Dutch original is 5 percent.

Heineken is Britain's biggest brewer, with brands including Amstel, Foster's, Moretti and John Smith's as well as its own international beer. It has slashed the strength of the "Mexican" beer Sol from 4.2 to 3.4 percent. Its John Smith's Smooth, the UK's biggest-selling keg ale, is being weakened from 3.6 to 3.4 percent.

Pints make prizes
It's estimated that beers that now fall into the new tax band of less than 3.5 percent alcohol will save brewers 8-12p a pint.

Even Stella Artois, one of the country's biggest-selling lagers, has not been immune from the chopper. It's owned by AB InBev, the world's biggest brewer, and in 2012 the alcohol level was cut from 5 to 4.8 percent. It's now been cut again to 4.6 percent. It remains at 5.2 percent in Belgium, its country of origin.

A brewer at Grolsch in the Netherlands says it's impossible to get aroma and flavour into proper lager below 5 percent alcohol. His British counterparts are doing their best to prove him wrong.