Strengths of popular beers reduced: time for the Assize of Ale
A well known paper has reported that brewers are reducing the strengths of popular beers to save on duty. The saving on a pint is minimal (and won’t be passed on to drinkers) but at the scale of production involved the impact for brewers can be considerable.
Reportedly Old Speckled Hen has been reduced in strength from 5% to 4.8% and Bishops Finger from 5.4% to 5.2%.
Of course reduction in strength is not new. Ruddles County was originally brewed at 1050 but is now much less alcoholic while Brewdog’s Punk IPA is currently weighing in at 5.2% (was 5.6%)
A new duty regime starts in August which benefits lower strengths beers, primarily as a health measure, but anyone who frequents pubs will know that there is a significant clientele who prefer lower strength but still tasty beers. Hence, for example, the success of Kernel’s Table Beer and Redemption’s Trinity which are both 3%
The brewers action however requires monitoring. The traditional practice of the Assize of Ale where the quality and price of beer were monitored in a legal framework could do with being revived
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