All it is advisable know as beer getting weaker and financial savings not handed on to prospects

Need to know

Beer isn’t hitting as hard as it used to as ‘drinkflation’ has hit big breweries who are cutting the alcohol content in pints due to tax incentives

NEED TO KNOW: Big breweries slammed for ‘drinkflation’ scam as beer gets weaker but prices stay high

• Campaigners have blasted big breweries for serving ever-weaker beer while pocketing massive tax savings instead of passing them on to punters.
• A Daily Star investigation revealed major brands like Fosters, Amstel, John Smith’s and Sol have slashed their alcohol content from as much as 5% to just 3.4% in recent years. The move takes advantage of government tax incentives in a trend dubbed “drinkflation” – but prices haven’t dropped for drinkers.
• Tim Webb from CAMRA said: “Global brewing giants have diluted their recipes to hit the lower tax band, without reducing prices, and sometimes hiking them.”
• Breweries save 25p per pint in alcohol duty by dropping below 3.5% ABV, with tax falling from 42p to just 17p per draught pint. Heineken leads the charge, cutting the strength of its top-selling beers including Fosters, which dropped to 3.4% this year after already falling from 4.0% to 3.7% in 2023.
• Punters aren’t happy with the watered-down brews. One Tesco customer fumed about weaker Amstel: “Used to be ok but tastes horrible now.”
• The British Beer and Pub Association defended the changes, saying brewers are responding to consumer trends towards moderation. But campaigners want government action to break up the stranglehold global giants have over the beer market.
• READ THE FULL STORY: Beer is getting weaker and the cash saved isn’t getting passed on to customers