All the big brand beers that have DROPPED in alcohol as drinkers fume at brewers’ ‘drinkflation’
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A HOST of beer brands have slashed the strength of their tipples leaving drinkers fuming. Heineken, Carlsberg and Hophead are among some of the big names to have dropped the alcohol by volume (ABV) on booze. The move, known as "drinkflation", has seen Grolsch go from 4% to 3.4% and John Smith drop from 3.6% to 3.4%.
![[Two pints of lager on a pub bar.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/mayx8f-close-two-pints-lager-872850304.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
A number of brewers have been lowering the strength of their beers and ales in a bid to cut costs. Since August 2023, alcohol duty rates have risen in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI) meaning it's more expensive for manufacturers to produce or import booze over certain strengths.
Drinks with an ABV of 3.4% or less are now taxed at £9.27 per litre of alcohol while beers with an ABV of 3.5% or more are taxed at £21.01 per litre of alcohol. Ash Corbett-Collins, chairman for Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), said taxing lower ABV drinks can "inspire innovation" but a higher strength was "integral for certain style beers".
"Consumers deserve to have a choice at the bar, taproom or bottle shop, and it would be a shame to see tax bands create any form of limitation on that choice.". But brewers have been slashing the ABV on their beers even before August 2023, in a bid to cut costs.
Here are all the beers that have been slashed in alcoholic strength, leaving punters fuming. Heineken is set to cut the strength of SOL-branded beers from 4.2% to 3.4% from February 25. A spokesperson previously said it was trying to make cost savings across the business and reduce the impact of inflation on punters.
