“Now a drop of good beer is good for a man
Who’s thirsty and tired and hot,
And I sometimes has a drop for myself
From a very special lot;
But a fat and healthy working class
Is the thing that I most fear,
So I reaches my hand for the water tap,
And I waters the workers’ beer.“
Molson Coors – not my favourite of the big boys though there isn’t much to like about any of them – have announced that Carling lager will reduce to 3.4% for their packaged versions . Packaged essentially means in bottle and nowadays, much more commonly, the can. It is for UK only and the lucky Carling drinkers in Ireland and elsewhere won’t be subjected to this. It will not apply to the version sold in the pubs and is being done to keep Carling competitive with its rivals such as Carling Pilsner and Fosters in the supermarkets.
The figures are quite startling. To reduce the alcohol by volume to under the threshold of lower duty, set at 3.5% will save the brewer – the brewer pays the duty – 20.35 pence per 440 ml can. Multiply this by the millions of cans produced and you can see the logic. Will this saving be passed on to the dedicated Carling at home drinker? Well,if history is anything to go by,no.
Now you’ll likely be saying “So what?” I drink cask ale in the pub and at home I am discerning enough to buy something stronger and better. No doubt, but if like me you are a believer in the slippery slope/ thin end of the wedge the you will see that this considerable saving is not just attractive to Carling producers but to others. Already we see a rash of 3.4% cask beers in free houses and is that difference passed in to customers? I would suggest not. Are most of them thin and watery? Yes.
To add another cliche while I’m in the mood for them, there is the law of unintended consequences. Beerwise, it is most famously manifested in the aftermath of the Beer Orders. on a smaller and more insidious scale it is happening to our beers. The strength of big brands brewed here is almost always weaker than the same beer brewed abroad and I doubt if you will find many preferring, say, UK brewed Stella to the Belgian version. And so on.
So watch out. Your pint is already being attacked and affected in so many ways, but you might want to add abv reductions to your risk register.
In case you are wondering, the reduction in duty gives a saving of 25.13p a pint. Not to be sniffed at for some.
I just spotted this from my local brewery JW Lees: hhttp//x.com/Will_LJ/status/2082758472886542524?s=20t tps://x.com/Will_LJ/status/2082758472886542524?s=20
https://x.com/Will_LJ/status/2082758472542524?s=20
After months of wrangling we decided to retain Original at 4% and Manchester Craft Lager at 5% and guess what? They both managed to grow their volume over the last 12 months – 3.4% is not necessarily the answer – zig when the big boys zag!
— William Lees-Jones (@Will_LJ) July 30, 2026
