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30-09-2011, 08:03
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From 1 October, beersover 7.5% ABV have to pay High Strength Beer Duty (http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2011/tiin6875.pdf) (HSBD) (http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/news/news-120911.htm) on top of the generalbeer duty. This goes for beers made in the UK and also those imported into theUK. It’ll be an additional 25% onto what the brewery already pays in duty.


Aimed to attacksuper-strength lagers and quell binging on park benches, the reality is thatHSBD won’t affect its audience, but instead will hit the experimental brewers,the imported bottles we see in beer shops and more importantly, those of us wholike to drink them.


Is Fuller’s GoldenPride the same as Tennants Super? Is BrewDog Paradox like Special Brew? Whatabout Thornbridge Bracia or Robinson’s Old Tom? The elephant in the room isthat these quality strong beers are lumped with the super-strength beers. Whycan’t someone just be ballsy enough to say ‘these are the beers which are aproblem and those ones are different’?


Anyone who relied onSpecial Brew to get bang for their buck will just step over to cheap cider orwine, whereas brewers who want to be innovative or experimental, or who alreadyhave stronger beers in their core range, now have a bigger price to pay just tobe able to do so. And that price will have to hit us drinkers in the pocket. Whoknows what’ll happen to the import duty paid on these bottles but I hope itdoesn’t mean that some beers will no longer be available here.


The reality for theconsumer is that the prices of these beers will rise around 25p for eachbottle, can or pint.


At the same time asHSDB comes in, beers between 1.2% ABV and 2.8% ABV will have a 50% reduction inthe duty rate, again this is for those made in the UK and imported.


As for this lower dutyrate... If a brewery can make a great tasting 2.8% beer that’s got lots of bodyand flavour then I’m sure I’ll drink a pint or two, but not much more thanthat. I love the idea of low-ABV beers but in reality I wouldn’t drink themoften. But at least this is a step in the right direction. If it’s supported bybreweries then perhaps soon it could be raised to a more appealing 3.4%, but ifno breweries make these low ABV beers then it won’t happen.


Also coming in on 1October is the two-third glass, which will then be a legal measure. I like thisintroduction a lot and I hope pubs get on board with it. The two-third glasswill be perfect for drinking beers over 7.5%, if you are wealthy enough to beable to afford to buy one...


Does anyone know anybreweries making low ABV beers to get the low duty rate? Any pubs bringing intwo-third glasses?


And what will be theconsequences of HSBD on some of the stronger beers we see in the UK?
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