Moderation before Consumption?
At the end of last week, a press release plopped into my inbox from the team at Harvey’s Brewery in East Sussex, promoting the launch of their new beer, Harvey’s R. A teaser campaign has been running for a few weeks, apparently, to peak interest in the new product, which officially launched last Friday, the […]
Deuchars – due an abv cut?
It was announced yesterday by Heineken that the abv of John Smith’s Extra Smooth will be decreasing, effective from the 4th of February – from 3.8% to 3.6%. The reports surrounding this statement mention several familiar excuses – high duty, rising costs, the recession. Heineken are quoted in the BBC article as wanting to pass […]
The Price of Craft?
What’s the most expensive beer in the pubs of Britain? The other day, for example, I saw one advertised in the city for £6.40 – the priciest pint I think I’ve yet witnessed in Edinburgh. Fair enough, it was an imported beer in an establishment that usually runs to a high retail price – but […]
A different kind of problem
Since we began following the issue of taxation and duty on British beer, one term has come sharply into focus:- “As part of the Coalition Agreement, the Government committed to reviewing alcohol taxation to tackle problem drinking without unfairly penalising responsible drinkers…” Review of Alcohol Taxation, HM Treasury 30/11/2010 pdf “By setting a minimum price […]
The end of Big BeerCast month
Support your local strong brewer…such as London’s Kernel So we reach the end of October, and our big beer month here at the BeerCast. For the last few weeks we’ve been featuring only beer over 7.5%, in protest at the Treasury raising High Strength Beer Duty (HSBD) on all beer above that abv. Since that […]
BeerCast #64 – Big BeerCast
BeerCast #64 – Big BeerCast. On the 1st of October 2011, the UK Treasury increased duty on all beer over 7.5%. Listen to this podcast to find out why that’s a terrible idea, and might have serious implications for British brewing. We also sample four of the very best strong ales this country has to offer as we go, and manage to reveal the surprising history behind Bluetooth, why coffee is the new drug of choice, and how to find a greyhound on Orkney. The panel today – Richard, Grooben and Shovels.
1. Sinclair Orkney Skullsplitter (8.5%)
2. Traquair House Jacobite Ale (8.0%)
3. Thornbridge St Petersburg (7.7%)
4. BrewDog Abstrakt AB:06 (11.2%)
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