Brits ‘ripped off’ with alcohol-free beers costing MORE than pints – as reason they should be cheaper is revealed
BRITS are being “ripped-off” by alcohol-free beers that cost more than normal pints, even though they should be cheaper.
The thirst for low-booze options is growing year-on-year in the UK, but manufacturers are increasingly facing questions over the price tag.
Many alcohol-free drinks cost as much as their stiffer counterparts.
Drinkers are paying for more for the same pint as the price of their favourite zero per cent drink doesn’t include the alcohol tax.
Without the tax, non-alcoholic drinks should be cheaper if they really are like-for-like beers.
A 4x440ml case of Guinness 0.0 in Tesco costs exactly the same as a pack of full-strength pack.
Similarly, a 12x330ml case of non-alcoholic Heineken sets you back £11.50, which is just 50p than the regular booze.
A pack of four 330ml bottles of non-alcoholic lager Lucky Saint costs £6 in Tesco – more expensive than a similar sized pack of many alcoholic beers.
Some brands exclusively produce low-alcohol drinks and still charge a premium.
Four 330ml bottles of Lucky Saint (0.5% alcohol) comes in at £6 in Tesco – more expensive than many alcoholic packs of the same size.
The phenomenon extends beyond the store front to the beloved pub bars around the country.
The Devonshire pub in Soho, central London, is renowned for pumping Guinness, and punters have been guzzling the alcohol free version there too.
But it is barely any cheaper than the traditional black stuff – just 55p less at £6.35.
Oisín Rogers, the pub’s owner, said he was making the same profit margin on both drinks – which would suggesting Guinness 0.0 is only 10 per cent than full-strength from the brewery.
He told The Telegraph: “We do try and set our prices as low as possible for our guests and we are very happy to have it at this price.”
Alcohol-free spirits are at it as well – the fancier brands can often be priced over £25 on the shop shelves.
The alcohol-free versions of staple Gordon’s and Tanqueray gins will set you back £15 and £17 respectively for a standard 70cl bottle.
Soft alternatives avoid the alcohol tax that has been driving up the price of a drink in recent years.
Booze-free brewers have defended the prices slapped onto their bottles and cans and say there are other costs involved.
Luke Boase, the founder of Lucky Saint, says it costs more to produce his beer than it would a full-strength lager.
He told The Telegraph: “We use amazing ingredients, and it’s a six-week brewing process. Then we have all of the additional costs to then remove the alcohol.”
Ed Gerard, chief commercial officer at Mocktails, a maker of non-alcoholic cocktails, told the paper: “Most non-alcoholic versions have to go through an additional process, either removing the alcohol if it was brewed as alcoholic in the first place, like a beer, or if they’re brewing it as non-alcoholic in the first place, it takes longer.”
Gerard, of Mocktails, explained that the smaller sales of non-alcoholic drinks means producers lose out on the benefits of economies of scale.
He told The Telegraph: “If you’re doing small production runs, or you’re doing small batches in the non-alcoholic world, you’ll probably be paying a massive premium on the glass, compared to, say, Diageo,” says Gerard, of Mocktails.