Popular UK brewery slashes beer percentage to 'create more value'
A popular UK brewery has reduced the alcohol content across a range of its beers in a move to meet the growing demand for lower-strength drinks while also cutting down on tax costs.
Award-winning brewer Adnams, based in Southwold, Suffolk, confirmed last year that it would be lowering the ABV (alcohol by volume) of several products across its range.
That includes its IPA and bitter, which now sit at 3.4% percent ABV, just under the 3.5 percent threshold that triggers a higher rate of alcohol duty. Drinks below 3.5 percent ABV are taxed at £9 per litre, compared to £22 per litre for those above the cut-off.
Advert
Earlier this year, UK alcohol levies went up by 3.66 percent as part of the Labour government’s Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation.
Commenting on the tax hike at the time, Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, had predicted it would ‘increase the likelihood of further price rises, which no brewer or publican would want to inflict on their customers’.
Explaining the decision to lower the alcohol content in their products, Adnams said the changes reflect shifting drinking habits and would offer the brewery an 'opportunity to create more value to invest back into the growth of our brands.'
Despite lowering the alcohol content, the brewery insisted drinkers are unlikely to notice any difference in taste.
The drinks affected by the alcohol cuts include Ghost Ship Pale Ale, Southwold Bitter, Wild Wave English Cider and Broadside.
In a statement seen by City AM, Adnams said: "We are confident that the flavour of our beers will remain uncompromised, thanks to the expertise of our brewing team."
The changes come during a challenging period for the business. Adnams reported a six percent drop in turnover to £63.7 million in 2025.
Despite the drop in sales, Adnams reduced its pre-tax losses to £700,000 by selling off some of its pubs and cutting debt costs.
Adnams had said that although the decision to sell off some of its pubs was 'difficult', it was 'absolutely necessary to enable the company to survive.'
Just this weekend, the brewery sadly closed down five of its stores across the UK. The affected sites were in Hadleigh, Norwich, Frinton-on-Sea, Saffron Walden, and Stamford.
Director of Hospitality and Retail for the company, Nick Attfield told the East Anglian Daily Times that the decision to close the five retail stores came 'in light of a period of sustained cost pressures, wider operational changes, and changes in customer shopping habits, which have affected the long-term viability of these locations.'
Adnams' decision to lower the alcohol content across its products also falls in line with drinking trends among younger generations, from 'mid-strength drinking' to staying completely sober.
Back in March, the health survey for England foudn that almost a third of Gen Z women (31 percent) who were born between 1997 and 2012, and 39 percent of young men had gone alcohol free. The survey also found that, in total, 35 percent of people aged between 16 to 24 hadn’t had any alcohol in the last 12 months.
Between changes in drinking trends and higher levies to be paid, drinks manufacturers are being forced to cut costs or make big changes.
Ali Condon