But a fat and healthy working class is the thing that I most fear,

Charlies Munger used to say that if you showed him the incentive then he’d show you the result.

The move could have something to do with the changes to alcohol duty in 2023, under which packaged beer between 3.5% and 8.4% ABV attracts a levy of £22.58 per litre of pure alcohol.

For a 4.0% beer it’s about 41p a pint. Whereas a 3.4% beer is subject to a duty of just £9.96 per litre of pure alcohol, or about 19p a pint.

The result?

Sneaky. Are any other beer brands considering doing something similar? Lots already have: Foster’s has gone from 4.0% to 3.4% ABV over the last three years; Sol went from 4.2% to 3.4% in 2025. Carlsberg, Grolsch, John Smith’s, Coors and Amstel have also reduced their alcohol levels.

It’s the Lanyards, the very fat bureaucrats, who water the workers’ beer.

Aren’t we the lucky ones?

Tim Worstall