Weak beer or expensive pints? These are the options punters are being left with as brewers look to save costs.
Luckily London-based craft beer brewer and pioneer The Kernel Brewery will not be following the trends of others.
Founder Evin O'Riordain said: "We are not planning on lowering the alcohol content in our beers."
The news comes after beer brands such as Spitfire, Bishops Finger, Old Speckled Hen, and Foster’s have all dropped their alcohol content.
Some believe these changes have been made in preparation for a new alcohol duty regime in August, which will tax drinks based on alcoholic strength.
Foster’s beer, which is owned by Heineken, now only contains 3.7% ABV, making it considerably lower than the 5% that the National Institutes of Health consider average.
Shepard Neame, the producers of Spitfire and Bishops Finger, claimed their decision to weaken their beer was to access more health-conscious customers.
The brewer said: “Consumers are increasingly choosing drinks with a lower alcohol content as part of a healthy lifestyle - we hope this will encourage more people to try our award-winning flagship beers.”
To add salt to the wound, the Kent-based group has increased the prices of all its beers.
JD Wetherspoon PLC (LSE:JDW) boss Tim Martin has hit out at the brewers calling it a “crazy move” and said he saw the price of a pint of beer heading above £8 to potentially £10.
He said in an interview with LBC: “You get a big tax break on the basis of the incredibly stupid reasoning that people will drink less alcohol if they drink weak beer.
“That’s just not the way people are.”
At the start of June, reports found the price of pints in London had reached more than £8.
In the UK, the average cost of a pint is now around £4, almost 75% higher than the £2.30 price tag seen back in 2008.