After shrinkflation comes drinkflation

We have all encountered the practice of shrinkflation, where producers reduce the size or weight of their product to avoid having to increase its price. Probably the most famous was the short-lived attempt by Toblerone to increase the distance between its distinctive triangles. Then there was the move by Waitrose to slim down its toilet paper rolls to ones that weighed 40% less.

I joked that shrinkflation was happening to wine bottles because I used to get 6 glasses from a bottle, then it went down to 4, and then to only 3 glasses per bottle. Drinkflation is no longer a joke, however, because government’s alcohol duty means that brewers and vintners are reducing the strength of some of their drinks to fall into a lower tax bracket and avoid price increases.

A major UK brewer, Heineken, announced in February that it is to reduce the alcoholic strength of its beer because of new Government rules. The change in Sol beer brewed by Heineken will mean less duty is paid on the brand, as UK tax rules have changed. 

The beer’s strength will be reduced from 4.2% to 3.4%. Production of the lower-strength beer has begun, and it will then be shipped from its factory in the Netherlands to pubs and shops in the UK.

The change will mean the beer can be sold at a lower price, as recent rules mean you pay less duty on beer that has an ABV under 3.4%. Heineken is the latest brewer to make the move.

Wines face a similar problem. Until January 31st this year, wines between 11.5% and 14.5% ABV were taxed as if their strength was 12.5%. This "temporary easement" was withdrawn on February 1, 2025. Now tax is charged according to strength, creating multiple tax bands. To avoid the higher tax rates associated with stronger wines, some producers are lowering the ABV of their wines.

I fell victim last week. I ordered a bottle of Trebbiano at a regular restaurant to find that it tasted watery and lacked body. I thought I had been given the wrong wine in error, but the label revealed it was now 10% ABV instead of the 11% or 11.5% that it had been formerly. I felt cheated, not by the vineyard or the restaurant, but by the government. I bet the Bureaucrats to Stamp Out Fun at the Department of Health are rubbing their hands and dancing with glee.

Dr Madsen Pirie