Beer lovers have hit out at a brewery for cutting the strength of one of their favourite tipples.
Bedford-based Wells and Young’s has come under fire for reducing the alcohol by volume level (ABV) in its flagship Bombardier drink from 4.3 per cent to 4.1 per cent.
Roger Protz, editor of The Good Beer Guide, said a lot of people were ‘upset and disappointed’ with the decision and felt they were being ‘fleeced’ by the decision that he believes has been driven by the rise in excise duty.
He said: “I am not happy about it as a beer writer and lover. It’s a very successful beer and has a big following and reducing the alcohol content will obviously diminish the quality of a beer.
“As a consumer the main reason for dropping it is to save on excise duty which is going up and up and brewers are under the cosh at the moment in this difficult time.” Mr Protz emphasises however that other brewers are also reducing the alcohol content in their beers – for example Cardiff brewer SA Brain is cutting the strength of its Gold beer from 4.7 to 4.3.
He added: “The thing is the beer isn’t any cheaper and it’s the poor old consumer that it affects.” Some 500,000 barrels of Bombardier are brewed every year and in May a new £4 million marketing campaign was launched for the brand, fronted by Rik Mayall as William Charles Bedford.
In June we revealed that the brewery had won a number of international awards for quality across their range of beers including Bombardier, which took home a gold medal for the tenth year in a row.
Chris Lewis, marketing director for Wells and Young’s, said: “In response to consumer trends indicating a move towards lower ABV beers, we took the decision to reduce the alcohol content of our Bombardier brand.
“Our other premium ale, Courage Directors, remains at 4.8 per cent.
“This slight reduction has no impact on flavour or overall enjoyment of Bombardier.”
