The Barman
I RECENTLY spotted a story in the Lynn News of someone receiving a driving ban for having almost twice the legal limit of alcohol when breathalysed.
His defence was that he had switched from his usual drink and his new choice was stronger.
A good tip to avoid this problem is to check out the strength before downing any unfamiliar drink.
A close inspection of the label or pump clip should reveal how much alcohol by volume (ABV, not to be confused with the Chelsea manager, AVB) is contained in the product.
This applies to any alcoholic drink with an ABV of over 1.2 per cent. A standard session bitter, such as Greene King IPA, is around 3.6, whilst a strong bitter such as Abbot goes up to 5.
There are some stronger beers on the market, such as Theakston’s Old Peculiar at 5.6, Marston’s Owd Roger at 7.6 and the Green Jack Brewery Baltic Trader at 10.5.
Beyond this, things start to get a bit silly. The yeast in the fermentation process is killed by the alcohol, so different techniques have to be used, which I feel are similar to distillation, so the product is not really beer as we know it.
However, there has been a kind of competition to produce the world’s strongest beer. The current record is “Sink the Bismarck” produced by self-styled punk brewers Brewdog at a staggering 41 per cent. It was in stock at Beers of Europe last time I went down there, but at around £40 for a 330ml bottle, I guess its appeal is limited.
In reality, the strength of beer has been going down over time. In 1900, IPA would have been around 7, almost double the current Greene King offering. This decline has been driven by the taxation policy of successive governments.
Lloyd George was perhaps the biggest meddler, increasing beer tax by about 600 per cent, as well as introducing afternoon closing and nationalising the brewery in Carlisle under his emergency measures in 1917.
This trend has continued under recent governments. Since March 2011 there has been a higher tax on beer stronger than 7.5, whilst beer with 2.8 alcohol or under has had less tax levied. This has led some breweries to experiment with weaker beers and early indications have been that some of them are pretty good.
Some people suggest that there is a policy of prohibition by price being followed by the government, and the next move will be a minimum price for alcohol. If so, they may need to find a replacement for some of the £5.7 billion (plus VAT) raised in revenue by tax on beer, wine and spirits.
We are constantly being urged to drink responsibly, and knowing the strength of your drink is a valuable aid if the knowledge is used in the correct way. Don’t see it as a challenge, but rather as a way to avoid the unlucky fate of our former motorist who didn’t realise that his new drink must have been about twice the strength of his old choice.
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Weather for King's Lynn
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 26 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North
