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    Budweiser lowering liquor levels to save on taxes in UK

    ABInBev is lowering the alcohol content of its beer brandsThe company that makes Budweiser, Beck's and Stella Artois brands of beer is lowering its alcohol content in order to save millions in taxes.

    AB InBev is lowering the alcohol content levels from 5 percent down to 4.8 percent. In a report by The Grocer, they say the reduction will only affect sales in the UK.  Ab InBev says they are making the change to save millions on production costs, which will allow them to avoid a 7.8 percent price increase that is being imposed by some other beer makers.

    "Our decision to bring Stella Artois, Budweiser and Beck's to the UK market at 4.8 percent abv during 2012 is in line with evolving UK category trends," an AB InBev spokeswoman told The Grocer.

    More from the Grocer:

    Industry insiders said some retailers had rejected demands for price increases and producers were cutting abv to offset costs, retain price points and shore up profitability.

    "Some of the major mults have denied price increases for three years, and the brewers' answer is to shift into smaller bottles and move from 5% to 4.8%," said one industry source.

    It has been estimated that cutting Stella Artois' abv by 0.2% would save AB InBev about £8.6m a year in duty, based on its off-trade sales alone [Nielsen 1 October 2011].

    However, it would need to persuade big customers there was something in it for them too, said Tim Wilson, MD of market analysts Wilson Drinks Report, with money being invested back into the brand.

    The change in alcohol content comes after AB InBev raised prices last year. It was announced today that the company's president, Dave Peacock, would be resigning.

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    • A Yahoo User  •  4 mths ago
      Schlitz used to be the number 1 beer in America , they thought it was okay to change the formula to save money back in the 70's .
      It sure turned out great for them.. O-O
      • gbbdvm 4 mths ago
        and remember the 'new' Coke?
      • Freedom isn't free. 4 mths ago
        Yes your right Schlitz was popular I remember sneaking a bottle as a kid from my uncle wooden bottle case back in the late 60's lol
      • Juliet 4 mths ago
        I buy the original Schlitz recipe at my grocer all the time. Only comes in bottles though and not cheap! 10$ for 12 bottles.
    • Matthew  •  4 mths ago
      This article does nothing to explain what tax is involved here. Why does a higher-alcohol-content beer get taxed higher in the UK? No explanation. Bad journalism.
      • A Yahoo! User 4 mths ago
        it does in most of our states too
      • TheLastMeheecan 4 mths ago
        probably to get beer companies to put less alchol in their beer so people wont get so drunk. Big Brother at it again -__-
      • Lane 4 mths ago
        Seems to be the author. He has another article up about bees being used for security that leaves out a lot information as well.
    • fortknoxbar  •  Richardson, Texas  •  4 mths ago
      that was an American company that was bought by European banking money after sending us into distress, take note another what these vermin are capable of doing to us
      • Steve 4 mths ago
        Hey that is just market economics in action. I thought a Texan would be a Free Market guy. We have to step it up on a lot of levels to compete in world markets. Beer, cars, manufacturing, health care. A lot of the new breweries are producing fantastic, creative products.
      • escapees_tease 4 mths ago
        Bud is (originally) a Slovakian beer
      • Scott 4 mths ago
        not quite true, InBev made a bid for AB that was simply to good to pass up at a time AB was doing quite well.
    • A Yahoo! User  •  4 mths ago
      Just brew it at home to hell with taxes..
      • Roofus Jones 4 mths ago
        My homebrew is way better. Making my own wine now too.
      • Karl 4 mths ago
        Agrees with Roofus.
      • J 4 mths ago
        Just got done brewing a 9.5% Belgian Trippel... now THATS a real beer!
    • TarantulaPete  •  Reno, Nevada  •  4 mths ago
      How could Bud lower the alcohol any less?!?!
      • MichaelA 4 mths ago
        They put some flavor into their beer.
      • Dude 4 mths ago
        It's only a .2% drop, not like anyone who drinks the swill is going to notice. It still will have more alcohol content than any Guinness beer.
      • Chowyunpat 4 mths ago
        Dude, you're wrong, a lot of ABV products have 5% that would lover in to 3%, the ABV of Guiness is 4.4 % and 4.3% in the US. The AB products would almost be near beer products and besides Guinness beers taste much better than a lot of AB products IMHO.
    • Studmonkey  •  4 mths ago
      Little Busch sold his granddaddy's business, it's not an american beer anymore. Switch to a local beer and show your support.....just saying!
    • gary  •  Fort Myers, Florida  •  4 mths ago
      Recently, I began brewing my own beer. It is better and cheaper to make than anything InBev makes. Drink beer while you make beer. It completed my being!
    • RG  •  Rockford, Illinois  •  4 mths ago
      Can anyone see where this is going?
    • Frank  •  4 mths ago
      This must be a Yahoo writer doing this article. Its lacking a lot of key details that would help it make sense.
    • Mickey  •  4 mths ago
      Anheiser-Busch turned Budweiser into crap beer long before they were bought by InBev. It's so full of adjuncts like corn and rice (because they're cheap) that it hasn't had any taste for years. It's just a cheap buzz for people who haven't discovered yet that real beer has flavor.
    • Jesse  •  Tustin, California  •  4 mths ago
      Guess the beet sugar they dump in to up the alcohol got too expensive. Can't make the product any worse then it already is.
    • Gary  •  Las Vegas, Nevada  •  4 mths ago
      If you go to Europe and drink an American beer, it is grounds for immediate deportation proceedings.....
    • russell  •  Macomb, Michigan  •  4 mths ago
      Hey kids,
      This is ANOTHER example on how business schools need to have a class called COMMON SENSE 101. Budweiser is actually hoping that drinker will buy more beer in order to make up for the lower alcohol content. What will happen is said drinkers will SWITCH TO ANOTHER BRAND.
    • texas aggie  •  Austin, Texas  •  4 mths ago
      People who drink light "beer" don't like the taste of beer;
      they just like to pee a lot.
    • molucka  •  4 mths ago
      The king of headaches
    • Sante d  •  4 mths ago
      Budwiser has alcohol in it ???
    • Hutch  •  4 mths ago
      Hope they're not surprised when their percentage in sales decreeases, too
    • Seeksmore  •  4 mths ago
      Great! From beer that tastes like water. To beer that actually IS water.
    • PeterD  •  Albany, Georgia  •  4 mths ago
      This is what happens when governments tax products to force us into behaving in the ways they deem proper. We are just too stupid to know what's good for us, so the enlightened class must prevent us from hurting ourselves with 5% beer.
    • Ted  •  4 mths ago
      Budweiser even stole their name from a Czech beer that has been around for 300 years. Legally, it can't be sold as Budweiser in Europe.
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