Low alcohol beer sales at a record

SALES of low and no-alcohol beers have soared to a record high.

Britons downed 18.2million litres of the drinks in the 12 months to mid-July – 17 per cent more than the year before – while the amount spent on them jumped by 20 per cent to £34.7million.

While this represents just 0.9 per cent of the overall beer market for shops and supermarkets, it seems the tide is turning. Super strength lagers, above 7.5 per cent alcohol, saw sales sink by 11 per cent, or £8.9million, to £68million.

It comes in the wake of health campaigns encouraging people to drink less, with recent figures showing one in five adults now claim to be teetotal. There are also now far more varieties of low and no-alcohol beers.

Richard Harrison, of analysts Nielsen which compiled the figures for trade journal The Grocer, said: ‘It’s a positive step for the brewing industry and the Government who have sought to discourage the sale of high-strength lagers.’