Greene King, a major UK brewer and pub chain, has cut the ABV, or alcohol content, of its popular Old Speckled Hen pale ale to 4.8% from 5%, a spokesperson for Greene King told CNN. In March, the country’s oldest brewer, Shepherd Neame, slashed the ABV of its bottled Spitfire and Bishops Finger ales to 4.2% and 5.2% respectively, from 4.5% and 5.4%, a spokesperson said.
” The spokesperson also said the brewer had seen “significant increases” in the cost of its raw materials, such as energy and glass, and had, as a result, increased the prices on all of its beers. In January, Dutch brewer Heineken lowered the ABV content of Foster’s larger — which it sells in the UK — to 3.7% from 4%.