24 X LEFFE BLONDE ZERO 0% ALCOHOL FREE BEER 250ML BOTTLES - £14.99 (Min order value of £20 must be made) @ Discount Dragon

Apparently the excuse is that if they start by brewing normal beer they then have to go to the extra time and expense of taking out the alcohol and making it fizzy again. If they start out by brewing with a low alcohol producing yeast, then they have to replace the taste of the missing alcohol with expensive botanicals (saffron, natural vanilla etc). There are also economies of scale to consider. Smaller non-alcoholic batches means more expense.

However the big factor is how much of the price of a pint is duty. 0.5% ABV and below is considered to be alcohol free and so duty free. Anything above this is taxed. I was actually surprised at just how little this amount was though. The duty is just 19.08p per one percent of alcohol (ABV). So, on a typical 5% ABV pint of beer you pay:

19.08p x 5 = 95.4p per litre, or just over 54p a pint.

That 54p difference between duty paid and duty free quickly erodes due to the extra production costs, more expensive ingredients, and advertising budget. (edited)

when you are on chemotherapy you take what you can get

Stop making my brain hurt!

Feel like I'd enjoy that local shop!

"Damning with fake praise"

It doesn’t translate. That’s why they are struggling to shift this stuff, it’s not comparable in any way