Greene King looks to be the latest brewer set to take advantage of new duty savings on lower-strength beers.
The Suffolk-based brewer has applied to register the term ‘Prior Life IPA’ with the Intellectual Property Office in the UK.
An image linked to the application appeared to show the beer’s pump-clip displaying an alcoholic strength of 3.4% abv. It described the beer as an “all day IPA”.
New duty rules that came into effect in August include a lower duty band for beers up to and including 3.4% abv.
Beers in this bracket are taxed at £9.27 per litre of alcohol in the product, as opposed to £21.01 per litre of alcohol for beers of between 3.5% and 8.4% abv.
Since the change was announced earlier this year, brewers have flocked to release lower-alcohol beers.
In July, Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Co announced it would drop the strength of its flagship Carlsberg brew to 3.4%, exclusively for the UK market. Meanwhile, Damm also revealed a new 3.4% abv version of its Rosa Blanca lager the same month.
Smaller brewers have also been getting in on the act. Moor Beer in Bristol has dropped the abv of two of its flagship beers, while others to have launched new 3.4% brews this year include Five Points Brewing, Wild Card and Elusive Brewing.
Approached by The Grocer, Greene King MD Matt Starbuck said only that the brewer was “constantly looking” to add to its “new premium craft portfolio”.
The latest iteration of its craft beer range debuted in March last year, before rolling into retail a year later.
It includes Flint Eye and Level Head, a 4% session IPA and a 4.5% dry-hopped lager.
Both are sold in Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons, according to Assosia data.
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