John Smith’s Extra Smooth to become weaker

The alcohol content of John Smith’s Extra Smooth beer is to be reduced next month, but the cost of a pint of the bitter will still rise.

The beer will go from a 3.8% ABV to 3.6%, which brings it in line with competitors like Worthington’s, Tetley’s and Boddingtons. But Dutch brewer Heineken, which owns the brand, also announced that the price of a pint will increase by 2.5p, because of rising costs.

The move to reduce the alcohol content of the beer will reduce the amount of duty paid to the Chancellor, which Heineken said will be largely passed on to consumers.

In a statement a spokesman for the brewer said: “We can confirm that we are in the process of advising customers about the decision to lower the ABV content of John Smith’s Extra Smooth from 3.8% to 3.6% on all draught and canned product delivered from February 2013.

“The move to 3.6% ABV is designed to bring John Smith’s Extra Smooth in line with competitor smooth ales that already sit at or below this alcoholic strength.

“Extensive research conducted with John Smith’s retailers and consumers consistently confirmed that a 0.2% reduction in ABV does not compromise on the taste and quality that has made the brand the UK’s most popular ale and we are confident that John Smith’s Extra Smooth will continue to lead the ale category going forward.”

The statement added: “We will pass on a proportion of the duty savings to our trade customers while re-investing some cost savings in the brewing and marketing of our leading ale brand.”

John Smith’s brewery is located in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, and some estimates claim that the move to a 3.6% ABV beer will save the brewery up to £6.5 million a year in duty.