Fans of full-bodied red wines and boutique gins will have to shell out more from next week as post-Brexit alcohol duty rules come into force in the UK, while those who prefer beer risk ending up paying the same for a weaker lager in a sign of “drinkflation”.
First set out by Rishi Sunak in 2021, the new system aims to encourage consumers to cut back by taxing a drink according to its alcohol content rather than putting it in one of four categories: wine and made-wine, beer, spirits, and ciders.
At the time, the then-chancellor billed the overhaul as “the most radical simplification of alcohol duties for over 140 years”, enabled by Britain’s exit from the EU. In March, the government also announced a higher draught relief on beer bought in pubs as part of a “Brexit pubs guarantee”.
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