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    Sunday 3 February 2008

    Fancy A Pint Of Cider For 26p?


    Well you are too late and will now have to pay the astronomical 34p a pint. Supermarket chain Sainsburys have been forced to withdraw their cheapest cider brand from the offer of buy three bottles and get a fourth one free. The cider has the most basic of packaging and presumably the most basic of flavours, but it will still get you drunk.

    To me 34p a pint is far too cheap anyway, but is not as bad as the 44 pence for a litre of lager I reported on in November.

    Selling alcohol this cheaply does promote drunkenness, or at least bring it closer to people's level of affordability, but more importantly it is another nail in the coffin of the pub trade which is losing establishments at a fast rate of knots.

    It's worrying that Sainsbury's feel the need to do this at a time when they are announcing their own beer awards. Clearly they have a schizophrenic outlook on alcohol sales.

    7 comments:

    Stonch said...

    more importantly it is another nail in the coffin of the pub trade which is losing establishments at a fast rate of knots.

    Who wants to drink in a pub that relies on those who would drink this kind of hooch for custom?

    The statistics about pubs closing may look pretty scary, but in reality quality establishments can and do continue to prosper.

    Anonymous said...

    Clearly they have a schizophrenic outlook on alcohol sales.
    Don't forget they are only in it for the money. If those bottles of cider flew off the shelf, then they'd still be there. Likely as not they discontinued them not because of some better judgement, but because the profit margin on them was so staggeringly thin.

    Anonymous said...

    Selling alcohol this cheap is encouraging over indulgence by certain sections of society which really is quite immoral on the part of retailers. I share Stonch's scepticism on the effect it might or might not be having on pubs.

    Mark Edwards said...

    Admittedly the person who is likely to buy this cider with any regularity is not likely to be a regular to any decent pub, but the more alcohol which is sold at ridiculously low prices, is a temptation to people not to go out but instead to stay at home and drink this crap

    Boak said...

    As long as they don't stop doing basics vodka. That stuff is invaluable for sanitising during homebrewing.

    Anonymous said...

    "As long as they don't stop doing basics vodka. That stuff is invaluable for sanitising during homebrewing."

    boak, you or the equipment ?

    Unknown said...

    It's argued that it's borderline immoral to sell alcohol cheaper than milk per pint. My problem is that, if I go for the cheaper option, my morning tea tastes funny and mu scrambled eggs never congeal.

    Cheap food/drink is pure loss leader. Cheap cider gets you pissed, cheap chickens keep you fed. People buy it, ergo, the market provides it.

    I wouldn't even cook pork in the stuff; some bod at Sainsburys HQ has probably just worked out that the bottle costs more than the contents at 4 for 3. Melted plastic tastes better, too.