UK: United States brewer Coors unveiled on December 19 plans to launch a lower-alcohol version of the UK’s biggest selling lager, Carling, in time for Christmas. Coors, whose UK base is in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, said it will introduce a 2% ABV version of Carling on December 20, initially in pubs. Coors said the new beer, dubbed C2, is aimed at drinkers who want to limit their alcohol consumption, but prefer beer rather than soft drinks.

The group’s marketing director Mark Hunter said: “There are so many occasions where drinkers have to either opt for a soft drink which they don’t really like, or make a single pint last two or three hours. “C2 has all the taste of a proper pint of lager, but with only half the strength.”

Coors took over most of the former Bass Brewers operation from Dutch brewer Interbrew in 2002 and also makes Grolsch, Coors Fine Light Beer and Bass bitter. The brewer said C2 was the result of more than a decade of trials and in excess of 780 different recipes.

It has invested more than £2.5 million in research, trials and product development for C2 and has committed a further sum of more than £1 million behind its initial launch.

Coors said the new lager is naturally brewed and does not constitute a low-alcohol or non-alcoholic beer, which has its alcohol removed after brewing. It said C2 would tap into a part of the market not adequately served in the UK, where mid-strength beers only account for about 10,000 barrels, or less than 5%, of on-trade volumes.

This contrasts with countries such as Australia where lower alcohol beers such as Toohey’s Blue, which is 2.7% ABV, have demonstrated the potential for lower alcohol beers to establish a significant share. Coors said industry figures from market researchers AC Nielsen showed that Carling is 40% bigger in volume than its nearest rival, Fosters, and nearly twice the size of Stella Artois.

It currently commands 14% of the total UK beer market and has doubled in size since 1996, having sold 5.4 million barrels or more than 1.5 billion pints in the last year.

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