08 October 2008

Cheaper than Water

There's always someone in the world in a snit about alcohol. Currently it's British MPs Nigel Evans (Conservative) and John Grogan (Labour) complaining that Skol beer is being sold for less than Evian water as Asda supermarkets. I'm not entirely opposed to the idea of regulating alcohol promotions (such as free drinks specials in bars), given that alcohol can cause social problems. However, I'm not sure of I buy this basic syllogism:

Water is really cheap
This beer is cheaper than water,
Therefore, this beer must be really, really cheap

And maybe it is, but Evian is stupidly over-priced, so why compare to it? Also, given that Britain has what I assume are pretty stiff taxes on beer, how cheaply made is Skol? Still, I'd rather buy cheap beer than expensive water.

Mr. Evans isn't a teetotaler, though:

We are living in a time when 36 pubs are closing each week because they simply cannot compete with the prices charged in the large supermarkets.
Well, that's a different argument entirely.

1 comment:

Beer Blokes said...

Buttle,
I made this same point recently when some bozo over here dared to make a price comparison between beer and water and sided with the water!!

How about some parliamentary or congressional investigation into why anyone can charge what they do for something that falls from the skies for free!??

In a post lamenting the decline of the British pub due, in part, to supermarkets selling beer cheaper, I also found that the smoking ban in pubs is being cited as contributing to the demise.

Cheers PP