Brits ‘ripped off’ with alcohol-free beers costing MORE than pints – as reason they should be cheaper is revealed

BRITS are being "ripped-off" by alcohol-free beers that outgo much than mean pints, adjacent though they should beryllium cheaper.

The thirst for low-booze options is increasing year-on-year successful the UK, but manufacturers are progressively facing questions implicit the terms tag.

Many alcohol-free drinks outgo arsenic overmuch arsenic their stiffer counterparts.

If they are cheaper to produce, this means they outgo a bigger nett borderline to the consumer.

A 4x440ml lawsuit of Guinness 0.0 successful Tesco costs precisely the aforesaid arsenic a battalion of full-strength battalion astatine the clip of writing.

Similarly, a 12x330ml lawsuit of non-alcoholic Heineken sets you backmost £11.50, which is conscionable 50p than the regular booze.

A battalion of 4 330ml bottles of non-alcoholic lager Lucky Saint costs £6 successful Tesco – much costly than a akin sized battalion of galore alcoholic beers.

Some brands exclusively nutrient low-alcohol drinks and inactive complaint a premium.

Four 330ml bottles of Lucky Saint (0.5% alcohol) comes successful astatine £6 successful Tesco - much costly than galore alcoholic packs of the aforesaid size.

The improvement extends beyond the store beforehand to the beloved pub bars astir the country.

The Devonshire pub successful Soho, cardinal London, is renowned for pumping Guinness, and punters person been guzzling the alcohol escaped mentation determination too.

But it is hardly immoderate cheaper than the accepted achromatic worldly - conscionable 55p little astatine £6.35.

Oisín Rogers, the pub's owner, said helium was making the aforesaid nett borderline connected some drinks - which would suggesting Guinness 0.0 is lone 10 per cent than full-strength from the brewery.

He told The Telegraph: “We bash effort and acceptable our prices arsenic debased arsenic imaginable for our guests and we are precise blessed to person it astatine this price.”

Alcohol-free spirits are astatine it arsenic good - the fancier brands tin often beryllium priced implicit £25 connected the store shelves.

The alcohol-free versions of staple Gordon’s and Tanqueray gins volition acceptable you backmost £15 and £17 respectively for a modular 70cl bottle.

Soft alternatives debar the intoxicant tax that has been driving up the terms of a portion successful caller years.

Booze-free brewers person defended the prices slapped onto their bottles and cans.

Luke Boase, the laminitis of Lucky Saint, says it costs much to nutrient his brew than it would a full-strength lager.

He told The Telegraph: “We usage astonishing ingredients, and it’s a six-week brewing process. Then we person each of the further costs to past region the alcohol.”

Ed Gerard, main commercialized serviceman astatine Mocktails, a shaper of non-alcoholic cocktails, told the paper: “Most non-alcoholic versions person to spell done an further process, either removing the intoxicant if it was brewed arsenic alcoholic successful the archetypal place, similar a beer, oregon if they’re brewing it arsenic non-alcoholic successful the archetypal place, it takes longer.”

Gerard, of Mocktails, explained that the smaller income of non-alcoholic drinks means producers suffer retired connected the benefits of economies of scale.

He told The Telegraph: “If you’re doing tiny accumulation runs, oregon you’re doing tiny batches successful the non-alcoholic world, you’ll astir apt beryllium paying a monolithic premium connected the glass, compared to, say, Diageo,” says Gerard, of Mocktails.