How to beat the booze price hike – a bootlegger's guide

Senior Features Writer

Tuesday 22 May 2012

THE nay-sayers talk prohibition and claim the 50p-per-unit price hike is another cross for the squeezed middle class to bear.

So what's a moderate wine-drinking, whisky-sipping Scot to do?

Make Your Own

Home brewing has something of an image problem, but tough times mean it has never been so popular. Indeed Adrian Green, director of The Home Brew Shop, says he is doing a roaring trade.

"Home brew is not what it was 20 years ago. It's not just for cheapness. There is a misconception about it. People say: 'My grandad used to drink this 20 years ago and it's disgusting, it was like straining it through granny's tights.' You still get that but I am making beers now that are better than some of the pubs. "On Saturday I made a bottled ale and it worked out at roughly 18p a pint." Certainly, the numbers are attractive. For beer-making, a £64 start-up kit makes 40 pints. The only other things needed are water and steriliser. Subsequent kits cost £15 and produce 40 pints. Wine is a £90 for a starter kit which makes 30 bottles, at £3 a bottle. Subsequent kits are £30 which equates to £1 a bottle. Green says business has been brisk during the recession. Now, with the prospect of minimum pricing, he said: "We are expecting an influx of calls from Scotland." Buy on the internet Scots customers ordering online from companies and supermarkets headquartered in England will be charged at English prices for deliveries. Supermarkets led the way with cheaper wine, and now their online wine clubs are growing in popularity. Taking delivery charges into account, large and less often is probably the best advice for buying wines and spirits. swap to lower-alcohol versions "Lambrini, anyone?" Bulk Buy Wine clubs don't make their reputations on being purveyors of cheap plonk but buying in bulk makes financial sense. End-of-bin sales and offers can see some bottles costing as little as £3.99. Cross-Border Shopping Wine merchants in Carlisle are already expecting an influx of Scots. Billy Atkinson, manager at The Local, a wine and beer merchants in the town, has no doubt that a change in the law will send Scots south for a bargain. "I remember a long time ago when the drinking laws in Scotland were different to England and we used to close at 10pm and Gretna closed at 10.30pm. It was amazing how many people travelled in the other direction to get half an hour's extra drinking in. "I do think it will have an effect on the Scottish off-trade." Stockpile Now Buy, buy, buy. You've got at least 11 months to stock up, but do it right: if using a wine rack sparkling wines should be on the lowest shelves with whites above and reds at the top to account for rising heat. Bottles should be kept on their sides, in a cupboard with decent air circulation to prevent mould. Embrace Teetotalism The only sure-fire way to ensure you will not be financially worse off is a booze ban. And you'd be joining a significant and growing minority. According to an NHS survey last year, 18% of women and 10% of men don't drink at all.

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How to beat the booze price hike – a bootlegger's guide

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