Our favourite beer is disappearing from Wetherspoon’s – but that’s only the beginning

There are going to be some unhappy punters in JD Wetherspoon pubs this weekend following the shock announcement that they will stop selling the Spanish lager San Miguel.

The chain’s outspoken chairman, Tim Martin, has often positioned his hugely successful empire of more than 800 venues as being “the pub of the people” – but it seems that it could be losing its shine. The British love of San Miguel was sealed in a YouGov poll in October that crowned it our favourite beer, so why, if it is so popular, are the lines about to run dry in your local ’Spoons?

The partnership between Mahou San Miguel (MSM) and Carlsberg’s Marston’s Brewing Company (CMBC) is dissolving at the end of this year, marking the end of a 15-year relationship that has helped drive the brand to be a strong market leader. It is widely speculated that this is a factor in JD Wetherspoon’s decision, especially as fans of the Spanish brand will now instead be offered the Italian lager, Poretti – which, as it so happens, is brewed under licence in the UK by CMBC.

As much as we like to believe that what we enjoy (and what we buy) are the key drivers for what is available in our favourite pubs, bars, restaurants and supermarkets, this isn’t the case. Are we naive in thinking it should be? Perhaps. While it seems obvious to me that JD Wetherspoon would surely try to negotiate a way to keep their biggest sellers available to drinkers, the reality is that it’s unlikely the group’s buyers care that much, instead assuming that, if customers enjoy one “continental” lager, it’s likely they’ll enjoy them all.

But I think we’re more discerning in our tastes and what we enjoy should count more strongly. This can be no better exemplified by the recent outrage around the “watering down” of some of the biggest-selling wine brands in the UK. Lovers of Blossom Hill and Hardys have noticed that the brands’ strength is lower and the resulting impact on taste is causing great upset.

Changes to our taxation system under the previous government, and disappointingly upheld by our current one, means that wines are taxed on 0.1 per cent changes in alcohol by volume (ABV), with higher ABV products garnering higher tax. The large-scale impact of this will be felt when it comes into full effect in February next year, with 30 different taxation bands on wines between 11.5 and 14.5 per cent. For example, a wine with an 11 per cent ABV will have £2.43 of duty imposed versus £3.21 for a wine with a 14.5 per cent ABV: a difference of 78p.

There have been large-scale manipulations to alcohol levels across Blossom Hill’s portfolio, including reducing the Blossom Hill red from 12.5 to 10.5 per cent ABV and even changing where it is made – it’s now Spanish and not Californian, as the brand heavily suggests. Hardys has also made some pretty hard-hitting changes – its Stamp Shiraz Cabernet was reduced from 13.5 to 11 per cent in 2023. These are massive alterations which have only occurred as a result of tax and not taste, as Australian cabernet sauvignon and shiraz is famed and loved for its fuller-bodied, richer style.

All of this makes me so angry. These changes assume that people just drink “wine” or “beer” without any consideration or care as to what it actually tastes like – infuriating. It should not matter if you’re spending £5 or £500 on a bottle of wine. The most important thing is that you enjoy what you’re drinking – and that you’re respected as a consumer and not merely a factor influencing the bottom line on a company’s P&L.

Unfortunately, I feel bleak about what’s going to happen to pricing and availability. I also wonder how long a pint of Poretti will stay at the £4 mark. In the wake of the recent budget, Tim Martin warned that price rises are likely at JD Wetherspoon pubs.

He said: “Cost inflation, which had jumped to elevated levels in 2022, slowly abated in the following two years, but has now jumped substantially again following the Budget – all hospitality businesses, we believe, plan to increase prices, as a result.” Stark words indeed and ones that the government should listen to.

And as for taste? Well, I still believe that it matters the most, and what we enjoy, and brings pleasure is paramount. In these tougher times, I truly believe a little of what you fancy, definitely does you good.

Rosamund Hall (DipWSET) is a writer, presenter and columnist specialising in wine and spirits as well as lifestyle, travel and parenting