Low Alcohol Lager

Paul McInnes writes an interesting article on the rise of low-alcohol lager in the UK, teasing out the affects on incentives:

And so the suspicion arises that these new drinks might not always be chosen as an alternative to something stronger. They might be drunk when, previously, you would have drunk nothing at all: perhaps at lunch, or on an evening before a busy day, or when you're driving, or at breakfast ... if you've run out of milk.

In America, of course, various shades of "lite" beer dominate the market. Don't underestimate the cultural effects though - I find it hard to make any prediction about an industry that can rebrand this into this.