In defence of Special Brew

The Prime Minister today introduces plans for minimum pricing on alcohol. In this week’s Spectator, Leo McKinstry mounts a defence of Special Brew, the tipple of Kingsley Amis and Churchill.

I have a confession to make: I am writing this article under the influence. As I tap away at my laptop, a can of lovely Carlsberg Special Brew sits on the table beside me, acting on my brain as oil acts on a car engine: lubricating the moving parts. Ever since I found that it could help to speed up my word output, strong Danish beer has been essential to my writing career, so it’s a great shock to discover that the government has Special Brew in its sights.

Carlsberg Special is perhaps the most notorious of the super-strength lagers on sale in Britain today. It has a glorious alcohol by volume measurement of 9 per cent, and its intensity far exceeds the average lagers on the market, which rarely go above 5 per cent.