The hospitality trade has called on the Chancellor to hold off on alcohol taxation after tax increases of 20 per cent over two years and a decline in beer sales. The Times has predicted that VAT could also rise to 20% either in 2010 or 2011. It is also conceivable, but not likely, the Chancellor will suspend an eight per cent increase in duty introduced last year - The Times
A Japanese brewery has created a beer using barley grown from seeds which spent five months on board the International Space Station. At £68 for just six bottles the limited edition brew tastes no different from standard beer, but proves that growing edible plants in space is possible - BBC
According to scientists in the U.S., coffee not only fails to sober you up, but makes it harder for people to realise they are drunk. The use of caffeinated energy drinks can even lead to impaired judgment. The study, by scientists at Temple University in Philadelphia, found that while caffeine makes us more alert, it only conceals the effects of the night before - Daily Mail
The brewer of London Pride is defensive over suggestions that the beer has been usurped by Greene King's Abbot Ale as the number one premium ale in the capital. Fuller says statistics from AC Nielsen show that as of last September, London Pride was being drunk at the rate of 81,000 barrels a year in London. Abbot Ale, who at that point was selling just 16,000 a year, claim that London pride isn't a premium ale - Evening Standard
An illegal alcohol bottling and fuel laundering plant has been raided near Meigh in south Armagh. HM Revenue and Customs officers with support from the police took part in the searches on Tuesday. Diesel fuel-laundering equipment along with a contraband bottling operation were found. Three men have been arrested in connection with the raid - BBC