Last call for last call
It’s 10:45 PM, smoke is in the air, a bell is clanging in the background and your pal is coming back from the bar balancing pints of beer. Where are you? Most likely an English pub.
The national rite of pub closings at 11 PM is about to come to an end. New legislation that goes into effect this week means that pubs in England and Wales can now apply to stay open 24 hours (though there will be some limit on the number of such licenses). “Binge drinking” and related violence in the UK is the worst in Europe and this supply-side solution is an effort to target these problems. Scotland has already relaxed drinking hours laws and there has been no uptick in either of the problems reports today’s Financial Times.
If longer hours leads to increased alcohol sales (and pub profits as critics of the plan suggest), wine could benefit though it’s unlikely to really see a lot of sales afater 11 PM. According to the FT story, beer consumption has been softening in Britain while wine and spirits have been rising. UK citizens consumed a 106.7 liters of beer in 1995 but last year’s figure was 98.7 liters. Maybe one day that friend will be coming back from the bar with a few glasses of Aussie Chardonnay? Or Gruner Veltliner?!?
