/ck/ - Food & Cooking

[Anonymous No.18739786]

why can I buy a couple bottles of "1.25L brewed wine product" at 8% ABV for less than a 6-pack of beer in Australia?
TAX

[Anonymous No.18739804]

>>18739786
It's the same with cheap cider in the UK, it's down to autistic alcohol duty laws

[Anonymous No.18739809]

>>18739786
Because beer uses grains and hops which is more expensive than fermenting flavoured sugar water or cheap fruit juice from fruits that would otherwise go to waste.

[Anonymous No.18739828]

Fat Lamb is subject to the Wine Equalisation Tax rather than the Alcohol Duty Excise. The WET is taxed by cost rather than alcohol volume and so is much lower for cheaper products.
The reason it's subject to the WET is because it fulfils the requirements to be considered a Cider/Vegetable Wine.
It's made from imported cheap Chinese apple juice (probably, no-one seems to know for sure) with loads of additional sugar added that gets brewed, creating a product that meets the legal requirements to be called cider under our food laws by being made from juice with no added alcohol or colouring/flavourings. As such, it gets the WET instead
There is also an additional loophole they use so they can sell the various flavours, which is that once you have a cider that's at or above 8% alcohol volume you are then legally allowed to add flavouring from fruits or vegetables and/or colourings like caramel while still being taxed as if it were Wine or Cider.
I suspect the reason they don't called it "Cider" on the labelling is to avoid the Cider Australia goons from taking them to court and potentially fucking up their whole operation.
If it were taxed like an RTD they'd cost about $5 more than they do now.