A few years ago, over the course of a Christmas, I distinctly remember one major supermarket chain trying a new promotion. Up until this point, there had been cheapish boxes of bottles and occasional reductions on six packs, but now they had decided to appeal to customers using 24 cans of a leading brand of beer for just €24.
Needless to say, this was somewhat of an epiphany for Irish drinkers. I remember a retailer telling me that they had limited stocks, and that the offer would never last longer than a few hours in-store. And he was right. They sold out fast, the customer felt a bargain had been secured, and the back kitchens and garages of Irish homes had never been so well stocked.
Like many, I indulged. The timing was good - we had a small baby at home (another since added) that meant we were no longer going out to the pub as much. The saving on the traditional 'slab' of beer was close to €70. If the retailers had called stop at that point, then we wouldn't be having today's debate around low cost alcohol. That decision to sell 500ml cans for €1 each prompted others to follow suit, and in some instances, cut prices further. What was a Christmas special became a year long event. Only the brands on offer occasionally change.
In this column last week, my good friend and colleague PJ Coogan expressed concern that the moderate drinker was going to suffer as the result of any knee-jerk reaction being planned by Government. As always, PJ made perfect sense throughout the article - young people are mixing their drinks in the wrong way, and there is a culture of polydrug use, where alcohol is consumed with drugs with often tragic consequences. However, we seem to disagree about the effect of the cut-price booze on the moderate drinker.
Source: Jonathan Healy, Cork Independent, 26/07/12
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