Issued By
Cumbria County Council

BIG VARIATIONS FOUND IN ALCOHOL CONTENT OF DRAUGHT SHANDIES

The strength of draught lager shandies varies considerably, Trading Standards Officers in Cumbria have found.  And, with the Christmas and New Year party season well under way, drivers need to bear this in mind.

Officers visited and bought draught lager shandies at 20 pubs throughout Cumbria.  The shandies were analysed for their alcoholic strength.  These ranged from 1.6% alcohol by volume to 3.3%.  The average strength was 2.4% alcohol by volume – this equates to 1.37 units of alcohol.

Phil Ashcroft, Head of Cumbria Trading Standards, said  “With such a wide range of shandy strengths, this survey highlights that the dangers of drinking and driving may also be present if the driver drinks shandies.  By far the best option, if driving, is to drink soft drinks”.

Notes for Editors:

  1. A breakdown of the 20 samples taken is given below.
  2. For more details on this press release contact Eamonn Quinn (01229) 894522 or Patrick Thomas (01539) 773591.

 

 

Shandy ABV %

 

Shandy ABV %

1.

3.3

11.

2.3

2.

3.1

12.

2.3

3.

2.9

13.

2.2

4.

2.7

14.

2.2

5.

2.7

15.

2.2

6.

2.7

16.

2.1

7.

2.6

17.

2.1

8.

2.5

18.

2.0

9.

2.4

19.

1.9

10.

2.3

20.

1.6