Pub chain Wetherspoon to ditch EU drinks
Is this political activism? The pub chain JD Wetherspoon, known for its affordable drinks selection, is to sell more drinks from the UK and non-EU producers. In particular, it will replace French champagne and German beers in the run-up to Brexit. The switch will affect all 880 Wetherspoon pubs from 9 July 2018.
JD Wetherspoon’s chairman, Tim Martin, a vocal supporter of Brexit, told The Guardian newspaper: “This move helps us to broaden our horizons so that we create an improved offer for the two million customers who visit our pubs each week.”
Lashing out against the EU, Mr Martin was quoted as saying: “The EU’s customs union is a protectionist system which is widely misunderstood. It imposes tariffs on the 93 percent of the world that is not in the EU, keeping prices high for UK consumers. Tariffs are imposed on wine from Australia, New Zealand and the US, and also on coffee, oranges, rice and more than 12,000 other products.”
“We intend to honour existing contracts with EU suppliers, some of which have several years to run,” he added.
Mr Martin claims the new additions will be cheaper for customers than their European competitors.
Funny that Wetherspoon will nix champagne from its drinks menu. But who goes to Wetherspoon to drink champagne anyway, we wonder? Instead, Wetherspoon will showcase sparkling wines from the UK and from Australia.
Incidentally, Mr Martin’s statement makes no mention of Italian Prosecco, which is routinely advertised in the pub’s food and drink offers and is more widely drunk across the UK than any other sparkling wine.
However, Wetherspoon will continue to serve Kopparberg cider from Sweden. Kopparberg has confirmed that it will be producing its cider in the UK post-Brexit.
British alcohol-free beers will replace Erdinger alcohol-free beer from Germany.
Commenting on the news, Erdinger’s export director Waltraud Kaiser said: “We regret that Wetherspoon is delisting European products because of a personal pro-Brexit attitude by its founder Tim Martin and the import duties on non-European goods.”
Ms Kaiser added: “When selling our wheat beers on the British market, we rely heavily on our long-standing importers, who have been doing a very good job for many years. Especially now it is particularly important to intensify our personal connections and partnerships in the UK. For many years, our British consumers have come to appreciate and love the unmistakable quality of the Erdinger wheat beer, which is brewed strictly in accordance with the purity law. In this respect, we are confident that the British, as quality-conscious beer connoisseurs, will continue to stand by our brand.”
