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‘Shrinkflation’ hits one of Australia’s most popular beers as spirits brand quietly downsizes its bottles, and it took Aussies a month to notice
- Australians have been outraged by the downsizing of James Squire beer
- The brand’s One Fifty Lashes Pale Ale has been reduced from 345ml to 330ml
- Other brewing companies practicing the same practice have also been revealed.
Beer drinkers have been outraged after a popular Australian company reduced the serving size of one of its bottled beers, while other companies engaging in the same practice are revealed.
Aussies took to social media over the weekend to share their disappointment at James Squire’s decision to reduce the amount of beer in his One Fifty Lashes Pale Ale from 345ml to 330ml.
A disgruntled customer shared a photo on the popular Reddit app showing a comparison of the volumes in the old and new bottles, prompting an outpouring from other frustrated consumers.
Several cited the company’s move as an example of ‘shrinkflation’, a term used to describe when a product sells for the same price but in smaller quantities.
Australian beer drinkers took to social media over the weekend to express their frustration at the size drop of James Squire’s Fifty Lashes Pale Ale from 345ml to 330ml.
Consumers have labeled the decision to reduce beer volume as an example of ‘Reduced Inflation’, a term used to describe when real consumer costs rise despite the fact that the retail price of products remains the same (image from file in the image)
A six pack of James Squire Fifty Lashes Pale Ale is around $23.50.
“15ml doesn’t sound like much, but in a case of 24 bottles, a whole bottle is gone,” read one comment.
‘I refuse to buy beer under 375 ml. Too bad because I like tabs. Luckily there’s Coopers pale ale,” said another.
Another commenter criticized the company for the decision, stating that they would “stick with Carlton Dry.”
Others criticized James Squire for abandoning its craft beer roots and becoming ‘soulless and corporate’.
‘After [they do] this rebranding and reducing inflation and hoping no one would notice,” said one customer, adding that he would not buy the beer again.
One person, who claimed to work for a well-known chain of bottle shops, said James Squire had made the switch “a month or two ago, along with Broken Shackles”, another line in the company’s range of beers.
Australian beer drinkers have expressed disappointment with James Squire for abandoning its craft beer roots and becoming more ‘corporate’ (image of James Squire brewery from their website)
Another consumer took advantage of the comments to point out ‘Carlton Dry did this years ago when they came out with the removable lids’.
“People complained about the caps, not the bottle size change, so CUB twisted the top caps back on and kept 330ml bottles instead of 345ml.”
In 2018, Carlton Dry caved to public pressure after receiving backlash for switching its twist-top bottles to ring-tops.
The company also reduced the size of the bottles from 355 ml to 330 ml, but kept the same price.
Beer drinkers complained that the ring caps were difficult to open, caused hand injuries, increased the chance of spillage, and affected the taste of the beer.
The company later apologized for the change and announced that it would go back to using twist tops.
Daily Mail Australia has reached out to James Squire for comment.