London bar defends Britain's strongest beer

A London bar has leapt to the defence of Britain's strongest beer amidst the outcry from the health lobbyists.

Brewdog sparked controversy when it announced the launch of the 18.2% abv Tokyo beer earlier this week. The Scottish brewer said it was a niche beer and would actually help beat binge drinking because it promoted taste and education over quantity.

However, Alcohol Focus Scotland slammed the brewer as "deluded" and "utterly irresponsible".

Richard Dinwoodie of the Rake Bar in London backed Brewdog on its stance. "As a responsible drinks retailer we are not focusing on the alcoholic strength of the beer but the artisan nature and quality of the product," he said.

"For a third of a pint of Tokyo we will be charging in excess of £6 and there is no way that this encourages binge drinking, particularly when you can currently purchase a 100ml of 7.5%abv White Lightning at Sainsbury's for 15.4p yet we are charging £3.17 for the same quantity of Tokyo beer at 18.5% abv, you do the maths."

"The customers in our bar and at our market stall often buy one of these beers to treat it like a fine cognac or whisky and to put into brandy balloons to share, not to down in one.

"The focus on this one special beer is utterly spurious, BrewDog offers a range of beers starting 2.4%abv, so to single this particular beer out is just a case of pandering to binge drinking mania.

Leading female beer writer Melissa Cole added: "This is not a beer to drink alone, it is to share as the ideal digestif to a good dinner; claims that this encourages binge drinking are nonsense, if nothing else the price point is utterly prohibitive."