Special Brew may change to meet safe drinking guidelines

Carlsberg's Special Brew could be watered down as part of a crackdown on irresponsible drinking.

The super-strength lager was first brewed by the Danes for Winston Churchill in 1950 but is now more associated with alcoholics.

But it is set to get a makeover after Carlsberg signed up to the government's "responsibility deal" to stop selling any carbonated product containing more than four units of alcohol in a single can.

A spokesman for the Northampton-based brand said no final decision had yet been made but reducing the alcohol content in their 500ml cans was an option.

Bruce Ray, corporate affairs director at Carlsberg UK, said: “As part of our leadership role within the UK alcoholic beverage industry, which has seen us sign up to 13 pledges to date, we recognise the important role packaging can play alongside other factors in creating a responsible drinking environment.

“It is clearly down to individual consumers how they drink our products, but to help create this responsible drinking environment, we will be reviewing our portfolio and withdrawing any single-serve cans containing over four units of alcohol from sale during 2015."