Perfect storm? Speak English!!

A trade body has called for a freeze on beer duty to help brewers and pubs deal with the "perfect storm" of declining sales, rising input costs and the smoking ban.

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) told Chancellor Alistair Darling that beer sales were at a 40-year low – down 9.7% in November – even before the full impact of the smoking ban has been felt. They didn't mentioned that craft beer sales are up, however.

It said beer duty had now reached the point of "revenue maximisation" and that brewers profits had fallen to "unsustainable levels".

Bloody gobblegook and doublespeak! Lobby properly! Don't try and hide the point behind marketing-isms and platitudes. For goodness sake let's focus on the positive rather than accentuating the negative. We have a lot to be pleased and proud about in the craft brewing sector but we are in danger of talking down the advances made to such an extent that the public get turned off.

Yes times are hard but we are progressing!!