Good question, as it’s 4.1 from the hand pump but 4.7 out of cans / bottles. I don’t know the reason but at, at a guess, the bottled / canned beer does go for export, where strength does sell. It might also have something to do with the duty in the UK, where a hand pump beer of a lower specific gravity has less tax and therefore can be sold cheaper, helping sales and margins.
I guess also it might be as simple as, going to the pub, might well involve more pints, than sitting at home. One of the joys of Pride is that it tastes and smells great but isn’t too strong, alchohol’wise, making it a great ‘pub’ beer.
I also guess that beer in bottles / cans is ‘dead’, as it is in kegs, the fizz added by gas. Maybe, to make it taste better, especially as it can last for many months in a bottle or even can, they have to up the alcoholic volume? Beer, hand pumped, is ‘live’ and has a comparatively short shelf life, maybe about three days once tapped for pulling and maybe only a month from first going into the cask, so maybe it is ‘best’ with a lower specific gravity?
