- In Gloucester you can get two pints of beer for the price of one in London.
- The British Beer and Pub Association said the rising cost of living was affecting prices.
- Both parties are debating the cost of a beer tax ahead of the election.
As beer prices continue to rise, going to the pub on a Friday night and having a hard-earned pint is becoming an increasingly expensive affair.
Research by comparison website Finder found that the average price of a pint of beer has risen by 23% in the past year to £5.17.
This compares to a 2023 average of 4.21 pounds.
London, unsurprisingly, tops the pricey pint list, with the average price of a pint coming in at £6.75.
The price of a pint of beer in London has risen 14 percent from £5.90 last year.
Luckily, this isn’t even close to the shockingly high price of £9.99 a pint in Doha, Qatar, where drinking is only legal in certain licensed locations.
However, the average price of a pint of beer in the UK is almost double the global average of £2.74, making it the ninth most expensive country for alcohol.
Outside the capital, a trip to a pub in Oxford will cost you £5.69 for a drink, followed by Belfast and Brighton at £5.48 and £5.47 respectively.
Bristol is the fifth most expensive city at £5.31 per pint.
Of the 46 cities surveyed by Finder, 35 have an average pint price of more than £4, including cities such as Derby, Ipswich and Inverness, as well as tourist destinations such as Cambridge, Exeter and Edinburgh.
Liz Edwards, money expert at Finder, said: “There are a number of factors affecting beer prices in the UK, not least the duty rates set by the Chancellor which are likely to remain frozen through at least the summer. Other factors include staff costs, rent, utilities and water bills, which have all risen significantly.”
“But this year, another big factor is that the UK has had its wettest winter on record, followed by no rain in the spring. Fields are soggy, too watery to plant seeds and too watery to spread fertiliser with tractors. If the UK needs to import wheat, barley and oats, beer prices could be affected.”
Labour leader Keir Starmer suggested his party would maintain the beer duty freeze if elected, saying: “It is important to support the hospitality sector and beer tax is part of that policy.”
Meanwhile, the Conservatives have promised that pub beer tax will remain lower than supermarket tax.
Beer prices continue to rise, with retail prices continuing to rise as prices soar. However, in some cities across the UK, you can still buy a pint of beer for relatively cheap.
Gloucester, for example, offers draught beer for an average of just £3.35 – less than half the price in London and well ahead of the second cheapest city, Hull, which comes in at £3.61 a pint.
In Northampton a pint costs just £3.74 but in Sunderland it’s a penny more – £3.75.
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Despite its proximity to London, Luton has the fifth cheapest pint in the UK at £3.77.
A pint of beer still costs less than £4 in these areas, but prices across most of the country have risen over the past few years.
In Derby, for example, a pint of beer will cost £3 in 2023 but will break the £4 barrier this year, rising by 40% to £4.20.
Emma McClurkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said: “Pubs really care about their patrons and have done their best over the past two years to contain and absorb pressures that would increase the price of a pint of beer. Unfortunately, the cost of living crisis, skyrocketing energy costs and wider inflationary pressures have inevitably led to prices rising.”
“To keep a pint of beer affordable, pubs and breweries need to be fairly taxed in the form of business rates reform and a further freeze, or even better, a reduction in duty rates, so everyone can continue to enjoy a refreshing pint in their local establishment.”
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