Pint at the local is ‘a luxury’ after post-pandemic price increases

THE simple pleasure of enjoying a pint down the local is becoming “a luxury”, beer campaigners warn.

A pint of draught lager – the UK’S favourite style of beer – hit an average of £4.70 last month, according to new data.

The same drink was typically priced £4.45 in February 2023, meaning that a pint costs almost 6 per cent more than 12 months ago.

Only two years ago, it cost £3.98, while before the pandemic the average price was around £3.66. It means that the cost has risen by more than 28 per cent in the past five years, said the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Nik Antona, the chairman of Campaign for Real Ale, said: “The escalation of beer prices, as displayed in the ONS data, threatens to render a pint in the humble local a luxury.

“Pubs and consumers will feel the squeeze as the price of a pint continues to climb.” Mr Antona added: “Pubs, social clubs and taprooms don’t wish to pass on the high prices to their loyal patrons, but with the costs of goods, energy bills and employing staff at skyhigh levels, plus the burden of unfair business rates, closing would be the unexpected, but instead are now a grim reflection of modern life.”

Draught lager prices have risen by nearly 41 per cent over the past decade, the figures show, with a pint at £3.34 in February 2014.

Bitter is also up, with the average cost of a draught pint now £3.86 – more than 4 per cent more expensive than 12 months ago when it stood at £3.70.

The drink was typically priced at just £3.40 in 2022, while it was yet to break the £3 barrier a decade ago when it cost £2.91. Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor, extended a freeze on alcohol duty this month as he vowed to “back the great British pub”.

But beer and pub campaigners point out that UK drinkers will continue to pay 54p per pint in tax, compared to less than 5p per pint in Spain and Germany.

A recent survey found a wide range of prices for a typical pint across different parts of the country, from more than £6 in London to less than £3.50 in Coventry.