The above graphic appears in the Guardian (14/15th November) and it raises some good points in a way appropriate for the format.
Of course its possible to pay £10 for a pint of beer in London and most other parts of the UK. We’re talking strong double IPAs and imperial stouts that are designed to be consumed in two-third and one-third measure.
The graphic rather is focused on the price of mainstream lagers and judging by the beer named ‘NeckJooce’ at what might be termed big craft beer. Neck Oil is produced by Beavertown in Ponders End and is 4.4% abv. Beavertown is owned by global brewer Heineken who have a habit of hiking prices. Neck Oil back in the day (ten years ago) was designed by Logan Plant to be something like Bathams Best Bitter. Those times are past.
I think the beer retails for around £6-7 a pint in London and probably not much less elsewhere. As Stephen Collins rightly indicates pubs are under a range of cost pressures that means prices continue to up. Of course drinkers also have cost pressures.
Beyond all this, is it possible to get a beer for under a fiver a pint in London? As the Sunday Times beer columnist Pete Brown pointed out recently, it certainly is. Wetherspoons of course is a reliable place to find an arguably more than reasonably priced pint. However once you move away from the (other) big pub chains the pint for less than a fiver can be found. We’re talking cask beer here rather than generic lagers or big craft brands. But pubs like the Cock in Hackney and the Pocket in Islington, or the Euston Tap and Waterloo Tap (and others) will sell you a decent, well kept pint of beer at a price that won’t require an overdraught at the bank.
Leave a Reply