Looks like CAMRA's 'penny off beer duty' campaign has been a roaring success then! Though in the current prohibitionist climate, I suppose any concessions to us evil drinkers were unlikely.
4p seem very excessive nonetheless, especially coming hot on the heals of the smoking ban. Expect more well-run, valued, community pubs to go to the wall, or to be sold off by the pubcos...
ISTM that the new chancelor is only following the ex-chancelor's lead.
Same old + punitive anti-booze (as long as he gets his whisky) stance.
NB the House of Commons has loads of bars "selling" tax-free booze to the MPs
4p does seem excessive but it's nothing compared to what you'll actually be paying in the pub. The rule of thumb seems to be that a 1p increase in duty leads to 5p on the price of a pint. This is because everyone tries to get a slice of the action (the government more than most because of course they add a further tax to the budget tax increase)
And the breweries have forewarned us of surging prices in the barley and hops market.
Anyone hazard a guess as to the price of a pint by the end of the year?
Well, I paid £3 for a pint of ordinary cask beer for the first time last weekend (Everards Pitch Black. 4.4%, The Blenheim, Oxford).
Actually I think most landlords will try to absorb this, at least in the short term. Many pubs have suffered a serious collapse in trade since last autumn, partly due to the smoking ban but more importantly because of the increasing disparity between pub and supermarket prices. A significant cultural shift seems to have taken place and many people who previously saw home drinking as taboo ('I never keep drink at home') have now started doing it. This isn't good for pubs or public health.
Paul
In message , Paul Sherwin wrote
I 've changed my drinking habits this year - I've drunk more at home since this Christmas than I have previously drunk at home in 4 or 5 years. I've never smoked so that hasn't driven me away from visiting pubs on a regular basis. It's because publicans have become so greedy and have raised prices far higher than inflation - and even with high prices they have problems serving anything that is a pleasure to drink.
The message from Esra Sdrawkcab contains these words:
I think the new chancellor is _ON_ the old Chancellor's lead!
The message from M Platting contains these words:
As I have a large stash of malt in the garage and home grown hops, mine will still cost little more than 4p/pint to brew :-)
I started brewing my own real ale when I first moved to Scotland. In our district - far north of Scotland - there was only one real ale bar within 90 miles of us and of course they charged premium prices. I could not abide the fizzy pasteurised keg poo so it was brew or die of thirst. The plethora of distilleries in the north meant that I was able to buy bulk malted barley from a local maltsters very cheaply and in those days hops were cheap too.
When I started brewing I bought a hand pump (beer engine) for a few quid from an auction, bought some new seals for it & polished the brass and now I can enjoy real ale at home any day of the week. If I really want the pub atmosphere I can tip a pint over the coffee table, switch on my battered old Rock Ola jukebox and shout above the din to the wife, who will be drinking her home made wine from grapes grown in the polytunnel :-)
Beat the taxman - brew yer own!
Subsidised by the breweries charging more to pubs...
A local landlord (tied) showed me his invoices from the brewery, meanwhile the local managed house of the same brewery was selling beer at that price.
I won't bother naming the brewery - they all do it.
and of course a good crop next will result in a fall in beer price.
Yeah, thought not.
Talking to local micro brewers, they appear to have been waiting for the Budget before raising their prices to cover extra materials costs.No point in raising prices twice. The 4p will go on to the price of a cask ; add on a 50% normal mark up level by the pub and then add VAT.Looks like 10p at least on top of the 10% already in the pipeline to coner malt,hops and fuel increases.
Landlords in tied pubs pay much, much more than that for beer. For example, a GK tenant will be paying maybe £90 for a 9 of IPA which will give 65 saleable pints if you're lucky. That's about £1.30 per pint. Typical licensed trade markup of 100% gives a retail price of £2.60 a pint. The same 9 of IPA can be less than £50 to the free trade, and even less to people like Wetherspoons who negotiate big discounts.
Of course, pubcos and breweries shouldn't be ripping off their tenants like this, but they do.
Paul (not a pub tenant thank God)
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