UK Pub Beer Prices
The Cost of beer in different UK locations
by Alastair Taylor
Most people like the odd drink or two down the local pub, but the variation in beer prices across the UK will probably suprise you! Generally speaking the further north you go the cheaper it gets, with London (as expected) being the most expensive for a pint of beer. The tables below lists a number of UK places and how much a pint of beer and lager typically costs there.
For comparision purposes the lager prices will typically be a 4% lager, such as Fosters, Carlsberg, or Carling. A pint of bitter will be the brewers real ale.
Interestingly the price of beer in a free house pub is cheaper than the price of beer in a chain pub, but still far more expensive than the average pint of lager in Europe. However we dont have it too bad, the average price of beer in Norway is over £3!
APRIL 2008 UPDATE: The prices shown below were surveyed quite a while ago and are kept for reference only. In order to provide more up to date prices of beer, lager, cider and stout around the UK please tell us how much it costs in your local using the form below. For the purposes of this survey we define the following types of drink
Bitter: e.g. John Smiths. Standard ABV less than 4%. Premium 4% ABV or more.
Lager: e.g. Fosters. Standard ABV <4%. Premium 4% ABV or more.
Cider: e.g. Woodpecker. Standard ABV <5%: premium 5% ABV or more.
Stout: e.g. Guiness. All types.
If you are interested in drinking real ale, you should consider joining CAMRA
UK Pub Beer Prices
| Pub Location | Pub Type | Price of Beer | Type of Beer |
| Cambridge | Pub Chain | £2.30 | ale |
| Cambridge | Free House pub | £2.10 | ale |
| Oxford | Pub Chain | £2.40 | ale |
| Oxford | Free House pub | £2.20 | ale |
| London | Pub Chain | £2.24 | ale |
| London | Most Expensive Pub | £3.00 | ale |
| North West England | Any Pub | £1.87 | ale |
| Yorkshire | Any Pub | £1.88 | ale |
| Yorkshire | Cheapest Pub | £1.09 | ale |
| East Anglia | Average Beer Price | £2.15 | ale |
| East Midlands | Average Beer Price | £1.99 | ale |
| London | Average Beer Price | £2.24 | ale |
| North | Average Beer Price | £1.94 | ale |
| North West | Average Beer Price | £1.87 | ale |
| Scotland | Average Beer Price | £2.12 | ale |
| South East | Average Beer Price | £2.22 | ale |
| South West | Average Beer Price | £2.11 | ale |
| Wales | Average Beer Price | £1.96 | ale |
| West Midlands | Average Beer Price | £1.97 | ale |
| UK Average | Average Beer Price | £2.05 | ale |
Move North For Cheaper Lager Prices!
| Pub Location | Type of Pub | Price of Beer | Type of Beer |
| Cambridge | Pub Chain | £2.30 | lager |
| Cambridge | Free House pub | £2.10 | lager |
| Oxford | Pub Chain | £2.40 | lager |
| Oxford | Free House pub | £2.20 | lager |
| London | Pub Chain | £2.24 | lager |
| London | Most Expensive Pub | £3.00 | lager |
| London | Average Beer Price | £2.41 | lager |
| North | Average Beer Price | £2.16 | lager |
| North West | Average Beer Price | £2.03 | lager |
| Scotland | Average Beer Price | £2.15 | lager |
| South East | Average Beer Price | £2.42 | lager |
| South West | Average Beer Price | £2.30 | lager |
Wales | Average Beer Price | £2.11 | lager |
| West Midlands | Average Beer Price | £2.17 | lager |
| Yorkshire | Average Beer Price | £2.12 | lager |
| Yorkshire | Cheapest Pub - Free house | £1.25 | lager |
| Eurpoean Average | Any Pub or Bar | £1.40 | strong lager |
| UK Average | Free house Pubs | £2.16 | lager |
| UK Average | Average Beer Price | £2.25 | lager |
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Date Added: Saturday 29th November 2008
"When I was a first year apprentice a pint cost 1sh 8d - less than 8½p in today's money. (OK, it was a long time ago - 1970). I had 5 guineas (£1-1s-0d) a week living allowance. That's 63 pints a week. (We lived on beer!) Today at, say, £3.00 a pint an apprentice would have to have £189 a week disposable income to be on a par. By the way, I now live in Sweden, was out last night and paid around a fiver for 0.5l (less than a pint). I won't even go into the price of a good whisky! Needless to say, we drink at home!"
Frank
Date Added: Friday 28th November 2008
"I'm in Cape Town South Africa and a pint of beer costs between 90p-1Pound. Stella, Fosters, you name it."
ChrisP
Date Added: Wednesday 26th November 2008
"I\\\'m in Cape Town South Africa, and they average pint of lager is 90p. Beat that."
ChrisP
Date Added: Thursday 20th November 2008
"Why is lager traditionally about 20p more than ale?"
Mike B
Date Added: Thursday 13th November 2008
"Don`t complain, in sweden, a pint costs 5.00 GBP. And when the price is that high, we don`t complain. We feel very comfortable. "
Jacob.
Date Added: Monday 10th November 2008
"Im from Ireland, and the average price of a pint of lager is 4.70euro. and if you go to the capital (dublin) expect to pay over 5euro"
Nathan
Date Added: Monday 27th October 2008
"Here in the states, in the medium sized city of Charlotte, North Carolina, an American pint (16 ounces) of decent "craft beer" (not crappy Budweiser or Miller) goes for about 4.00 dollars. That's about 2.50 in today's pound. "
R. Davis
Date Added: Monday 27th October 2008
"Have beer prices increased in recent months with the economic downturn and fall of the British pound? As an American, the exchange rate is FINALLY starting to get to a point where I could afford a pint in London!!! I was in Dublin and Amsterdam last year and found it hard to find a pub that was less than $7 or $8 a pint (Euro was at $1.41 USD at the time...and earlier this year was at $1.61 USD...the pound was around $2.01) For the record, here in Los Angeles, I\'m paying about $4.50 USD a pint, and was in my home town of Milwaukee last month paying around $3USD (Milwaukee remains a beer drinkers paradise...lots and lots of bars and up and coming microbreweries replacing the big ones that have all closed (except for Miller). The only downside is bitter cold weather from November to April (but hey, its cozy in the pubs!!!)"
T.D.
Date Added: Saturday 21st June 2008
"I run a pub in the North West, Carling 2.45 Boddingtons 1.90 Stella 2.70. wet pub only down £500 on last year per week, average takings 3800 net of VAT per week, after all the overheads ( elec on av £125 per week) wife and I are left with £200 - £300 between us a week for an average 70+ hour week EACH hardly worth the effort so I am now forced to look for other employment and enrolling on an HGV course to earn a real wage ! who's to blame, government have always been robbers so we can accept this, It is the PUBCO'S who lie through their teeth and take tenants to the cleaners and don't support them in the bad times, the traditional boozer like mine will be like the Dodo soon unless radical steps are taken, anyway roll on the M6 !!!"
Dave the Landlord
Date Added: Thursday 12th June 2008
"Average price of Lager in S Africa 80p. Draught - 500ml 1.05p"
Mark
Date Added: Monday 26th May 2008
"Watched the Champions League final at the pub here in Ontario. $7-05 for a pint of 80 shilling. Large cans of UK beer at the beer store are about $10-00 for four."
Marcel villeneuve
Date Added: Friday 23rd May 2008
"I'm in Kansas City and our pints are running the same - $6.00 to $8.00 (US) which is £3.00- £4.00. Word is that our ethanol blend of gas has increased corn production, which diminishes the hops and barley crops. The large international breweries either own the farmland or are co-ops for the supply chain. Smaller breweries are forced to pay higher market prices. Still - the weather has been great for growing and there's no forecast of diminished crop yield, so it's a mystery why the cost is so high."
Rookman
Date Added: Thursday 22nd May 2008
"If you think it's bad now, just wait - the WHO's (World Hysteria Organization) announcement just today, that they got the "nod" to "tackle harmful use of alcohol", will multiply the price by 10 or so within 5 years. Ask yourself if it was you who gave that "nod"?? Oh and Fosters is cat's ***! "
Scunnerous
Date Added: Thursday 22nd May 2008
"Beer is cheap here in South Africa guys, I bought a pint of Amstel for R10.00 last night. 1 pound can get you R15.00...you do the math. You guys are getting ripped off big time. Amstel is no longer brewed here and is now imported from europe. Even after importing it's still cheaper. But hey, I aint complaining...just giving you guys a heads-up."
VC
Date Added: Monday 5th May 2008
"am not what, you would say a beer guzzler thank god,with these prices just seems every time i pop into my local i get punched ...by punch."
d.mac..glasgow
Date Added: Thursday 1st May 2008
"I've just looked at this site as a landlord to see what prices are like and i have a certain amount of sympathy for customers paying these prices but if pubs (tenanted & leased especilly) didnt put the prices up there would soon be no pubs and we could all sit in the isles at Tescos and sainsburys and get hammered for a tenner. The blame lies at the feet at the government for taxes and letting pub companys such as enterprise, punch etc corner the market. Until the pub companies are sorted out and the government gets there heads out of the aren't we are all going to suffer?"
Mark
Date Added: Sunday 27th April 2008
"beer costs too much aussie beer is heaps better "
jim
Date Added: Thursday 17th April 2008
"/beer prices i paid 3.40 for a pint of stella in a pub in brighstone i.o.w the chap next to me bought a stella with a dash of lime and was charged 3.90!"
eve
Date Added: Monday 14th April 2008
"funny, am in Nairobi and average beer prices are clos to 2 pounds!"
kareu
Date Added: Saturday 12th April 2008
"I was charged £3.15 for a pint lager (Fosters) shandy today. What a disgrace"
Jim
Date Added: Monday 7th April 2008
"I used to be a regular early doors pub goer drinking 2 or 3 pints a night before supper. Over the years this has become more and more expensive. I now drink beer at home. I had a pint in Newport, Isle of Wight where I live, a few nights ago- £3.20 for a local beer. It'll be a long time before the next one at that price!"
ken
Date Added: Tuesday 1st April 2008
"When was these prices found? ie when last updated?"
Victoria
Date Added: Sunday 30th March 2008
"my local in the north west charges 2.50 for a carlsberg. Export, stella and san miguel 2.60 and bitters 2.20. not bad."
John smith
Date Added: Monday 24th March 2008
"Only 4 dollars a pint for Micro brew ale here in Seattle"
brian
Date Added: Monday 24th March 2008
"just been forced by punch and gov't to increase my prices at a pub on the south coast. stella £3.35, guiness £3.2 carlsberg £3.00. Idont know if I am going to be in buisness this time next year The gov't(£28k vat £10k rates £15k tax and ni) and punch (about £100k rent and profit from beer) will loose out a little I will lose my lively hood and my home probably my relationship as we fight to hang on to a buisness that i have given the last ten years to "
G reg
Date Added: Wednesday 19th March 2008
"My local pub in Devon charges 3.20 for a pint of Stella."
Rob
Date Added: Wednesday 19th March 2008
"I am disgusted, the beer in my local has gone up twice in 2 weeks by 20p overall, Guinness is now £2.90 and Carling £2.80, it just pushes you away, i will be going to Tesco for my next beer, and sit in the ailse after i have paid, just to see if the atmosphere is the same as my local. Well done Punch and the Government."
MRU
Date Added: Monday 18th February 2008
"Norway average about 5 £ per 0,4 l. beer! Just for the record. A drink with 4cl spirits average 8 £. Fancy a pint over here? :)"
Are
Date Added: Saturday 9th February 2008
"if you think norway is expensive try paris average price £7 _ £8 a pint!"
ruth and tim
Date Added: Wednesday 6th February 2008
"I am shocked, I thought the beer prices would be higher, I have a pub in the North West and I am having to raise Real Ales from £1.95 to £2.05, My average 4% lager is £2.55 and Premiums at £2.80!I have had massive rises in prices not sure how I am going to break it to the punters...some increases were so high, I had to take them off the bar."
Eric
Date Added: Sunday 3rd February 2008
"I own a club{social}in the midlands,beer is £1.73 and lager £2.00,we are about to put the prices up and there is uproar,nowdays owners,managers cannot win,smoking ban,cheap supermarkets,govnerment taxes.No wonder there is on average 40 pubs closing every week,god knows how you non-owners manage to keep your heads above water,breweries, punch etc are modern day Highwaymen."
Tony D
Date Added: Saturday 26th January 2008
"My local pub charges £2.90. for a pint of Stella. I live in lincolnshire"
D. Partridge
Date Added: Tuesday 22nd January 2008
"I run a pub on the south coast the price of beer ranges between £2.55 and £2.90 and lager between £2.80 and £3.15. I am foced to charge these extotionate prices by the pub owning barrons such as punch enterprise etc. "
G Reg
Date Added: Wednesday 2nd January 2008
"Together with the smoking ban. The death of the pub."
Derek
Date Added: Monday 29th October 2007
"im sure glad i wasnt drinking when reading these prices"
stew