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.

Please tell us your own prices
 

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 LocationType 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: 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

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