A pint of beer is set to break the £10 barrier for the first time in some pubs – as the energy crisis forces brewers to raise prices.
Black Sheep Brewery has become the latest beer maker to increase its wholesale pricing – adding an eye-watering 19.5% to its draught ales from next month.
With struggling pubs unlikely to take the hit, landlords are predicted to pass on the pain to customers at the bar.
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In London, where the price of a pint is more than £8 at some inns, it’s feared a measure of ale could reach a tenner.
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The average price of a pint nationally is £4.24, according to latest Office for National Statistics data, meaning our traditional tipple could break the £5 barrier in many other parts of the UK.
It comes after Black Sheep boss Charlene Lyons last month warned: “If we pushed all the price increases over to the consumer, you’d be talking about over £10 a pint.”
Ms Lyons, CEO of the firm in Masham, North Yorks, has this month written to publicans explaining the brewery’s increased pricing, which applies to cask, keg and bottled beer, and comes into force at the end of this month.
She said: “These are incredibly challenging times for our industry and for breweries and pubs in particular.
“We have resisted passing on considerable cost increases to our customers for some time and as a business we have absorbed as much as we can.”
It follows a similar move by Heineken which warned publicans in November that it was ramping up the cost of all its beers and ciders by almost 16%.
Dutch giant Heineken also brews Foster’s, Kronenbourg, Birra Moretti, John Smith’s and real ale Deuchars IPA.
The Government says its new energy scheme for non-domestic customers, which comes into force from April 1, will provide a higher level of support for breweries as “intensive” businesses, but trade chiefs have expressed concern that there is no sector specific help for pubs and other hospitality venues.
Ms Lyons last month slammed the new pared down package, describing it as “brutal” for the industry.
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