After a year out of the pub, we were all more than excited over summer to be back in the boozer, but it seems pubs are still struggling with rising prices of costs, which is making pubs raise beer prices – and that’s before Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak delivers his budget. According to reports, beer prices could rise to be 30p.
The Times has reported that more than eight in 10 pubs have already raised their prices, or are planning to in the near future because of rising costs. The few words that Yorkshire folk dread, beer prices rose in the famous Sam Smiths pubs, a Yorkshire institution that has provided cheap pints across the country whilst other prices increased.
Why are prices going up?
The rise is due to a number of reasons such as energy costs higher wages and supply shortages – to name a few.
How much could pints cost?
The report suggests that publicans have been appealing for Rishi Sunak to freeze the alcohol duty rate as one expert warned of prices of £6 a pint in the London and southeast becoming commonplace.
What is causing issues with supply chains?
Shortages of workers including HGV drivers are a couple of reasons why distribution has been affected. There is a shortfall of around 100,000 lorry drivers in the UK causing delays and shortages of some products.
The drinks wholesalers Matthew Clark and Bibendum are raising prices by 3.5% and 5% next month, according to The Times. A spokesperson for those companies, owned by the C&C Group, said: “As our industry recovers from the pandemic, the pressure on UK and global supply chains has added increased cost and complexity.”
The co-founder of the Forum of British Pubs, Dave Mountford, also revealed that he believes that pubs will have to raise prices by as much as 20 or 30 pence to meet these costs. He said: “In my pub that means I will be charging more than £4 for a pint of cask ale for the first time.
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