No change of average pint price
Data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) found so far this year, the price has risen from £4.23 in January to the September figure of £4.62 – up 39p.
When compared with the same month last year, the average price was £4.13 in September 2022 – meaning the current average has increased by about 12% over the past 12 months.
In September 2021, the figure was at £3.88 – 6.4% less than 2022 and 19% less than this year.
This comes as the ONS revealed UK inflation held steady last month at 6.7%.
Inflation and duty
On the average pint price rises, licensee of the Tamworth Tap in Staffordshire George Greenway previously told The Morning Advertiser operators couldn’t absorb the rising costs and had to pass them on to the consumer.
He added: “Energy and the general cost of materials as well as hourly rates for staff [are] the three ingredients [pushing] the cost of beer.
“I can’t see [how] overheads can go any higher than they have done, or there can’t be as much of a percentage increase we’ve experienced in the past 12 months. It’s got to go steady.
“Tackling inflation and reducing beer duty would mean we would see [better] deals in the marketplace and that could balance things out for the cost of a pint.”
Price changes
A survey conducted by The Morning Advertiser last month (September) showed around eight in 10 (82%) of operators charge more than £4 for a pint of beer.
Meanwhile, ONS figures also showed food and non-alcoholic beverage prices dropped by 0.1% between August and September compared to a rise of 1.1% for the same period last year, meaning food prices saw the first monthly fall in two years.
This resulted in an easing in the annual rate to 12.2% in September – a decrease from 13.6% in August and a high of 19.2% in March, which was the highest rate seen in almost half a century.
