Guinness prices up 8% year-on-year

Figures from UK Debt Expert revealed the average cost of a pint of Guinness in the on-trade had increased from £4.15 in February 2023 to £4.48 in February this year.

UK Debt Expert personal finance expert Maxine McCreadie said: “Inflation has significantly pushed up the price of Guinness, just like it has other beverages.

“Even though the increase could be attributed to heightened production expenses or shifts in market demand, the rising cost of the likes of Guinness could result in further reduced spending on dining and entertainment. 

Quality and variety 

“Customers will vote with their feet, and pubs need to emphasise the quality and variety of their drinks available. In the social age, a badly poured Guinness could make your establishment go viral for all the wrong reasons."

The data, which looked at pub chains including Wetherspoons and Greene King, also showed the average price for a pint of the classic stout ​was cheapest in Bolton, at £3.83, followed by Swindon and Rotherham at £3.84 and £3.95 respectively.

Meanwhile the most expensive pint of Guinness in the country could, unsurprisingly, be found in the capital, with a pint costing £5.83 in London, followed by Edinburgh and Brighton at £5.33 and £5.11 respectively.

This comes as the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), released last month, showed the average price of a pint of draught lager in a pub​​ had increased by 10.8% in the year to January 2024, the biggest January upswing since before the pandemic.

Discretion of retailers 

According to the ONS data, a pint of draught lager in a pub stood at £4.69 in January 2024 compared with £4.23 in January 2023 while a pint of draught bitter had risen by 9.2% to £3.90 during this period, up from £3.57 the previous year.

In addition, both whisky and gin have also seen a 2p increase for a 30ml measure compared with November of last year, while a bottle of wine in a pub had risen by 19p, according to data from finance experts RIFT. 

A spokesperson for Diageo told The Morning Advertiser​ it does not set the retail price at venues and this is at the "discretion of retailers".

Cheapest pints of Guinness in the UK ​

Most expensive pints of Guinness in the UK ​