Going to pubs and beer prices

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andya700

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How many people go to pubs anymore, the current pandemic not withstanding? I know a lot of pubs have closed down over the past couple of years (went past a couple yesterday), but from what I was reading on another forum, beer prices have gone through the roof. The last time I went to a pub was the Summer of 2019, to a lovely place in rural Kent. I had a lovely pint of Adnams and the dear wife a large Pimms with all the trimmings and I remember it came to less than a tenner. From what I understand beer is now from a fiver up to around £7!!!!
Back in 2003, I visited my folks in Bolton and we took a trip across the moors to Haworth, where my dad and I enjoyed a pint of Timmy Taylor at £1.50 a pint.
I remember being shocked back in 2007, when a mate and I went to watch the start of the Tour de France in London. I bought a couple of pints of Leffe and two bags of crisps and that came to £12, but it was right by St James park, which was always expensive.
So, no wonder pubs are closing, I wonder if I will ever go inside one again, except maybe on the continent, where you can get a decent beer for around four Euros.
 
I’m no expert but I think it’s due to not many go out to the pub nowadays so they have to increase prices to make up for it
But before all this started some places did charge a lot more than I thought was reasonable especially down south
 
Not a pub drinker - spent too much time on the other side of bars! We do go to a few pubs to eat but that's at lunch time and I tend to be driving so no boozing for me anyway! Always preferred drinking with mates at a home than in pubs even when we did go out more. On holiday, we drink the house plonk (and I use the term advisedly!) and very often get the second 1/2 kilo/litre on the house - it's usually dirt cheap anyway (€3-5 per 1/2) and suits the food and climate (but DOESN'T travel!!!)
 
Yeah, I was in London recently and went to the pub with a friend. I decided no matter what they said, I wouldn't act shocked. But nearly 15 quid for 2 pints tested me on that.

Here in Folkestone an expensive draught like Guinness or a Continental lager is £4 - £5. In the summer we just get cans from the village shop and sit on the beach :)
 
I think it is so easy to get a good range of cheap beers from supermarkets now, particularly Lidl and Aldi. The quality seems to be better than it was, particularly around the £1.50 mark. I mean, £15 for two pints is mad, I bought a bottle of Barolo for £12.99 at Christmas which was lovely.
 
I used to regularly lunch at pubs after tennis but COVID has interfered with this. We did return to pubs for a while in the Autumn but sitting outside in the cold has caused us to meet at homes. Of course this is much cheaper but our decision is entirely about COVID risks and comfort. I believe that we plan to discuss this week with a view to at least planning when we will return to pubs. Also many pubs stopped offering food on Mondays which also stopped us for a while. We have now moved our tennis to Tuesdays but a key pub does not serve food on Mondays or Tuesdays. We hope it will return to normal eventually.

Dave
 
It really does vary - in Weatherspoons you can get a pint of Ruddles for 99p !!! My local social club is £3.20 for a Fosters while in town Brewdog is around £6 a pint. Aspalls in my local is around £4.20 while in Cambridge it would be £5 or £6. I haven't noticed a huge shift, yes prices have gone up but I wouldn't say much more than normal.
 
Last time I set foot in a pub was my MA club's Christmas do about 3 weeks before Christmas, I can usually drink about 3 pints without feeling anything but because I haven't spent more than 45 minutes in any pub for most of the last 2 years, I've become a bit of a lightweight and the Beer went straight to my head.

There's also the fact that I refuse on principle to pay more than 3 quid a pint even at City Centre prices which explains why I don't go out much.
 
Pre pandemic it was wetherspoons to eat when away to football maybe.. certainly not local,, but now... not at all... about 25 yrs ago I played darts for a pub and that was the only night out for me but that stopped.. had been going in pubs less and less anyway....
 
Last time I bought a pint in a Pub was last September on the way back from the coast in Fakenham. Sat outside on a lovely evening, think it was probably about a fiver, not sure exactly.
Much prefer bottled beer especially of the German variety.
Ocado now sell Krombacher Weiss, Pils and Dark, excellent.
Local Waitrose sell Erdinger Weiss, Dunkel and Cristal, also very good.
Havent been lately, but there is a large warehouse off the A10 just before Kings Lynn
Its called Beers of Europe and has shelves stacked with many wonderful beers.
 
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You could always try Wetherspoons they normally have one beer at 99 pence ! In the Midlands I think it's a combination of the fact people don't talk to each other anymore ( Lack of trust) and there are so many fights that why would you spend a fortune and still only talk to your mates or end up in a punch up. Out in the sticks where I live or up North people are so much more friendly, you meet all sorts of people who join in the conversation,making it a pleasant experience. I still enjoy a nice pub in the right place as long as they serve some good local beers rather than the usual mass made tat. I find prices vary a lot depending where you are London is 3 to 4 times the price of else where.
 
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I only tend to go to gastro pubs these days, rarely go just for a drink. Certainly don't go in high Street pubs anymore.

BADGER.BRAD said:
You could always try Wetherspoons they normally have one beer at 99 pence !
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Are you referring to Ruddles that's usually £1.99 I think. Never seen any at 99p.
 
robj20 said:
re you referring to Ruddles that's usually £1.99 I think. Never seen any at 99p.
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I'm not sure to be honest I've seen it on the tap at 99 pence but not really noticed what it was, my lad has tried it a few times and says it's not too bad especially for the price. I'm not a fan of Wetherspoons pubs but went to one recently in Bewdley for a coffee while we were waiting for something to be done and saw it there.
 
cambsno said:
It really does vary - in Weatherspoons you can get a pint of Ruddles for 99p !!! My local social club is £3.20 for a Fosters while in town Brewdog is around £6 a pint. Aspalls in my local is around £4.20 while in Cambridge it would be £5 or £6. I haven't noticed a huge shift, yes prices have gone up but I wouldn't say much more than normal.
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Yep I had a great afternoon not long ago in spoons on the 99p Ruddles :banana:
 
Round my way the average price is around £4 per pint and has gone up 24p since last year according to a local survey. I do not normally drink beer myself but a small glass of wine is typically £5. I often drink bottled water as I am usually driving and they charge almost as much as the beer.

Dave
 
Dave Canon said:
Round my way the average price is around £4 per pint and has gone up 24p since last year according to a local survey. I do not normally drink beer myself but a small glass of wine is typically £5. I often drink bottled water as I am usually driving and they charge almost as much as the beer.

Dave
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Yes that’s always annoyed me how much they charge for soft drinks
 
Christmas work party was the first time I was in a pub in over a year, we weren't allowed to drink but our clients were [working with people with various disabilities] I saw some of them hand over a tenner [€] and get very little change for a pint of Ale. I was on coke zero and I think it was something like €3.50 for one of those teensy bottles that doesn't even fill a half glass

WIll be heading out this coming Friday for my daughter's 18th, going for a meal and then pop in someplace for her first legal drink - it'll be interesting to see the pricing, I mostly opt for a large bottle of Bulmer's which from memory was €5.50 - 6 depending on the bar.
 
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Since getting back into home brew I now typically pay about 60p to 75p a pint at the “Krisstiffer Arms” pub and microbrewery.
The landlord is a bit of a miserable old curmudgeon but his heart’s in the right place. Mind you, the cats make cute but lousy barmaids who, even if they don’t ignore you, couldn’t pull a decent pint to save their furry little lives :D
 
Dave Canon said:
Round my way the average price is around £4 per pint and has gone up 24p since last year according to a local survey. I do not normally drink beer myself but a small glass of wine is typically £5. I often drink bottled water as I am usually driving and they charge almost as much as the beer.

Dave
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Technically water should be free, especially if it's out of the Tap.
 
andya700 said:
I think soft drinks have always been the biggest ripoff of the whole lot.
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They have. But of course you're paying for the space, the service, the washing of the glass. Basically you're preventing them using that chair/place at the bar for selling Jagger bombs with Drambuie chasers.

I met a friend yesterday morning and since it was around 12 we had a choice of pub or coffee shop. We went to the coffee shop for a cuppa and cake. Even at current pub prices it cost more than a pint.
 
MrRichAllen1976 said:
Technically water should be free, especially if it's out of the Tap.
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I am aware of that particularly if you are buying food. However, I choose to pay for the bottled water to support the pub. If most customers just chose tap water, they would definitely go out of business. On a couple of occasions a pub did not have bottled water so had to give me free tap water. I originally started to choose water to help manage my weight.

Dave
 
I haven't been to local pubs for well over a year as they are terrible small and covid hotspots.
we have a few wetherspoons near us Huddersfield etc and they are a least a bit better on space and the prices are fair
oddly enough they have started to have leffe on draft at a cracking £3.29 a pint :-)
 
Out every Sunday with a couple of mates, 2 Guinness and a best beer are £11.95 a round, went up recently 20p, first increase in 2 years.
 
Mr Bump said:
I haven't been to local pubs for well over a year as they are terrible small and covid hotspots.
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I have sat outside at all the local pubs I have visited in the last year. All have had outside covered seating with heaters; I assume that this arrangement is fairly common.

Dave
 
I have a birthday coming up in April, I might ask the family if we can go to a local pub for a meal and a few drinks (not for Dad, he'd be driving :D )
 
ive always liked a bevvy and i tend to go out with my mates, wednesdays, fridays and saturdays nights,im out occasionally on a sunday for an all day/night session if im not fishing and monday just once a month as we have our club meetings in a social club...i tend to drink Guinness its only £3.30 a pint in my local, lager £3.10 ( though i do like the odd pint of blue moon wiess beir at £5)..to be fair ive cut down as i used to go out thursdays too, .lifes too short to be sitting in the house trying to save a few quid
 
Dave Canon said:
I have sat outside at all the local pubs I have visited in the last year. All have had outside covered seating with heaters; I assume that this arrangement is fairly common.

Dave
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nah i don't sit outside pubslike a poor person also the faggers are usually coffing there lungs up
i don't do outdoor heaters they are very bad for the envionment.
 
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