Bird’s Eye View                        

Beer: it comes at a price
                                                                     
                                                                      

                                                                          

So there I was, sitting in the sun at the Latitude Festival, trying to decide if I wanted a healthy avocado on toast or a plateful of big fat cheesy chips.  It was hot, the sun was shining, and I’d just come out of the greenhouse (OK, not actually a greenhouse, but that’s what the comedy tent had felt like for the last hour).  After plumping for the healthy lunch option (those chips smelt sooo good!), I desperately needed a drink.  The beer options were good; Hektor’s, Woodforde’s and Lacons.  But all priced at £5 a pint!  Yes, you heard me right, £5!  I like my beer, but at that price I decided I’d have to go easy over the weekend (not a phrase you hear me say very often).  On-site bars have a captive audience, so I guess they charge whatever they can get away with.  For the punters there is no alternative, as you can’t take your own alcohol on to the festival site (trust me, I’ve tried, but there is a limit to what a girl can fit in her bum-bag).  With weekend tickets costing the best part of £200, the additional costs of food and drink make for a very expensive few days.  Still, it was all worth it.  Sunday watching the Divine Comedy (featuring the truly divine Neil Hannon), followed by Fat Boy Slim, was a night to remember.  And the fact is, I could remember it all because I hadn’t drunk very much!

The price of beer is always newsworthy, and this year we’ve had more than our fair share of scare stories; “Drinkers face a 5p hike in the price of a pint of beer after a 'crippling' 19 per cent rise in business rates.” (Daily Mail), “Drinkers face a 5p hike in the price of a pint of beer after a 'crippling' 19 per cent rise in business rates.” (The Guardian), “No cheers! Price of beer in UK pubs to go up 6p a pint.” (Daily Express).

But it is not all doom and gloom (apparently); “Brexit could slash the price of a pint by 20p if pubs are unleashed from Brussels' red tape.”  - so says the Daily Express – who were quoting Wetherspoons Tim Martin – who was quoting CAMRA (apparently).  Really?  I’m pretty confident that alcohol will be more expensive after Brexit.  It’s not Europe’s fault that beer is so expensive.  The EU sets minimum taxes on alcohol, unlike the UK.  If the government really wanted to, it could reduce the tax on beer at a stroke.  Still, what do I know?  I’m just a girl who likes her ale.

Having recently been on pub crawls in London and Brighton, I’m glad that beer prices here in the East are quite reasonable (in comparison).  I shouldn’t be, but often am, both surprised and annoyed that the price of a standard bitter can vary considerably depending on location.  At some city-centre and riverside pubs you may pay £4 for your pint.  Perhaps we must expect to pay more at nicer or more convenient locations.  Fair enough, I get it.  But does the beer taste any better?

In Norwich, there are real beer bargains to be had if you hunt around.  Decent session pints like Fat Cat Bitter and Chalk Hill Tap both come in at well under £3.  On mid-week nights in the Fat Cat you’ll often find premium beers around the £3 mark.  Several city pubs offer ‘All real ales at £3 a pint’ on Mondays or Tuesdays.  And if you are a CAMRA member there are discounts to had at many city pubs (13 at the last count). 

So get out there and grab yourself a bargain.  Beer – it’s as cheap as chips (well almost).

Speaking of chips, I really fancy some of those big fat cheesy ones…. 

Cheers

The Beer Bird

(first published in Norfolk Nips September 2017)