Good Pub Guide 2015: Regional breakdown of beer prices
The guide’s national survey of beer prices also reveals there is a 76p-a-pint different between the cheapest beer in Herefordshire and the most expensive in London – up from 65p a pint difference last year.
The guide cites Surrey as another key county with “rip-off” beer, while Wales, Shropshire, Cornwall, Somerset, Lancashire and Nottinghamshire are labelled as the areas in the UK that on average sell “fair-priced” beer.
Meanwhile pubs that brew their own beer typically save customers 45p a pint, compared to the local average.
Guide editor Fiona Stapley said while the economy isn’t as tough as it has been over the past few years, a lot of licensees are still absorbing the costs of beer price rises themselves rather than passing them on to customers.
“It means many are paying themselves a very small wage but it will come right in the end as it has done over the past year,” she said.
“People are much more careful about what they spend and therefore when they go out they want to feel they are getting value. Publicans have got to be so canny with their pricing – no hidden extras like another £4 for vegetables or a 10% tip.”
Average beer prices across the UK
Herefordshire - £3.03
Worcestershire - £3.09
Derbyshire - £3.14
Cumbria - £3.14
Staffordshire - £3.14
Northamptonshire - £3.15
Northumbria - £3.15
Yorkshire - £3.16
Wales - £3.18
Shropshire - £3.19
Cornwall - £3.19
Somerset - £3.19
Lancashire - £3.19
Nottinghamshire - £3.20
Cheshire - £3.23
Leicestershire & Rutland - £3.26
Devon - £3.27
Gloucestershire - £3.29
Lincolnshire - £3.29
Bedfordshire - £3.30
Wiltshire - £3.30
Cambridgeshire - £3.32
Essex £3.32
Dorset - £3.33
Suffolk - £3.33
Isle of Wight - £3.34
Warwickshire - £3.35
West Midlands - £3.35
Scotland - £3.35
Hampshire - £3.38
Norfolk - £3.40
Oxfordshire - £3.43
Buckinghamshire £3.43
Scottish Islands - £3.50
Kent - £3.51
Hertfordshire - £3.52
Sussex - £3.52
Berkshire - £3.54
Surrey - £3.62
London - £3.79
