Real Ale is good value - its official - according to CAMRA's 1999 Pub Prices Survey. In the last twelve months Real Ale prices have risen by an average of only 2.84% - an increase which is less than inflation.

No doubt the Chancellor's decision not to increase beer duty in March has helped towards this low rise, but also the tact that brewers spend a miniscule amount of money promoting Real Ale. It shows what excellent value traditional Real Ale is, especially when you compare it to Nitro-keg and Lager.

The main points are:

Lager is a rip-off, on average 17p dearer than Real Ale. It is not significantly more expensive to produce, its just that the brewers think they can get away with charging more for it. Some lagers are deliberately overpriced to create some sort of price appeal - if it's so dear, it must be good. Don't believe it!

Other interesting facts from the survey indicate that a quarter of pubs now cater for the 70% of the adult population who dc not smoke - 24.2% have no smoking areas, with 45.5% of these areas being separate rooms.

Issue 88 Articles