Price of a pint exceeds £8 for the first time

The price of a pint has surpassed £8 for the first time with the average cost of a tipple jumping by more than 70pc since the 2008 financial crisis.

Spiralling inflation has pushed the average price of a pint of beer in the UK to £3.95, according to data from research agency CGA, up from £2.30 in 2008.

The data from CGA, which tracks prices by frequently surveying more than 5,550 random bars and pubs, also showed that, for the first time, the average price of a pint at one London pub breached £8.

The average brew in the London pub, which CGA did not name, cost a whopping £8.06, while the cheapest average pint was found at a pub in Lancashire and cost £1.79.

It comes as the British economy contends with soaring prices across the board, with Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, warning that inflation will hit a four-decade high this year.

The war in Ukraine has put a particular strain on the cost of barley which is one of the key ingredients in beer.

Ukraine was the world’s fourth largest producer of barley before Vladimir Putin’s invasion, representing nearly one fifth of the global export market last year.

Analysts at Bernstein said earlier this week that the rising cost of the ingredient was a “big negative” for the brewing industry, estimating that “a realistic worst case would see malting barley inflation of approximately 70pc”.

British brewers have warned that the price of a pint is set to get even more expensive by Christmas due to the war.

Suffolk brewer and pub operator Adnams warned in March that a surge in the price of barley, which is key to the brewing process, meant that it was on track to push prices up for customers later this year.

The data from CGA shows that the average price of a pint has jumped more than 7pc since 2020. However, the price is expected to increase further as the year goes on.

Major British pub chains have already admitted to raising prices. Wolverhampton-based Marston’s increased prices by around 8pc in March, while rival operator Greene King, which runs 2,700 pubs in the UK, has pushed up prices on average by 5p a pint.