£4 a pint.... £36 a mini-cask (only kidding)

Press coverage today states that the £4 will be commonplace next year. There is enormous pressure on brewers to raise prices in 2008 as the cost of raw materials soars (see my previous note). The sheer dichotomy between that situation and the prices charged by supermarkets at this time of year is astounding. But such is life.

Thankfully, people are becoming more prepared to pay a little bit more for quality, craftsmanship and choice as opposed to mass produced homogeneity. This is not just true for beer, of course, but in beer it is marked. Just look at the choice of local beers available in the 'big' supermarkets nowadays and compare it to what was available just two years ago! Now, the motive for the big boys to list small craft brewers could be debated, but the fact is customers are demanding quality and choice like never before... even if it costs a few pence more.