Drinkers 'paying for pubs' hard year'

It found that beer drinkers are being forced to swallow some of the biggest price rises, with the average pint of real ale breaking the £2 barrier in London for the first time.

Trade magazine The Publican said it means customers in the capital's watering-holes are being asked to pay 31p more than those in the north-west, the cheapest place for a drink.

The average price for a pint of lager is now up to £2.21 in the south east - 14p more than the national average, while wine is up a record 10p a glass and a measure of whisky up 6p.

Lorna Harrison, editor of The Publican, said: "We expect to see a small rise of 1p or 2p on alcoholic drinks each year, but these figures are way above the norm."

The magazine blamed the "unprecedented" rises on increasing costs in the pub business, the "burden of red tape" and the knock-on effects on tourism of 11 September and foot-and-mouth.

'Tourism'

The Publican suggested drinkers after a cheap pint should stick to places like Liverpool, where a pint of beer costs just £1.69.

The magazine said its national survey suggested that beer is going the same way as lager, with a typical pint up 8p to £1.86.

Only Wales, Scotland and north-west England were completely untouched by the £2 pint of ale.

Ms Harrison said: "Many publicans, like most businesses, have had a hard year due to the drop in tourism.

"Coupled with rising red tape, publicans have clearly needed to take action to survive."

Duty

Landlords taking part in the survey were asked to provide details of price rises, but not to take inflation and increased duty into account.

In April's Budget, Chancellor Gordon Brown cut duty on beer produced by small brewers by 50%, bringing down the price of a pint by about 14p.

This applies to brewers whose output is less than five million pints a year.

Mr Brown also froze duty on all other beers, wine and spirits.