Going out for a beer is one of the great pleasures of life, but grabbing a pint shouldn’t mean breaking the bank. Yet it feels like prices are going up all the time, and bars and pubs have been charging eye-popping amounts for drinks.
Now, one viral photo is causing a stir online, with even the most devoted bar hoppers wondering if they’ve been priced out of their beloved pastime.
An Australian man shared a photo on Reddit of a pint of beer with a card reader showing that the price was $17.80.
“$20 pints are just around the corner,” the user captioned the photo, saying that the photo was taken at a pub near The Rocks, Sydney.
That price tag converts to about $11.39 USD, still an extravagant price for a single beer. (The uploader said the price also includes a 15% surcharge.) According to the comments on the post, this wasn’t a fancy craft beer but a normal mass-produced variety.
Many locals responded to the post, opining that grabbing a pint — once a time-honored tradition enjoyed by people of all economic classes — has suddenly become prohibitively expensive.
“I’ve given up drinking for health reasons but man is my wallet happy too,” one Redditor wrote.
“Stopped drinking 2 years ago,” another added. “I honestly don’t know how people afford to go out drinking on a regular occurrence.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people got used to drinking at home while bars were closed, and it sounds like sticker shock is keeping many from going out again.
“I just don’t drink out anymore. It’s such a ripoff. I just drink at home,” one Redditor wrote.
Australia has among the most expensive average beer prices in the world, according to data from the World Health Organization.
According to news.com.au, a foreign-owned beer “duopoly” that owns popular brands like VB and Tooheys could be the cause of high tap prices: the companies have been accused of anti-competitive contracts that freeze out smaller, local brewers, allowing them to keep prices high.
And yet Australians do love their beer: they have the 17th-highest beer consumption in the world per capita, beating out the US and the UK.
But for now, Aussie beer lovers might need to keep a close eye on their tabs.
We all love a good beer, but is this too much to spend on a pint? Do you still go out to bars like normal or are prices keeping you at home?
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