Lager, lager, lager, lager

If anyone else has Born Slippy running through their heads for the rest of the day, I do apologise. However, there was no better way to title a blog about some changes to our lager selection! We try and make sure we have a lower percentage session lager, a local lager and then a more flavourful lager on draught. At the moment that range is:

Session lager: Atlantic Rage 4%

Local lager: Utopian 4.7%

Stronger flavour: San Miguel 5%

We have now added a new Spanish lager, Cruz Campo, to our range. It is a similar flavour profile to the other big Spanish name we currently stock - San Miguel - but not as pricey at £4.90 a pint (as opposed to £5.90 for the bigger name). So if you're a lager drinker, you can now enjoy a choice of three - Utopian (£4.90), Atlantic Rage (£4.80) and Cruz Campo without breaking more than a fiver.

So why is San Miguel so much more I hear you ask? Well, if you have, read on. if not, just pop on down and try the new tipple sometime!

The answer to the question, it is all about brand. As anyone who has bought a pint anywhere recently is aware, prices have shifted significantly since the start of the year, but none so much as those for the premium branded lagers and beers.

To give you a comparison, our local lager, Utopian, which is produced by a small brewer in Crediton, has increased by 6% since last year. A rise that helps the brewer absorb some of the cost increases they have seen in ingredients, energy and the fuel needed to deliver their product. San Miguel on the other hand has increased their prices by 17.65% over the same period. In real terms, in order to be making the profit we need to cover our costs on a pint of this lager, we would need to be selling it out at £1 more than we already are. So the product is not pulling its weight when it comes to covering our overheads such as paying our staff, bills and keeping the business viable going forwards. Some pubs choose to do this and subsidise a more costly product, knowing they are not covering the income they should be when they sell it. However, we are feeling a little begrudging towards the big labels now and we'd rather support the smaller breweries, so we've decided to shop around instead.

Sadly the prices of the bigger brands are only going in one direction and at present there doesn't seem to be any appetite to slow down the increases (the 17.65% increase mentioned has been done in three separate raises). So, by shopping around, we can hopefully offer more affordable, but just as quaffable pints that mean your hard-earned cash goes that bit further. And who needs to pay for a label when it comes to enjoying a drink!

#lager #pubs #beer