12 June 2024 , 08:32
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The UK's priciest pint has been revealed - and it's causing quite a stir.
Tucked away in a quaint Pimlico pub in London, The Cask Pub and Kitchen is charging a whopping £19 for just a third of a pint of Cantillon Iris. If you fancied a full pint, you'd be shelling out nearly £60. However, beer aficionados have rushed to explain the hefty price tag, emphasizing that this brew is far from your average pint.
While shelling out nearly £60 for a pint might sound ludicrous to many, experts highlight that other beverages like whiskey and wine also boast premium variants costing thousands. Tom Stainer, the chief executive of consumer group the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), said: "We're not talking about your average beer! Iris is a very rare beer, brewed once a year by the Cantillon Brewery in Belgium.
"Before it is bottled it is matured for two years in the barrel. It's also a 15% abv beer which comes in individually numbered bottles. It's almost impossible to get hold of, with most retailers selling out as soon as they get it and often limiting customers to one bottle each.
A third of a pint of Cantillon Iris was going for £19 at the boozer (Craftshack)"Wine and whisky aficionados wouldn't think twice about paying much more per ml for a wine, or whisky, with that sort of rarity or provenance - so it's always amusing when people get so excited about the price of a beer of this quality and rarity."
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Echoing these sentiments, Pubs Advisory Service chief Chris Wright expressed his concern over the general pricing of beer rather than the cost of this particular bottle, reports the Daily Star.
He said: "Specialist one-off beers have always attracted premium prices and the occasional headline, the price of regular beer is however worrying and something governments have failed to investigate despite clear evidence the consumer is being short-changed.
"The last wholesale market review was way back in 1989, you have to wonder just how bad it has to get before the Business Minister calls up the Competition and Markets Agency head and get the long overdue inquiry underway. The playing field for beer and pubs is far from level and has been dysfunctional for far too long."