On 9 Oct 2012 at 1:33pm Borrasic Drinker wrote:
I am shocked to have to report that the price of Harveys Best in the Lewes Arms is now £3.50. Can others report the prices in other Lewes Pubs?
On 9 Oct 2012 at 2:25pm boots wrote:
£3.00 in the con club
and £3.20 in the gardeners
On 9 Oct 2012 at 3:19pm Part Time Pedant wrote:
It is spelled Boracic, as in boracic lint - skint.
That's all.
On 9 Oct 2012 at 3:40pm Brewers wrote:
£3.30 in the Brewers
On 9 Oct 2012 at 3:40pm Irrelevant Steve wrote:
As a wise man once said, "Come back! Yes, with me colour TV, and me CD collection of Bob Marley".
On 9 Oct 2012 at 4:08pm Townie wrote:
£3.20 in the Elly
On 9 Oct 2012 at 4:43pm Landlord wrote:
As a landlord I am sympathetic to drinkers who are asked to pay increased prices but I also realise that the costs of running a pub continue to increase significantly all the time and so passing on price increases is the only option we have. Most good publicans will try to price their products at the lowest level that maintains the viability of their business. Harveys increase their prices annually in September and that is why prices have gone up again recently. Harveys is a very expensive beer to buy compared to many others (in part due to higher duty levels from Government and in part because it is just expensive) and so I suspect that most publicans are probably making a lower profit margin on Harveys than other beers.
On 9 Oct 2012 at 4:44pm Taff wrote:
Actually its £2.90 in the Conclub. £3.00 for Old.
On 9 Oct 2012 at 5:15pm Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
Why is the duty higher on beers like Harveys, Landlord? It's not especially strong or anything.
On 9 Oct 2012 at 5:52pm jackme off wrote:
Its £3.00 in the Oak in Newick i think we are being ripped off in Lewes
On 9 Oct 2012 at 5:58pm Landlord wrote:
It is because of a system called progressive beer duty ACT. Basically there is a reduced level of duty paid by brewers who brew less than a given amount (I think it is 5000 hectolitres) and once the brewer gos above this level then the amount of duty paid per barrel increases. As a result Harveys pay a higher level of duty per barrel than the small brewers. harveys are obviously unhappy about this as are a number of other family brewers e.g. Adnams and have said they would like the system looked at again.
On 9 Oct 2012 at 6:58pm DJS wrote:
£2.80 at St Mary's; £3.00 for Old
On 9 Oct 2012 at 8:16pm Sussex Jim wrote:
More significantly, pub prices in general are more in the south-east than in other parts of the country. You woudn't be paying £3 per pint oop north...
On 9 Oct 2012 at 10:09pm GhostBike wrote:
Try googling 'beer escalator'.
"The beer duty escalator was introduced by the last Government in 2008, and is currently in place until 2014/15. It means that beer duty is automatically increased by 2% above inflation every single year.
As a result, tax on beer has gone up by over 40% since 2008. You now pay over a third of your pint on tax."
"The fact Britons are forced to pay over 40% of the EU beer tax bill, but consume only 13% of the beer sold in Europe, is remarkable. British beer in a pub is so heavily hit with duty and VAT, the tax manâ??s whirlwind hikes translate to him guzzling a third of every pint served, a shadow cast over the beer drinker depriving people of an affordable night down their local." - Mike Benner, Chief Exec, CAMRA.
On 9 Oct 2012 at 11:08pm queequeg wrote:
Or are Greene King trying to oust Harvey's by other means?
On 10 Oct 2012 at 7:29am huw wrote:
Landlord is correct, Harveys, especially their seasonal brews, are considerably more expensive than most similar strength beers. We have struggled to keep our sale price to £3.20 a pint whcih has been difficult as we are not a free house and therefore pay up to 40 percent more for our beer than untied pubs.
It is difficult to run a pub and generate profit in this day and age as costs increase profits can rapidly dwindle unless you are willing to raise your prices in line and if you raise your prices too much you lose your customers.
On 10 Oct 2012 at 10:30am That's Me in the Corner wrote:
Somebody is trying to do something about that iniquitous beer duty escalator tax - see the link. And we mustn't overlook the fact that, as reaffirmed in Birmingham only this week, "We're all in it together" 
Check it out here »
On 10 Oct 2012 at 12:01pm boots wrote:
Sorry you are quite correct Taff. It is 2.90 in the con club.
On 10 Oct 2012 at 11:37pm Monkey wrote:
Just got charged £1 for a small bag of kp salted peanuts in the Arms. All tax and no profit no doubt.
On 11 Oct 2012 at 12:57pm Brixtonbelle wrote:
Harveys should be reducing the cost of the beer to local outlets, It's ridiculous that its more expensive to drink Harveys where it is brewed than anywhere else. After all there are virtually no transport costs, regardless of tax etc. How much does it actually cost to make a barrell of beer ?
Have to admit we have stopped going out to the pub on a Friday night because its just too expensive. It's now a 'special treat' if ever we have visitors.
On 11 Oct 2012 at 9:10pm Local wrote:
Most Harveys sold in the town comes via the other side of Sussex, thanks to wholesaling agreements or something stupid. So there are transport costs involved...