How Much? Sheffield & the normalisation of the Six Pound Pint

A spectre is haunting Sheffield - the spectre of the Six Pound Pint. All the powers of the Sheffield hospitality scene have entered into a holy alliance to embrace this spectre.

At the weekend, I was in Sheffield’s brand new European beer hall-themed bar, Kapital, which has recently opened up in the Heart of the City development next to Cambridge Street Collective. The bar itself is pleasant; big enough to suit a big crowd, but not too huge so as to feel like a disused warehouse that has a small bar in the corner. The music was fine, the food looked good (although I did not partake), and the beer selection was rather great; DEYA, Lervig, and Lowenbrau all on tap, and Kapital have a specific relationship with Budvar to deliver the beer from huge tankards which adorn the building: half decoration, half delicious drink delivery situation.

However.

The pint prices were… wounding. 

A pint of DEYA Steady Rolling Man will set you back £6.95.

Paulaner Weissbier costs £6.50.

Lowenbrau? £6.35

Budvar? Also £6.35 (although it is only £5 on weekdays, 4pm until 7pm).

Now, these are all really good beers; perhaps some people may even refer to them as “premium” beers. But are they all really worth so much?

Don’t get me wrong, it is not like Kapital is particularly expensive, especially with its selection, but given it is brand-new (and helpfully advertises all prices on a  big board behind the bar), it is a good example as to the state of beer prices in Sheffield. 

Kapital is not the only place charging these prices; a Guinness at The Foresters will set you back £5.80; of the craft ales available at Forum, only two are below £6 (and one of them is only 10p under, so that hardly counts). Heist’s lager in Kelham costs £5.80. These are just the tip of the mildly-more-expensive iceberg that is the Sheffield beer scene.

For a while, it seemed as if Sheffield was the last ‘big city’ who had decent pint prices; I remember paying under £3 for a Moretti at The Fox and Duck in my first year of University; it was gorgeous. But now? 

There are, of course, reasons for the increase in price. Rising cost-of-living, coupled with the UK having an extremely high beer duty (especially when compared to countries like Germany and Belgium), have created a situation where pubs and bars do need to raise their prices.

But fuck me, it doesn’t half sting.

Especially those bars who don’t advertise their prices beforehand, hoping that typical British awkwardness will prevent you from asking how much, thereby leaving you trapped by obligation into spending overall £6 on a shit “blueberry breakfast pancake” flavoured Oatmeal stout, that actually tastes like coffee mixed with piss.

This article may just demonstrate I am turning into an angry man shouting at the clouds, wistfully remembering “simpler times” when the average pint was under £4 (and I knew remarkably little about the realities of the UK’s alcohol duty system). Maybe I just need to accept that the times are a-changing. 

Or maybe bars in Sheffield should stop charging me over £5.50 for a pint of shite Guinness.

Of course, I will inevitably still pay the £6 for said pint.

And often it will be a nice pint, such as at Kapital.

But, as you (and my partner) will be glad to hear, that won’t stop me complaining.

[NOTE: All pint prices were correct at the time of writing.]