Brewery rolls back pricing 25 years

Hogs Back Brewery in Surrey is celebrating its 25^th anniversary by selling its flagship beer for £1.30 a pint (for one evening only) to illustrate how much tax there is on beer now.

The celebration on 24 August will only be taking place in 10 pubs near the brewery in Farnham however so thirsty drinkers elsewhere who want to make the most of the retro pricing might want to book a day off now.

Hogs Back was founded in 1992 and a pint of its first beer, ‘TEA’, cost just £1.30. Today, the combined cost of duty and VAT alone on a pint amounts to £1.36.

Managing director, Rupert Thompson, said he hoped the pricing, as well as proving popular with pub goers, would raise awareness of how much the duty on beer had increased in the last 25 years and would build support for a cut in beer duty.

He said: “We’re delighted to be celebrating our quarter-century with some very local pubs and their customers, who will be able to enjoy TEA at 1992 prices for one evening.

“The fact that duty and VAT paid on a pint of TEA today are, at £1.36, more than the total price of a pint 25 years ago serves to highlight the high taxes charged on beer and we’re sure will gather drinkers’ support for the brewing and pubs industry’s request for a cut in beer duty at the next Budget.”

To see which pubs will be serving TEA at 1992 prices click here, and for a trip down memory lane to a time when John Major was prime minister, Bill Clinton became president, Windsor Castle caught fire and Gary Lineker played his last game for England, click here.