Price of a pint rises as pubs struggle 

Pubs across the Liberties told The Liberty that the price increases for pints in Ireland have affected the local community. 

Early this month, drinks brand Diageo increased the price of pints of its beer brands for the fourth time in the last two years. The recent increase brought Diageo-branded alcohol up by six cents a pint. 

Well-known brands like Smithwick’s and Hophouse 13 are notable favourites. However, the most notorious increase is on Irish favourite Guinness. 

Many bartenders and owners are unhappy with the price increase. 

Kavanagh’s pub on New Street in Dublin. Photos: Joshua Harris O’Brien

Kavanagh’s on New Street in Dublin 8 is promoting the rival, and cheaper, Beamish stout to give regulars and locals a choice. 

A bartender at the pub who wished to remain anonymous said the price increases were a danger to business, saying there was “no way we could sustain that”. 

They had “absorbed” the rising Guinness price for “two years”, he said, wanting a “local price for local people. 

“We don’t take the piss.” 

The new rise forced them to introduce the new stout, he said.

It is among a number of local pubs using Beamish as an alternative to Guinness while still offering Guinness to those willing to pay the higher cost.

The Brazen Head on Bridge Street has a 90% tourist community.

Keith Hall, one of the staff at the establishment, said the locals are “noticing the prices”, and he says the staff can really “see the difference” in terms of lingering time for any customer entering the pub. 

Brazen Head pub on Bridge Street in Dublin