Pricing a pint in a brewpub: cost, margin and local habits

Start from cost per serve

Work out the cost of making a litre of beer: malt, hops, yeast, water, energy, cleaning, packaging or kegs. Add labour and the cost of any beer lost in the process. Then divide by the number of serves, remembering that you never sell every litre brewed. Spillage, foam, line cleaning and tasting samples take a share.

The figures below are an illustration, not a benchmark. If a litre costs 2.00 to make and you pour 500 ml, the liquid costs 1.00 a serve before loss. Add an allowance for loss and your own overheads.

Include the time of the brewer in the cost of the beer, as well as the ingredients. A brewpub that counts only malt and hops will think its beer is cheaper than it is.

Do this for each beer, not for the average. A heavily hopped beer costs more per litre than a simple lager. The menu should show it.

Add the costs of the room

A brewpub pays for rent, service staff, glassware, utilities, licences, insurance, music, cleaning and card fees. These do not change with the beer. Estimate them per month and divide by the number of pints you expect to sell. If rent and wages are large, the pint price has to carry them.

Do the sum at a quiet volume, not a busy one. Pricing that works only on a full Saturday night will fail on a Tuesday.

Add a margin for the business itself. After costs, a brewpub still needs money to repay a loan, replace equipment and cover the quiet months. Pricing only to cover costs leaves nothing for any of that.

Know your local pour

The serve differs by country: 568 ml pints in the United Kingdom, 473 ml (16 US fl oz) pints in the United States, 330 ml or 500 ml in many other places. Bottled beer sells by the bottle. Match local habits unless you have a reason not to. A customer used to a half litre will notice a smaller glass.

Check what competitors charge for beers of similar strength and quality. Do not copy them blindly, but know where you stand.

Customers also read price as a signal of quality. A very low price can make a craft beer look ordinary. A very high price can feel like a tourist trap. Know who your regular is and what they pay elsewhere.

Price the range, not each beer

Not every beer has the same job. A reliable lager or pale ale is the volume line and sets the reference price. A strong or rare beer may carry a higher price and a smaller serve. A guest cider or a non-alcoholic beer has its own margin. See starting a non-alcoholic beer brand.

Cost differs by style. A high-strength, heavily hopped beer uses more malt and hops per litre, so its price should reflect that.

Food and beer together also help. A beer and meal deal can lift the average spend per visit, but check that the deal price still covers both costs.

Taxes, duty and rounding

Duty and sales tax may be included in the shelf price or added on top. Know which applies in your country. Decide whether prices on the menu include tax. Rounding to a clean price is a business decision: a price that is easy to say and pay helps at a busy bar.

Menu layout counts too. List the volume beers first and show the strong beers with their serve size, so the price per measure is clear. Customers feel cheated by a hidden small pour more than by an honest high price.

Test, adjust and record

Change prices slowly and watch sales. Track pints sold by beer, by hour and by week against price. A beer that sells slowly may be priced wrongly, poorly described or simply wrong for the room. Use the data from logging brewery data you will use and the habit of forecasting demand.

Review prices when costs change: malt, energy, wages and rent do not stay still.

Keep a simple price list history. When a price changes, note the date and watch the weeks after. Without notes, you will forget what you changed and why.

Common questions

How much margin should a brewpub aim for on a pint?

It depends on your costs and your market. Build the price up from cost, then check it against what customers will pay. Avoid copying a rule of thumb without testing it.

Should I charge more for stronger beer?

Often yes, since strong beers use more ingredients and may carry higher duty. Many places also serve them in smaller measures.

Should I discount during quiet hours?

Some brewpubs run happy hours. Make sure the discounted price still covers your costs. Keep alcohol promotions responsible and within local law.