How much is a pint in your local pub?

Here is a pub in Berlin charging 3.00 for 50cl beer in 2026. (that's €3.41 per pint)
How is this possible?

VAT is 19% there, so that's 2.86 ex VAT per pint.


Excise duty is very low in DE, the rate is EUR 0.787 / hL per degree Plato.

The number of degrees Plato measures the percentage in weight of the original extract per 100 grams of beer, calculated from the actual extract and the alcohol contained in the finished product.


I think this means about 5 cent per draught pint?

So the price ex duty and VAT is 2.80 per pint.


Let us compare that to Dublin. I will use a €6.00 price, so €4.88 ex VAT. The excise duty is around 54 cent per pint.

So the price ex duty and VAT is 4.33 per pint.

A €6 pint in Dublin is 55% more expensive than in Berlin, after accounting for taxes.


Why?

Elec costs are also high in DE.
The min wage is fairly high in DE, it's €13.90 ph, not far behind ours.


Therefore, the high cost in Ireland, after tax, must be due to:

(1) high suppliers costs, i.e. the dominance and power of Diageo
(2) high commercial rents
(3) high pub profit margins


2026_Berlin_bar.webp
 
Last edited:
Protocol said:
Therefore, the high cost in Ireland, after tax, must be due to:

(1) high suppliers costs, i.e. the dominance and power of Diageo
(2) high commercial rents
(3) high pub profit margins
Click to expand...

I think probably all of the above - to a greater or lesser extent, depending on location, premises ownership etc. But I believe a lot of the costs here come down to the unbelievably high public liability insurance for any business where the public are admitted. If anyone trips or falls in a pub in Germany they're highly unlikely to sue - and even if they did and were successful, they'd get a tiny, tiny fraction of what they'd score here.
 
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