08/11/2026
🍺 B**R PRICES ARE OUT OF CONTROL! 🍺
Or are they? 👀
We keep hearing how expensive a pint has become, how pubs are supposedly pricing everyone out and how much cheaper everything was back in the good old days.
Well, here at The Brook Inn, Plympton, we thought we'd challenge that thinking with a few rather interesting facts.
And trust us, the numbers might surprise you! 😉
⏪ LET'S GO BACK TO 1999...
The year the National Minimum Wage was first introduced.
💷 Minimum wage: £3.60 an hour
🍺 Average pint of l***r: £1.94
⏰ You had to work 32.3 MINUTES just to afford one pint!
Now fast-forward 27 years to 2026...
💷 Minimum wage: £12.71 an hour
And here at The Brook Inn, you can enjoy:
🍺 Carlsberg — £4.85 a pint
⏰ Just 22.4 MINUTES of work to afford it!
🍺 Birra Moretti — £5.35 a pint
⏰ Just 25.3 MINUTES of work to afford it!
🥁 NOW HERE'S THE REALLY INTERESTING BIT...
Compared with the average pint back in 1999...
✅ Our Carlsberg takes 29% LESS WORKING TIME to afford!
✅ Even our premium Birra Moretti takes 22% LESS WORKING TIME to afford!
That's right!
Your hourly minimum wage can now buy you approximately:
🍺 41% MORE CARLSBERG
🍺 29% MORE BIRRA MORETTI
..than the equivalent number of average-priced pints it could buy you in 1999!
AND THERE'S MORE!
📈 Since 1999, the National Minimum Wage has increased by a whopping 253%!
📈 Yet the price of our Carlsberg, compared with the average pint in 1999, is up just 150%!
📈 And even our Birra Moretti is up just 176%!
So whilst everyone loves to tell you how expensive the Great British pub has become, the figures tell a rather different story.
RELATIVE TO MINIMUM HOURLY WAGES, A PINT AT THE BROOK INN IS ACTUALLY MORE AFFORDABLE TODAY THAN IT WAS 27 YEARS AGO! 🍻
Of course, we know household bills have risen, and we're certainly not suggesting everyone has more disposable income.
But here's something worth remembering...
Pubs are facing those very same rising costs, alongside substantially higher wages, employer National Insurance, energy bills, business rates, maintenance costs and everything else that goes into keeping the doors open.
And yet, despite all that, we're still working hard to deliver genuine value.
Because a pub isn't just somewhere to buy a pint.
❤️ It's where friendships begin.
❤️ Where neighbours become friends.
❤️ Where stories are shared, laughter is infectious and memories are made.
❤️ Where communities come together and everyone deserves to feel welcome.
At The Brook Inn, Plympton, we're proud to be part of that tradition.
So perhaps it's time we stopped automatically blaming our wonderful British pubs for the price of a pint and started recognising just how much they contribute to our communities.
LESS TIME WORKING. MORE TIME ENJOYING.
And all this without a time machine! 😂
🍺 THE BROOK INN — PLYMPTON
Proper hospitality. Proper value. A proper British pub.
You're welcome! 😉🍻
**rPrices
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For transparency: comparisons use the UK average l***r price of £1.94 in 1999 against our current Carlsberg and Birra Moretti prices, based on gross adult minimum hourly wages of £3.60 in 1999 and £12.71 in 2026. These figures measure b**r affordability relative to earnings, not overall household disposable income. Copyright Crew Grove Pub Co 2026