Australian pint prices have climbed sharply since January 2020, with the national average rising from $9.96 to $13.76. Melbourne drinkers are paying the most for several of the country’s best-known beers, while Perth is generally the cheapest capital city for a pint.
Data supplied by payments firm Square shows that a pint of Balter XPA costs an average of $15.70 in Melbourne, compared with $15.51 for Guinness, $13.91 for Carlton Draught, $12.86 for Carlton Dry and $12.95 for Great Northern Super Crisp.
Perth recorded the lowest average prices for most of those beers. Beer expert James Smith, founder of The Crafty Pint, said the pattern could indicate that brewers and venues were discounting products to build their presence in Western Australia.
“That to me suggests [those beers are] trying to do some sort of targeted discounting or trying to break in to the Western Australia market,” he said. “WA as a whole, in terms of hospitality and the beer production industry, has generally held firm longer than other states did.”
Melbourne beer prices rise amid higher venue costs
The steepest increases came after pandemic restrictions ended in 2022, when most pint prices rose by about 10 per cent, according to David Schnabl, a Square executive. Price rises have eased each year since, but have not gone into reverse.
Premium beers are now approaching the $15 mark nationally, with Balter XPA averaging $14.53 and Guinness $14.48. Even XXXX Gold, the cheapest pint in the data, has reached a national average of $11.24.
“Craft beer was already trading at a premium, but the gap between premium and mainstream has continued to widen. The $10 pint is effectively extinct in this dataset,” Schnabl said.
Victoria’s pubs face a range of additional costs, including the mental health wellbeing levy and a payroll tax linked to Covid debt repayments for venues with payrolls above $10 million. Higher land tax, council rates and stricter late-night licensing conditions have also placed pressure on operators.
Mr Smith said he regularly heard complaints from publicans about the financial burden, but suggested Melbourne customers continued to order familiar brands regardless. Carlton Draught remains the state’s most ordered tap beer.
“I reckon there could be an element in Victoria or in Melbourne, people knowing we can charge more because people are going to buy it anyway,” he said.
Perth’s lower prices may also reflect a stronger local pint culture. Taylor Westlake, a food and retail planning expert at Titanium Property, said pints were more commonly treated as the standard beer measure there, whereas in New South Wales and Queensland they were often priced at a premium to the 425ml schooner.
Measurements differ across Australia. In South Australia, a pint is 425ml, the size known as a schooner elsewhere, while ordering a schooner in Adelaide produces a 285ml drink.
Beer excise adds to pressure on pint prices
Great Northern, Australia’s best-selling beer, has recorded the largest increase among the major tap beers tracked. Its average price has risen 43 per cent since 2020, from $8.21 to $11.73 a pint.
Guinness has increased by 41 per cent over the same period, from $10.25 to $14.48. Stone & Wood Pacific Ale has been the most consistent in price, with less than $1 separating the cheapest average city price, Sydney at $14.25, from the most expensive, Adelaide at $15.23.
Australia’s alcohol excise, which rises twice a year in line with inflation, is one of the main factors behind higher beer prices. AMP analysis found that beer prices had risen by about 27 per cent in real terms since 2000, after general inflation was taken into account.
The Government’s two-year freeze on excise for draught beer was intended to help drinkers, brewers and pubs. However, Kylie Lethbridge, chief executive of the Independent Brewers Association, said the measure was more likely to provide breathing space for producers than reduce prices for customers.
The freeze applies only to beer sold on tap, a market dominated by Lion and Carlton & United Breweries, subsidiaries of Japanese beverage companies Kirin and Asahi respectively.
Pint price rises have slowed to 2.7 per cent so far this year, the first increase below 3 per cent since the pandemic. But Square’s Schnabl said a slowdown did not mean prices would fall, with the national average potentially reaching $14 by late 2027.
