Australia’s cheapest schooner found in Canberra ahead of jump in beer price
Surprising Aussie town where buying a beer is cheapest – as brewers warn tax hikes will soon push the price of a schooner to $12
- Canberra has the cheapest bear at $7.50 per schooner
- Beer prices will increase by 3.7 percent from 1 February
- Aussies pay the fourth highest beer tax in the world
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Canberra has been revealed as the cheapest Australian capital to go out for a beer, with the average price of a schooner being $7.50.
However, brewers warn they will struggle not to pass the costs on to consumers as the industry faces a tax increase from February 1.
Beer drinkers will be hit by the second hefty tax increase in six months starting Wednesday, with some warning that the price of a schooner could reach $12 in some areas.
The beer tax is tied to inflation, which hit its highest annual jump since 1990 earlier this week.
The consumer price index (CPI) rose for the fourth consecutive quarter with a year-over-year increase of 7.8 percent.
Canberra (above) has the cheapest city beer in Australia, with pubs paying an average of $7.50 for a schooner
As a result, beer drinkers can expect taxes on draft and packaged beer to increase by 3.7 percent, or about $1.50 each.
It comes after a 4 percent increase in August and brings the overall increase to nearly 8 percent in just six months.
Australians now pay the fourth highest beer tax in the world after Japan, Finland and Norway.
In a letter to Treasurer Jim Chalmers – seen by The Daily Telegraph – the Brewers Association of Australia warned the Federal Government that a schooner could soon cost $12 at a club or pub.
“People in parts of Sydney are already paying $8 per schooner – if it continues to rise, it will soon exceed $12,” said John Preston, chief executive of the Brewers’ Association.
The BAA has urged the Albanian government to freeze the tax on beer sold in bottle shops for at least two years and to halve the beer tax on draft beer in pubs and clubs.
The Brewers Association of Australia warned that an upcoming tax hike of 3.7 percent will make schooners (above) cost $12 at a club or pub
“These are hidden tax increases that have risen every six months for the past 20 years,” Preston said.
“The record rises make it more difficult to get people back in.”
Ahead of the expected price hike, NCA Newswire crunched the numbers to calculate the average price of a schooner draft beer available in pubs, restaurants and bars in Australia’s capital cities.
Beers are the cheapest in Canberra, with the average price for a 425ml glass of beer at $7.50, although prices as low as $5.50 can be found in some establishments.
Adelaide claimed the unenviable title of Australia’s most expensive beer, with the average 425ml glass – locally called a pint – costing $9.14.