Oxford: Price of a pint goes up in survey of city pubs

The survey has been conducted by members of the city branch of real ale group CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale).

After revealing the increase, CAMRA members warned prices can be expected to rise further as pubs grapple with the impact of the recent budget on employers’ National Insurance contributions and an increase in the National Living Wage.

READ MORE: Parking restrictions proposed for east Oxford 

The survey found that there were 113 real ales available this year compared to 100 in 2023, with the average price of a pint of real ale, leaving aside two Wetherspoon pubs that always sell it cheap, increased from £5.06 last year to £5.42.

The Royal Blenheim and Turf Tavern had the widest choice with 10 real ales each, but several pubs had just one real ale including the Cow & Creek, Lighthouse, Plough and Red Lion. Pubs with no real ale were not included in the survey.

(Image: Oxford Mail) Dave Richardson, a spokesman for Oxford CAMRA, said: "Conducted on a Saturday afternoon in November, the survey considered only traditional cask or real ales – with some craft keg products typically costing £1 a pint more.

"The 25 pubs covered were in the city centre going out as far as Folly Bridge, Magdalen Bridge, St Giles and the railway station."

The most expensive pint found this year was £6.55 for a Fuller’s seasonal ale in the Head of the River, followed by £6.45 at the Turf Tavern for a Greene King special beer.

The lowest costing pint outside Wetherspoon pub was still £3.80 in the White Rabbit (the same as last year) but the number of pubs where you could not get a pint under £5 has gone up from six to 12.

READ MORE: Train station delays not good enough says MP 

The most commonly occurring price this year was £5.60 as opposed to £4.50 last year.

Prices at the two Wetherspoon pubs, the Swan & Castle and Four Candles, were actually down on 2023 with all at £2.49 a pint, except for Greene King IPA at £1.99.

The most common brewery found was Greene King with 12 beers, although five were one-off “specials” at the Turf Tavern.

(Image: Oxford Drinker) Next came Titanic with six, Vale Brewery with five and Hook Norton with five. 

Last year Greene King had eight including four “specials”, followed by XT/Animal with six and the now closed White Horse brewery with five.

The most common beer was Timothy Taylor’s Landlord with five, Greene King Abbot with four and Greene King IPA and Sharp’s Doom Bar with three each. 

Titanic beers were well represented thanks to the Royal Blenheim pub in St Ebbes.

The spread of breweries was similar to last year when Landlord, Abbot and Doom Bar all turned up four times, and proves how difficult it still is for small local breweries to gain a foothold in city centre pubs, which are mainly controlled by large breweries such as Greene King, or pub companies having deals with national brands.

Mr Richardson told CAMRA's magazine the Oxford Drinker: "Independent brewers are calling for all pubs to be able to choose at least one beer, and consultation is under way at government level.

"But the results of the 2024 survey, with 85 different real ales available in about three square miles, are still very encouraging for CAMRA and Oxford’s growing status as a “real ale city” to be sampled by people from near and far.

"Thanks to Steve Lawrence for collating the survey and those who took part."

Help support trusted local news 

Sign up for a digital subscription now: oxfordmail.co.uk/subscribe 

As a digital subscriber you will get:     

• Unlimited access to the Oxford Mail website    
• Advert-light access         
• Reader rewards          
• Full access to our app 

About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

His Trade and Tourism newsletter is released every Saturday morning. 

You can also read his weekly Traffic and Transport newsletter.