Lager lovers may be disappointed when heading out this weekend as the price of a pint is now over €6 on average across the country.
That's according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office.
The new price of €6.05 is a jump of 50c compared to this time last year.
Lager is not the only drink to have seen a price increase, with spirits, stout, ale, and cider also rising in cost.
The average price of a pint of stout now stands at €5.62, up from €5.14 compared to last year.
Cider has gone up from €5.22 to €5.58, while a single shot of vodka has increased by 32c to €5.32.
Ale has risen from €5.18 to €5.67 and a shot of whiskey is up 33c to €5.31.
The increases come following a pint price jump less than just two months ago.
It was when Diageo, which owns Guinness, Smithwick’s, Rockshore, Harp, Hop House 13, and Carlsberg, decided to hike prices in August.
It cited rising business costs as the reason.
Isn't hospitality struggling enough?
The news of price hikes (again) comes during a time when the hospitality sector is already facing increased pressures.
After being forgotten in Budget 2024 and the return of the 13.5% VAT rate, many publicans will feel the pinch.
The sector has faced interest rate increases, beer price increases, and now some will see a wage increase for staff.
A new survey of publicans found that 44% of rural pubs have seen their business costs rise by over 30% with energy, staffing, taxes and insurance listed as their top four annual costs.
The survey was carried out among members of the Vintners Federation of Ireland.
When asked to rank which costs are causing the greatest concern, energy bills were cited highest (96%) followed by staffing (66%), taxation, including business rates and excise duty (63%) and insurance (56%).
It follows a recent report from the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI) which found that almost 2,000 pubs have closed across the country since 2005, with rural premises most at risk of shutting their doors.
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