By Chris Story

Last updated at 12:53, Wednesday, 15 October 2008

Beer-lovers in Cumbria are enjoying some of the cheapest pints in the country.

Cumbria has some of the cheapest places in Britain to drink

The county was yesterday named as one of the least expensive places in Britain to buy a pint of bitter.

It is ranked sixth in a chart of what drinkers can expect to pay in bars nationwide, published in the most recent edition of a pub fans’ bible.

The Good Pub Guide, now in its 27th year, provides up-to-date information on more than 55,000 pubs across the country and revealed regional variations of prices for a pint of bitter.

And it didn’t make for entirely pleasant reading for drinkers with the average price of a pint nationally up seven per cent from last year to £2.58. However, the average price in Cumbria falls below that at £2.41.

The cheapest tipple can be found in the West Midlands at an average of £2.25, with Surrey the most expensive at £2.88.

Drinkers in Cumbria are delighted they enjoy some of the cheapest beers in the country. But Philip Tuer, Solway pubs liaison officer for the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), said prices can often depend on where you drink.

In some city pubs, for example, he said prices can range from between £2 to £2.40, rising to about £2.50 in outlying pubs and villages. In some Lake District tourism hotspots, prices can be as much as £3-a-pint.

Mr Tuer said: “Competition in Carlisle is quite reasonable because of the presence of the likes of Woodrow Wilson’s. They force other pubs to keep their prices down.”

The beer enthusiast believes parts of south Cumbria are cheaper for ale than some pubs in the north of the county.

Many bars are forced to set alcohol prices at levels governed by the pub chains that own them. The Old Crown at Hesket Newmarket, however does not since it is owned by a co-operative and run by tenants Malcolm and Pat Hawksworth.

The couple make a profit, but do not have the costs or constraints of outlets owned by major companies.

Mr Hawksworth said it was hard to determine average beer prices, because they depend on the strength of the drink.

But the Old Crown’s most popular bitter – Skiddaw, brewed at the neighbouring Hesket Newmarket brewery – is £2.15 a pint.

Mr Hawksworth believes it is positive for Cumbria to be among the cheapest places in the country.

He said: “It is good news for drinkers and visitors to Cumbria.

“The majority of pints pulled in the Lake District, I would suggest, are being bought by visitors who bring their full wallets and go away having contributed to the profits that create wealth and jobs.”

Other highlights from the Good Pub Guide included editors receiving a record number of complaints from readers about visits to their local watering hole being spoilt by badly behaved children.

It was a problem to which they admitted there was no easy solution.

Meanwhile, CAMRA will reveal the winner of its inaugural Carlisle Pub if the Year competition during its beer festival next week.

The venues shortlisted were the Woodrow Wilson, Spinners Arms, Linton Holme, Griffin and King’s Head.

CAMRA members chose the winner at a special meeting, but the result is a closely-guarded secret until 1pm on Friday, October 24.

The winner’s announcement will be one of the highlights of the Solway Branch’s beer festival, being held in Cumbria Ballroom at The Lakes Court Hotel.

Tickets for the event are on sale at The King’s Head, Fisher Street. Those who buy in advance will save £1 on the admission price. Students will get in for £1 – compared to a normal price of £3 – for the Thursday evening session.

Up to 30 beers will be available to taste at the festival – with “real lager” – specially brewed by Fiona Deal from Brampton’s Geltsdale Brewery – available for the first time.

The selection of ales will include some of those best associated with breweries across Cumbria, as well as real cider from Abbeytown-based Solway Cider.

Sponsorship for the festival has come from various Cumbrian pubs, breweries and businesses.

Published by Ebury Press, the Good Pub Guide 2009 costs £15.99.

CStory@cngroup.co.uk

First published at 11:48, Wednesday, 15 October 2008
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk