Going to the pub is becoming increasingly costly for Czechs. Since 2019, the price of draught beer has gone up by more than half. Many guests therefore now prefer to stay at home.
Anyone ordering a beer in the Czech Republic notices it straight away: draught beer is becoming ever more expensive – and is moving further away in price from bottled beer in the supermarket. As the Czech news portal Novinky.cz reports, retail prices have risen by only 10 to 25 per cent over the past five years, while pub visitors have to dig much deeper into their pockets.
According to the Dotykačka cash register system, the price of a draught twelve-degree beer has risen by more than 55 per cent since 2019 – from just under 40 to 61.50 crowns. Food prices have climbed even more steeply. Experts expect the gap between the hospitality sector and retail to continue to grow.
The reasons for this development lie in the crises of recent years: the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis, double-digit inflation and recession. In addition, 2024 saw the abolition of the reduced VAT rate – since then, draught beer has been subject to the standard rate of 21 per cent.
Fewer guests in pubs
According to Dotykačka, a classic goulash rose in price from an average of 118 crowns in 2019 to today’s 183 crowns. For many, that is too expensive: in a survey by Novinky.cz, 62 per cent of 19,000 participants said they no longer go to the pub regularly.
A few weeks ago, Plzeňský Prazdroj announced another price adjustment, for some varieties by up to two crowns. “We did not raise prices for two years. In view of rising costs we had to react,” company spokesman Zdeněk Kovář explained to the news portal, citing higher transport and logistics costs as reasons.
Despite the sharp price hikes, beer in the Czech Republic remains affordable in international comparison. A look at the past makes this clear: in 1985 a twelve-degree beer cost only 6.30 crowns – today, the average income pays for more than three times as much.
