Pub & Price Surveys

From http://iansaleadventures.blogspot.com/

Deadline fast approaching for voting for next year's GBG entries. I've completed 19 surveys so far - I've not managed down to Braemar yet, but the rest of Deeside has now been done, as has Alford, Dunecht, Balmedie & Fraserburgh.

There were 29 ales on from 13 different breweries, only 4 of which were English. Seven of the beers were from Cairngorm and five were from Inveralmond. This year, I didn't see any Houston or Fyne Ales, both of which have featured strongly in the past. The most local breweries - Deeside and Burnside - were both only spotted twice.

The range of pricing was from £2.75 (Cheers, Fraserburgh) to a colossal £4.10 at the Boat Inn, Aboyne - the new owner there is certainly pushing it at that price - even the fairly upmarket Tor-na-Coille Hotel was only £3.60 - although they were selling Deeside Lager (keg) at £4.00 - 60p. more than Tennent's.

The cheapest beer for CAMRA members, however, was at the Elizabethan, Fraserburgh, where the standard price is £3.00, but, on display of the membership card, this comes down to just £2.50.

The average price of a pint of real ale on my travels round the Shire was £3.35 - not that much more than the average price of standard lager (£3.21).