At the same time, the first wave severely damaged two of the three industries involved in the production and sale of beer: breweries and gastronomic establishments, especially pubs and restaurants. In retail, on the other hand, sales of packaged beers increased slightly compared to last year.
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On the other hand, last year and this year the prices of almost everything needed for beer production rose relatively fast, the fastest being probably the prices of energy, packaging materials and also labor costs.
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By raising the price of more expensive bottled beers, which are mainly lagers, breweries are also responding to their growing popularity and higher sales. The first wave of the pandemic and the associated restrictions on the operation of pubs and restaurants “hard” showed that brewers did not give up their drink and bought lagers at much lower prices in the retail network. It is therefore on this assortment that breweries logically target the current price adjustments.
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Prazdroj only increased the price of lagers
This year, brewers estimate a ten percent increase in sales in the so-called off-trade channel, which is the sale of bottled or canned beer directly to customers. However, the massive decline in sales of draft beer from the spring months will probably not be compensated by this, so the breweries will end up below last year’s level in total sales and with the credit of exports.
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Already in August, the increase was announced by Plzeňský Prazdroj. Since yesterday, he has increased the price of some beers in bottles and cans. The increase in prices by an average of 3.6 percent, ie about 50 pennies, will mainly affect lagers and premium beers, such as Pilsner Urquell, Radegast 12 and Gambrinus 12. Draft beers in kegs and tanks, as well as ten-degree Gambrinus or Radegast beers in bottles and cans, the largest domestic producer will not raise prices this time.
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The number two on the brewing market, Pivovary Staropramen, will increase the price of packaged beers by three to four percent from December, depending on the type of beer. The general director of breweries, Zdeněk Havlena, informed about it. “We took this step after a thorough analysis of costs and the market situation and are currently informing our business partners,” Havlena told ČTK. In addition to rising packaging prices, according to him, the reason is also the growth in prices of other materials, personnel and logistics costs.
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Budweiser Budvar will become more expensive from 1 January next year, as well as bottled and canned beer, by an average of 3.7 to four percent. Lager will become more expensive, the price of draft Budweiser beer should not change.
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Of the cask beers, only the price of Budvar 33 will rise, which is last year’s novelty, the first Budvar “bitter” lager, for which the introductory discount will end after a year. Other keg beer prices will remain the same as this year. Other breweries will sooner or later adjust the prices after the experience from previous years.
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Pub owners are drowning in uncertainty
Whether and how the increase in the price of beer by breweries will be reflected in the final prices in stores is difficult to predict today. However, it can be assumed that chains and other retailers will incorporate them into their prices over time.
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It is no less difficult to estimate how the prices of draft beer will develop in restaurants. On one dish is a drop in demand and attendance, which has already forced, for example, restaurants in the center of Prague to reduce beer prices a bit. Other established restaurants in larger cities work without major problems and the outflow is decent. Country pubs are then in a different situation. Many of them already solve existential problems rather than beer price issues.
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The worst uncertainty for pub owners is when it is not known whether the state will eventually close down the operations of restaurants and pubs completely. According to them, the measures taken by the state were and still are little predictable, some even difficult to understand. This also applies to the recent reduction of traffic to 10 pm, which annoyed mainly traditional regulars.
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