Australians have called for a boycott of pubs after a restaurant revealed they were paying $42.50 for two pints of ginger ale at their local watering hole.
The Melbourne diner shared its frustration on Reddit and chose not to name the branch.
One photo showed two glasses of ginger ale; it is unclear whether they were alcoholic.
Some Aussies explained that the huge price could be due to the fact that it was alcoholic.
“It should be because it’s cloudy and it’s not a standard looking ginger ale,” one person wrote.
“I’m assuming it’s a craft ginger ale beer? Craft beer can vary in price, and $20 for a pint isn’t exactly unusual. By saying it better be damn good!’
Some claimed the drink was mislabeled.
“There is no alcoholic ginger ale, only ginger beer gets the alcohol version,” one person commented.
Another thought the high price could be explained by the alcohol content.
“Ginger beer is made the same way beer is taxed,” they wrote.
“The ones like Matsos or Brookvale that are spirits based are taxed like RTDs, so the price would be comparable to buying a pint of Smirnoff ice cream.”
A Reddit user posted what he said was two pints of ginger ale costing $42.20 at a Melbourne pub
“You can get a barrel of lager for $200, but a barrel of ginger beer can cost more than $500.”
A number of people suggested that refusing to pay was the only solution to rising prices and called on Australians to stop spending their money.
“Wtf, seriously wtf… where did you go that costs so much? My god I would give it back and say no thank you,” one person wrote.
‘I have refused pints at this price before. I’m asking now,” another agreed.
‘It’s easy to refuse. Just out of politeness, on second thought: no, thank you.’
The idea was received with approval.
‘Yes, just refuse. And refuse. And then don’t go outside. A shift is needed for prices to come down,” read one response.
“We need some kind of mass movement of ‘refuse and walk away if it costs more than $15,’” another person suggested.
As exorbitant as the price was, some Reddit users claimed to have consumed even more expensive drinks.
“I went to a club on the weekend and they charged $56 for two vodka raspberries,” one person said.
A second said the pub owners were not to blame.
“The Australian government’s tax on alcohol is wild,” they said.
‘Cafes, bars and restaurants are not flourishing at the moment. There are many who are trying to sell or simply close their doors. Small businesses in Australia are struggling.
‘If you pay more and therefore go out less, you want the whole experience to be great. Service, drinks, food and atmosphere.
‘I think things will get back to normal, but it has been a very difficult few years for those who have weathered the corona crisis and are still facing challenging times.’