Why this single image of a beer has outraged Australia: ‘That’s a tough swallow’

A single image of an astronomically priced beer has sparked outrage online.

The image, which shows the pin of an unknown brand with an accompanying fee of $17.80 displayed on an Eftpos pad, was shared on Reddit on Monday afternoon with the caption: ‘$20 pints are just around the corner.’

Commenters on the post said they found the award ‘hard to swallow’.

‘I stopped drinking two years ago. “I honestly don’t know how people manage to go out drinking on a regular basis,” said one person.

“I just don’t drink out anymore. It’s such a mess. I just drink at home,” admitted another.

‘Who can afford this? This is partly what has destroyed the nightlife in the city,” said a third.

‘I’m used to $15 for a stout beer (which I’m a massive stickler for), but $20 for what I think is one of the big boys? This is a tough one to swallow in many ways,” said a fourth.

The original poster later said they bought the beer at The Rocks in Sydney, a popular tourist spot, and that it had a 15 per cent public holiday surcharge.

But another Reddit user said it wasn’t unusual, saying they had recently paid $18.20 for a ‘pint that wasn’t even a litre’ of Stone & Wood at Bungalow 8 in Sydney’s Darling Harbour.

“Paid $27 in PJ’s on Saturday for a Kilkenny and a pint,” agreed another.

Australian beer excise duty rose again in August by 2.2 per cent.

Beer tax has risen from $57.79 to $59.06 per liter of pure alcohol, making Australia the third highest taxed country in the world after Finland and Norway.

For a case of beer, tax alone is half the cost at $25.

Even the alcohol industry, generally considered recession-proof, appears to be feeling the brunt of rising cost-of-living pressures.

According to Australian banking data from the first quarter of this year, tobacco and alcohol spending fell -8.9% in NSW, -13.7% in Victoria, -14% in Queensland, -16.9% in South Australia, -14.1% in Western Australia, -9.8% in Tasmania, -2.7% in the Northern Territory and -4.5% in the ACT.

“To mitigate the impact of the cost of living crisis, alcoholic beverages consumers are becoming more selective in how and when they spend on alcohol,” said Richard Halstead, COO Consumer Insights, in the IWSR Drinks Market Analysis.

“After the pandemic, drinking at home is still preferred, but there is a strong motivation to go out, just with less frequency and more attention to alcohol consumption and spending.