Publicans hold off on price hikes but a pint of Guinness still costs up to €8.85

Many of the pubs we surveyed say they have enough stock to last the changes until next week, with several of them saying they will have no choice but to put up their prices then.

And the Sunday World has found what could be Ireland’s priciest pint of Guinness – a whopping €8.85 after midnight in the Merchant Arch pub in Temple Bar. This compares to €7.85 during regular hours in the same hostelry.

The Merchant Arch is also hovering near the tenner for pints of lager – Harp costs €9.60 after midnight (€8.60 beforehand), while Carlsberg is being sold for €9.30/€8.30 (the pub does not serve pints of Heineken)

A glass of wine there costs €8.20, while a hot whiskey will set you back either €9.50 or €10.50, and an Irish coffee is either €14.50 or €13.50.

The nearby Oliver St John Gogarty is continuing to serve pints of Guinness for €7.90, while a pint of Heineken there is €8.90, while Red Ale is €7.90.

A pint of Guinness in the Temple Bar pub costs €7.95, while pints of Carlsberg and Heineken there are €8.95. A pint of Smithwicks is €7.95.

The Auld Dubliner is selling pints of Guinness for €7.30, lagers for €8.20 and Red Ale for €7.30.

Most other Dublin pubs are selling pints of Guinness around the €5.50 mark, while country pubs are around €5.

Last month Diageo announced that they are increasing their prices for publicans by 12 cent per pint.

The price hike on a pint of the black stuff for publicans comes into effect from today and will be before VAT is added, meaning publicans may have to raise prices by 40 cent per pint.

Diageo also sells Hop House 13 and Smithwicks.