Pub giant Wetherspoon has been accused of punishing non-drinkers and families with children after it was revealed it charges nearly twice as much for soft drinks than beer.
While some ales, lagers and ciders are just £1.99 a pint, the cost of a bottle of juice brand J20 works out to the equivalent of £3.90 a pint, almost double the price.
And even non-branded orange juice and top selling Pepsi will set customers back more than many of the famous name beers sold in the huge pub chain.
Pub giant Wetherspoon has been accused of punishing non-drinkers and families with children after it was revealed it charges nearly twice as much for soft drinks than beer
The move hits designated drivers, non drinkers and families with children in the pocket and comes at a time when health advice is to drink less alcohol.
Research by consumer site Can I Eat It? found pub favourites Magners cider, Bud Light, Green King IPA and John Smiths regularly cost just £1.99 a pint at the chain famous for its cheap prices and huge sites.
While some ales, lagers and ciders are just £1.99 a pint, the cost of a bottle of juice brand J20 works out to the equivalent of £3.90 a pint, almost double
A pint of Doom Bar bitter is more, at £2.49 a pint, lager favourite Carlsberg is £2.69 a pint, Guinness will cost £3.65 a pint and Stella, famously expensive, comes in at £3.75 per pint.
Most of these are cheaper than at many other city centre pubs and bars which is a prime factor in the success of the chain with nearly 1,000 sites, often in quirky buildings like former banks and post offices.
But it does not do the same cheap price for soft drinks, even though they are not hit by the levels of duty and taxation as their alcoholic alternatives.
Even the government’s recently introduced sugar tax does not affect diet fizzy drinks or fruit juices and has only added an extra 10p to non-diet Pepsi for instance.
Yet bottles of J20 cost £1.89 for a 275 ml serving which is the equivalent of £3.90 a pint. Cranberry, orange and apple juice costs £1.89 for a bigger, 398 ml serving, but that is the same as £2.70 a pint.
Pepsi and Whites Lemonade is the equivalent of £2.72 a pint and diet Pepsi is a little cheaper at the equivalent of £2.57 a pint..
Can I Eat It? researcher, Martin Isark, said the high price of soft drinks would do little to encourage beer drinkers to swap and punish non-drinkers, those who were driving and families eating with children.
Research by consumer site Can I Eat It? found pub favourites Magners cider, Bud Light, Green King IPA and John Smiths regularly cost just £1.99 a pint at the chain famous for its cheap prices and huge sites. Pepsi and Whites Lemonade is the equivalent of £2.72 a pint and diet Pepsi is a little cheaper at the equivalent of £2.57 a pint
He said: ‘This research reveals that Wetherspoon has a complete disregard for non-drinkers and families with children.
‘Surely a massive organisation like Wetherspoon has a responsibility towards the nation’s health. Wetherspoon should be promoting not penalising customers who want to drink healthy soft drinks.
‘Duty on beer is roughly 54p a pint with an abv of 5 per cent but there is no duty on soft drinks and the sugar tax doesn’t apply to fruit juices.’
Wetherspoon spokesman, Eddie Gershon, said: ‘Our pubs serve a range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and always try to offer the most competitive prices.
‘Ruddles bitter and Bud Light are normally our lowest priced bitter and lager with many pubs selling them for £1.99.
‘Fruit juice would be more expensive, per ml, than either of these. However there are a number of soft drinks that are cheaper, for example most soft drink cans are £1.09 and unlimited coffee is £1.25.
‘Additionally our pubs offer a free water refill scheme.’
Wetherspoon’s pricing: The price of the drink in the measure served and the price per 100 ml for comparison (note: a pint is 568 ml)
Magners/Bud Light/Green King IPA/John Smiths – £1.99 per pint – 35p per 100 ml
Sharps Doom Bar – £2.49 per pint – 44p per 100 ml
Carlsberg – £2.69 per pint – 48p per 100 ml
Guinness – £3.65 per pint – 65p per 100 ml
Stella – £3.75 per pint – 66p per 100 ml
J20 (all flavours) – £1.89 per 275ml – 68p per 100 ml (equivalent to £3.90 a pint)
Juices (Cranberry/orange/apple – £1.89 per 398 ml serving – 48p per 100 ml (equivalent to £2.70 a pint)
Whites Lemonade/Pepsi – £1.90 per 398 ml serving – 48p per 100 ml (equivalent to £2.72 a pint)
Pepsi Max – £1.80 per 398 ml serving – 45p per 100 ml (equivalent to £2.57 a pint)
Diet Pepsi is 10p less because of the sugar tax.