Those wishing to drown their economic sorrows with a pint down the pub may have to think again. Leading chef Marco Pierre White has revealed that he is planning to charge £5 a pint at his pub in Newbury, Berkshire.

Depite the current recession, with many people seeking out budget alternatives for food and drink, the outspoken chef is unapologetic about the hefty prices. The move will make the Yew Tree Inn one of the most expensive places to drink British real ale in the country.

White insisted that the price reflects the quality product. “I think most pubs undercharge. On the average price of a pint, with duty and VAT now topping 70p, plus the cost of buying the beer and all the other overheads, some publicans are left with less than 60p,” he comments in the latest edition of BEER, the Campaign for Real Ale’s membership magazine.

“When you have a pint, you’re not just paying for delicious beer, you’re paying for the place you drink it and the people who serve it. Just take a look at the costs in a pub.”

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White gives real ale a top billing on his menus, above the starters and the £1,000 bottles of Mouton Rothschild. In fact, the Yew Tree bar has no other pumps on it, other than five real-ale handpumps serving Butts Berbus Berbus and Mr Chubb’s Lunchtime Bitter from West Berkshire's microbrewery; Black Sheep Best Bitter, Taylor Landlord and Adnams.

"I don’t think lager fits well into a 17th-century pub at all,” said White.

He added that fine, well-kept real ale is a craft product and that the price should reflect that – and compared to the fine wines on offer in the Yew Tree, a pint of hand-crafted, artisan beer seems a steal at £5 a pint.

Pubs in many parts of the country now charge at least £3.20 for a pint, but last week the pub chain JD Wetherspoon offered a 99p pint of beer, the lowest price for more than 20 years.

A Good Pub Guide survey last October found the average price of a pint of bitter in UK pubs cost £2.41.

According to the survey's results, the West Midlands is the cheapest place for a pint at an average £2.05. Surrey beat London as the most expensive, with pubs in the county charging an average £2.69 for a pint of bitter compared to £2.67 in the capital.

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