A local café owner buys premium lager bottles for €1.80 each and needs to price them at €7.50 to hit their 24% pour cost target. Most successful bars maintain pour costs between 20-25% for beer, which means roughly one-quarter of your revenue covers purchasing. The math determines your minimum viable price.
What is pour cost and why 24%?
Pour cost works exactly like food cost but for drinks. It reveals what slice of your selling price actually goes toward beverage purchasing.
💡 Example:
You buy beer for €1.20 per bottle and want a pour cost of 24%:
- Purchase price: €1.20
- Pour cost: 24%
- Minimum selling price excl. VAT: €1.20 ÷ 0.24 = €5.00
- Selling price incl. 21% VAT: €5.00 × 1.21 = €6.05
Menu price: €6.05
A 24% pour cost means every euro of beer sales sends 24 cents to your supplier. The remaining 76 cents handles labor, rent, utilities, and profit.
The formula for beer price calculation
Minimum selling price excl. VAT = Purchase price ÷ (Pour cost % ÷ 100)
Then multiply by 1.21 for the final price including 21% VAT. Alcoholic beverages always get hit with the high VAT rate.
⚠️ Note:
Alcoholic beverages always fall under 21% VAT, not 9% like food. Forget this step and you'll sell beer at a loss.
Common pour cost percentages
Different drink categories have their own typical pour cost ranges:
- Beer: 20-25% (draft usually beats bottled)
- Wine per glass: 18-25%
- Spirits: 15-20%
- Cocktails: 20-28% (factor in all ingredients)
💡 Draft beer example:
Draft beer typically delivers better margins since kegs offer more volume:
- 30L keg for €45 = €1.50 per liter
- 25cl glass = €0.375 purchase
- Pour cost 20%: €0.375 ÷ 0.20 = €1.875 excl. VAT
- Incl. 21% VAT: €1.875 × 1.21 = €2.27
Selling price: €2.30 (rounded)
Including extra costs
Beyond the actual beer purchase, several hidden costs nibble at your margins:
- Glasses: washing, breakage, replacement
- CO2: for draft system
- Maintenance: draft system, cooling
- Loss: pouring out, tasting, bad pours
These costs resist precise calculation, but smart bars build in an extra 2-3% margin buffer. From years of working in professional kitchens, I've seen how these small losses add up fast.
💡 Practical example:
Café with different beer prices:
- Pilsner bottle (€1.20 purchase): €5.50 selling = 24% pour cost
- Specialty beer (€2.80 purchase): €11.50 selling = 27% pour cost
- Draft beer (€0.40 purchase): €2.50 selling = 19% pour cost
Average pour cost across all beers: 22%
Competition and market prices
Your calculated price sets your profitability floor. But you can't ignore what competitors charge:
- If your math says €5.00 but everyone else charges €4.50, you face a choice
- Option 1: Accept thinner margins (higher pour cost)
- Option 2: Hunt for cheaper suppliers
- Option 3: Differentiate through service, ambiance, or quality
Tools like a food cost calculator help you monitor pour costs per drink and instantly see how price adjustments affect profitability.
How do you calculate the selling price of beer? (step by step)
Determine your purchase price per unit
Calculate what one bottle, can, or glass of draft beer costs you. For draft beer: divide the keg price by the number of glasses you pour from it. Example: keg of €45 for 120 glasses = €0.375 per glass.
Choose your desired pour cost percentage
For beer, 20-25% is common. Choose 24% if you want a healthy margin without becoming too expensive. Draft beer can often be slightly lower (18-22%) due to better margins.
Calculate the minimum selling price
Divide your purchase price by your pour cost percentage. Example: €1.20 ÷ 0.24 = €5.00 excl. VAT. Then multiply by 1.21 for 21% VAT: €5.00 × 1.21 = €6.05 incl. VAT.
✨ Pro tip
Track your actual pour cost on draft beer for exactly 14 days by measuring keg yield versus glasses sold. Most bars discover they're losing 8-12% more volume than expected through foam and waste.
Calculate this yourself?
In the KitchenNmbrs app you can do this in just a few clicks. 7 days free, no credit card.
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Frequently asked questions
Should I calculate 9% or 21% VAT on beer?
Alcoholic beverages always get 21% VAT, even in restaurants. Only non-alcoholic drinks qualify for the 9% hospitality rate.
How do I calculate draft beer per glass accurately?
Divide your keg cost by actual glasses poured from it. A 30L keg typically yields 115-120 glasses of 25cl after accounting for foam and line loss. Track your real yield for two weeks to get precise numbers.
What if my calculated price exceeds local competition?
You've got three moves: accept lower margins temporarily, negotiate better supplier rates, or justify higher prices through superior service and atmosphere. Don't just match competitors blindly.
📚 Sources consulted
- EU Verordening 852/2004 — Levensmiddelenhygiëne (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 853/2004 — Hygiënevoorschriften voor levensmiddelen van dierlijke oorsprong (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 1169/2011 — Voedselinformatie aan consumenten (2011) — Official source
- NVWA — Hygiënecode voor de horeca (2024) — Official source
- NVWA — Allergenen in voedsel (2024) — Official source
- Codex Alimentarius — International Food Standards (2024) — Official source
- FSA — Safer food, better business (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- BVL — Lebensmittelhygiene (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- Warenwetbesluit Bereiding en behandeling van levensmiddelen (2024) — Official source
- WHO — Foodborne diseases estimates (2024) — Official source
Food Standards Agency (FSA) — https://www.food.gov.uk
The HACCP standards shown in this application are for informational purposes only. KitchenNmbrs does not guarantee that displayed values are current or complete. Always consult the FSA or your local authority for the latest regulations.
Written by
Jeffrey Smit
Founder & CEO of KitchenNmbrs
Jeffrey Smit built KitchenNmbrs from 8 years of hands-on experience as kitchen manager at 1NUL8 Group in Rotterdam. His mission: give every restaurant owner control over food cost.
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