Heading to London this summer

£500 should cover it.

 

He said three months, not three weeks

 

Ha ha. After posting that I did think £500 was a little low.

 

If you're after American craft, especially those bombers, then £2000 may not seem that crazy over 3 months.
It is available in the UK but you need to know where to go and be willing to pay the price. Not so long ago I paid about £8 for a bomber of Hop Stoopid and that is about the the going rate.

 

In a bar or in a store? In a store maybe, I believe Craft Beer Co charge about £14 for most bombers, I've seen some bombers/750ml going for £30-£35.

 

It all depends on what beers, how often, and how much, your friend plans to drink.

The average pint of real ale I saw in London last spring was about £3.50, with mass-produced stuff like Fosters actually being a bit more expensive, American craft beers even more so (e.g. £7.00 for a pint of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale), and bottles often higher still (although there were some decent bottle deals). If you only go out on weekends, and only drink 4 pints of cask mild or bitter per session, then £500 would be more than enough to cover 3 months.

As soon as you add in weeknight drinking, imports, and extended sessions, though, you really start to see things add up.

 

Unfortunately London is probably THE most expensive place to drink in the UK. So it would be best to budget at the higher end of whatever you estimated.