TOTAL GRINCHES
Our town’s ‘rip-off’ Christmas market is charging £21 for beer & single sausage – they’ve CAPPED our drinks at one each
One disgruntled punter said you could 'blow about £50 in ten minutes'
LOCALS say their Christmas market is a “rip-off” as a beer and single sausage costs £21 – and the drinks have been capped.
The Frankfurt Christmas Market in Birmingham claims to be the largest authentic German market outside of Germany or Austria.
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But revellers have blasted it, saying it’s a “rip-off” after prices shot up when it opened on Friday.
Punters have to fork out £12.50 for a two-pint stein of Hofbrau German wheat beer and a further £9 for a half-metre Bratwurst sausage.
A mere bag of roasted almonds will set you back £4.50.
Visitors are also up in arms about new restrictions that limit revellers to buying just one drink per bar visit – a move which is designed to curb drunkenness despite creating long queues.
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Some locals who have visited in the past are now considering not going this year following the changes, particularly as they are unimpressed with the alcohol policy.
John Beard, 35, from Perry Barr, Birmingham, who has been a regular visitor in the past, has vowed not to go this year.
He told the : "This will be the first time in ten years I'm not going to bother.
"For what it costs, it's really not worth it because it's absolutely rammed and you're just standing about in the cold essentially.
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“The stalls are the same each year too.
"People are watching the pennies more than ever and don't want to spend nearly a tenner on a sausage. You can blow about £50 in ten minutes."
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Other have vented their anger online.
John Coles said: "Was good when it first started now going downhill rapidly."
Jeanette Bennison added: "I've visited a couple of times years ago and I didn't think much of it, prices were high then, a rip off and stalls selling the same stuff all the way round."
Trevor Smith wrote: "The last time I went there I got a hot dog and coffee cost me 15 quid I said to the bloke what part of Germany you from he said Tipton."
Punters now wanting to enjoy a pint of beer with a regular bratwurst will be charged £13.50 – with both items having increased by 50p since 2023 when prices remined the same from the previous year.
Not all prices at the Frankfurt Christmas Market have risen though.
The prices at Birmingham's Christmas Market
- Double pint of beer - £12.50.
- Pint of beer - £7.
- Half-pint of beer - £4.50.
- Wheat beer - £6.50.
- Shandy pint - £7.
- Alcohol-free beer - £7.
- Gluhwein - £6.50.
- Aperol Spritz - £7.50.
- Prosecco - £6.
- Hot chocolate with Baileys - £7.
- Bratwurst - £6.50.
- Half-metre-long bratwurst - £9.
- Frankfurt sausage - £5.50.
- Currywurst - £7.
- Vegan bratwurst - £6.50.
- Burger - £5.
- Pork steak - £7.
- Chips - £4.
- Garlic bread - £4.
- Falafel wrap - £6.
- Pretzels - £4.
- Crepes - £4.50.
- Roasted almonds (per 100g) - £4.50.
- Churros - £4.50.
A half-pint of beer still costs £4.50, a boozy hot chocolate is priced at £7, garlic bread is still available for £4, and crepes begin from £4.50.
Last year, the market was voted the finest Christmas market in the UK for 2023 and also secured eighth place across Europe.
Despite the changes, some regulars are still planning on making a visit.
Birmingham local Tony Jones said: "I think it's amazing, it's the best time of the year and it's really entertaining.
“It's once a year and I come every year. I love it, I do."
He added: "Everybody is really happy, it's a great atmosphere."
His partner Chloe Flynn said: "It is expensive for the beers, but because its German beer you don't even need that many to get drunk."
A spokesperson for Birmingham City Council said: “The £9 Bratwurst is an enormous half-metre long Bratwurst and not a normal Bratwurst, i.e. it is double the size of a normal Bratwurst.
“Many people buying it are not buying it to eat alone but to share with someone else. This makes it very good value as it is then only £4.50 per person.
“£12.50 for a Stein of beer. A Stein is two pints. The price of two pints at many city centre pubs is this price, sometimes higher.
“We have benchmarked against a range of other events where two pints costs anywhere between £12 and £16 – in this regard our pricing is at the lower end of the range compared to many events.
“One drink per person. This is not a new rule.
“It relates to the Challenge 25 scheme that is run in bars, pubs, clubs etc across the country.
“Alcoholic drinks can only be sold if the bar staff can see the person buying the drinks and/or the people that the drinks are intended for as they must implement Challenge 25.
“The Challenge 25 rule states that if someone looks under 25 the bar staff must ask them for ID to prove that they are over 18.
“If someone asks for 5 pints and the bar staff can see the other 4 people that the drinks are intended for and can complete a Challenge 25 assessment, then they will sell 5 pints.
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“However, if someone asks for 5 pint and the bar staff cannot see the other 4 people and therefore cannot follow the Challenge 25 guidelines then they will only sell one pint to the person that they can see.
“This is to prevent vulnerable people, in particular children, from being able to buy alcohol – it is about protecting children and vulnerable people which is a key principle of licensing law.”
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