Hamish Champ: There's 'premium' and then there's 'having a laugh'...

Feeling rather parched one lunchtime last week I popped into one of my favourite pubs down a back street near the Publican​'s offices where I ordered a pint of a well-known Suffolk-brewed cask ale.

With this being the centre of the capital it cost me £3.20. "Ouch!" I hear you cry, "£3.20 for a pint of beer!" Expensive place, London.

Anyway, while supping on said pint I was joined by a mate who asked for a large orange juice and lemonade, which I duly ordered. I watched the young lady behind the bar lob half a dozen ice cubes into a pint glass, pick up an already-opened carton of concentrated orange juice from a counter and fill the glass up to about halfway. She then topped it up with lemonade.

"£3.40 please," she said, as she set the drink down in front of me.

"Come again?" I asked. For a moment there I thought she'd asked me to pay £3.40 for a pint of orange juice and lemonade. Motorcycling really is playing havoc with my hearing.

"£3.40 please," she said again, smiling a smile that suggested either a) she was blissfully unaware that anyone might baulk at paying such an exorbitant sum, or b) she was used to this sort of reaction and had long ago decided that a smile - however forced - would see her through the next thirty seconds.

Instead of telling her to stuff her overpriced drink I muttered darkly to myself about what a rip-off it was, and handed over the cash.

The incident got me thinking about phrases such "premium product" and "value for money", which are trotted out regularly by the pub and brewing industries.

Pubs have to make money, of course. And notwithstanding the rent, energy bills, beer costs, salaries, etc, that this pub has to account for every week, I came to the conclusion that forking out £3.20 for a pint of good cask ale - lovingly made from quality ingredients, etc - was something I could accept, just about.

But £3.40 for a soft​ drink - half of which was sourced from a carton I could have bought for a quid from a nearby corner shop? That is just plain taking advantage. Value for money it wasn't, although the 'premium' angle was never in dispute, at least as far as the price was concerned.

I've been learning a bit about 'yields' recently and what they mean, and I've no doubt the yield of this particular pub is highly satisfactory, thanks to tactics like this. All I know is, I won't be crossing its threshold again in a hurry…