A TRENDY hipster bar is selling pints of beer for a whopping £22.50 a pop - five times the avererge price.

The Craft Beer Co sell pints of US-brewed Speedway Stout, which has a giddying 12 per cent alcohol content.

Per mililitre, the stout works out as more expensive than a bottle of luxury Belvedere vodka - which cost £45 each.

A barman in the chain's Old Street pub said that the beer, which they are happy pouring as a third of a pint for £7.50, is pricey because of its ingredients.

The beer, which is made in California by San Diego-based AleSmith Brewing Company, contains Blue Mountain Coffee from Hawaii, as well as other expensive ingredients.

With a jet black colour and thick, syrupy consistency, the coffee-flavoured brew is thought to be the most expensive draft pint in Britain.

Martin Hayes, managing director of The Craft Beer Co, said: "We sell the Alesmith Speedway Stout Hawaiian Special Edition by the 1/3 pint as standard.

"We do not stop people buying a half or even full pint should they wish, in the same way we do not stop people buying two or even three pints of standard strength lager.

"When we import into the UK and showcase some extremely rare and unusual beers that tend to be incredibly high in ABV - they do come at a premium prices."

But drinkers were unconvinced.

One said: "It looks delicious, but it's too busy - it tastes like an old blanket.

"For me, the coffee doesn't really do much to the pint but make it taste like it's been poured into a dirty glass.

"I'm sure it's to some people's tastes, but definitely not mine. It looks like Guinness but tastes like regret."

But others were more on side with the mega-posh pint.

A City worker, who asked not to be named, said: "That's a nice pint that.

"I wouldn't mind splashing out on one if it were a special occasion or something.

"But I can't imagine anybody spending an afternoon sinking beer that's more expensive than my mortgage."

The Craft Beer Co have pubs across London and the South East, and each has a different selection of draft beers.

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Alesmith brewery in San Diego, California, USA, invented the stout as a "flagship" export brew.

With an "ominous" appearance, the flavours consist of chocolate and malts, supported by "notes" of dark fruit, toffee, and caramel.

The average price of a pint of beer in London was marked at £5.20 in 2018 - but nationwide that figure is £4.40 last year.