That's spending nearly $100 for just nine drinks, and with alcohol excise indexed each year these numbers are only likely to increase.
According to the Tyro Eat Pay Love report, nearly half of all Australians (49%) have changed their drinking habits because of the growing cost.
About 27% of people now drink less when they are out, while 8% have switched to cheaper booze.
Another 14% reported cutting down on alcohol in general, or even stopping altogether.
The CommBank household spending report for June also showed Australians are spending on average 6.5% more on hospitality than this time last year, while the latest quarterly CPI inflation numbers showed alcohol and tobacco prices rose 6.5% from March '24 to March '25.
While great news for our collective livers, the nation's publicans are already feeling the squeeze with a wave of reports last year about forced closures, particularly in rural areas.
Brian Sarkis, a manager and co-owner of two Sydney hotels, says he's noticed the impact the escalating costs are having on his customers.
"We definitely have more people asking 'is it happy hour yet?' or 'what is in happy hour' and ordering...only during that time," Mr Sarkis said.
Tyro also surveyed Australia's hospitality operators, 74% of which expect the cost of a schooner of locally brewed beer (often the cheapest option available) will be over $10 by the end of the year.
Is the pub shout dying?
Another eye catching find from Tyro's research was the apparent demise of the 'pub shout' - Australians are 35% less likely to buy rounds for their friends compared to last year.
Again, Mr Sarkis can anecdotally corroborate this.
"At our Darlinghurst venue, people will just buy individual drinks when they're with a group of friends," Mr Sarkis said.
Shouting in general seems to be becoming more unpopular, with Tyro finding QR codes are growing in popularity.
This is perhaps for good reason, with separate research from Up Bank finding the average young Australian loses nearly $2,000 each year in unrecouped debts.
The vast majority (86%) of Up Bank respondents admitted these money issues have strained their relationships, so it's no wonder cost splitting apps like Splitwise, Beem or Up's own Groups feature are becoming increasingly popular.
Miserly baby boomers killing hospitality sector?
The Tyro report also found a generational gap of more than 40% when it comes to how much is too much for a drink.
Baby boomer respondents aren't happy paying more than $7.80 on average for a drink, which as anyone who goes out in a big city will attest to is usually an unrealistic expectation.
It was the same story with coffee - gen Z are comfortable paying $6.90 for a caffeine hit in the morning while baby boomers don't like paying more than $5.
However, the CommBank household spending indicator does not yet suggest any significant drop off in hospitality by a portion of the population, so it might just be a case of older people grumbling before begrudgingly still paying.
"Young guys and girls don't really baulk at the price, whereas older people comment that that's not what they used to pay," Mr Sarkis said.
Picture by Amie Johnson on Unsplash
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