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Topics: UK News, Food And Drink
Anish Vij
Sometimes it's easy to forget that the cost-of-living crisis doesn't just affect us at home, as businesses up and down the country are struggling to stay open.
The rise of inflation along with utility costs and supply chain issues has meant that the price of a pint is set to rise throughout hundreds of pubs across the country, reports The Sun.
Greene King, for example, has been forced to raise the cost of its draught beer by 4.7 percent. IPA, Abbot Ale and Old Speckled Hen are all among their popular cask beers.
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A Greene King spokesperson told Birmingham Mail: "Like all hospitality businesses, we're seeing significant inflation across our industry with rising energy prices contributing to significant cost pressures in supply chains.
"Supporting our partners is number on priority and we're absorbing costs ourselves. We've also written to our partners to notify them of our intention to apply annual price changes from 12 June.
"Our success and our partners' success is mutual, which is why we will continue to help our partners to grow and develop their businesses with wide ranging business support and guidance."
Overall, ONS say the cost of beer has gone up 4.9 percent, which marks the third highest price rise since records began.
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The British Beer & Pub Association claim that the average price of a pint is currently £3.21.
This follows a warning made by a leading Scottish wholesaler who claims the UK might be on the brink of a bottled beer shortage as stocks of glassware plummet and production costs soar.
Suppliers are already starting to deal with a glassware shortage, as prices jumped by 80 percent in the last 12 months due to rising energy costs.
Julie Dunn, operations director at Dunns Food and Drinks, said: “It won’t be long before the glassware shortages hits UK consumers.
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“Our wine and spirits suppliers from around the globe are facing ongoing struggles that will have a knock-on effect.
“As a result, there could be less variety in the bottled beers we see on UK shelves.
“Specialist bottles and glassware hold a very important place in the heritage of the beer industry and I expect that while some breweries will convert to cans to ensure consistent supply, others will look at this as devaluing the brand, so will inevitably pass the additional cost onto beer drinkers.
“We sell a huge amount of beer from Germany, so I would expect us to feel a fairly seismic hit in the very near future. However, Dunns will always endeavour to source the best possible range it can.”
Beer accounts for more than £7.1 billion of spend in 2020 – putting it as the most popular alcoholic drink choice in the UK.