Beer drinkers left feeling bitter as average pint tops £3
A pint of bitter went up by 6p last year - the biggest annual rise since 2014
THE average price of bitter in pubs has topped £3 for the first time.
A pint rose 6p over the year to £3.05, the biggest increase since 2014.
Lager was up by 10p to £3.58, another high, say figures from the British Beer & Pub Association.
Despite the huge increase, beer remains the pubgoers' drink of choice, accounting for 54.3 per cent of alcohol sales in 2016, down from 55 per cent in 2015.
Wine, on the other hand, remains the top choice of the home drinker, with a 38 per cent share, down slightly from a peak of 40 per cent 2013.
Britain has seen a huge explosion in the number of breweries, which topped 2,000 for the first time in 2016, at 2,250.
But the research also found that the top 20 brewers produce 71 per cent of all the beer enjoyed by beer lovers around the world.
Between 2000 and 2016 there has been an astonishing increase of 1,750 in the total number of UK breweries.
Beer duty is 60 per cent higher than in 2000, and amoung the highest in the European Union.
Chief Brigid Simmonds said: "Taxes on UK beer are still a huge cause for concern, and we cannot afford another duty hike in the November Budget if we are to keep a pint in the pub affordable.
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"With the right policies, the beer and pub industry, which supports 900,000 jobs, can continue to help grow the economy.";
It comes after a seperate report released earlier this year found that London is no longer the most expensive place to buy a pint.
Research by The Good Pub guide found the average price of a pint in Surrey jumped a whopping £4.40 in the last year.
Last year, leading pub operators warned that the price of a pint of beer could be cranked up by a staggering 30p due to Brexit.
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