http://www.thepublican.com/story.asp?sectioncode=7&storycode=67227

Price of a pint could 'rocket' by 20p

11 June, 2010

By James Wilmore

The only thing that's worth commenting is that there's nothing worth commenting on.

As ever the BBPA contrive to lay all responsibility for the high price of beer in (the BBPA's) pubs at the doorstep of government. Nonsense.

BBPA will always announce a 'thousand percent increase' rather than to say that duty's gone up by 35p in 45 years, according to their figures. In the same time the price of beer through tied wholesale supply has what? Tripled? Quadrupled? More? With the price increase all going to the pubcos to repay BILLIONS of quids of debt. That's a FAR MORE significant increase in costs to the industry than any government has ever applied.

One might as well have: "Brigid Simmonds, the chief executive of the BBPA, said: “Beer accounts for 60 per cent of sales in community pubs, so beer price increases by pubcos have a direct impact on British pubs.