Price Rise

Brewers Raising the Bar on Beer Prices
Thursday, 27 August 2009
ST. LOUIS—U.S. beer drinkers thirsty for lower prices are in for a disappointment, brewers say.Beer consumers will soon be socked by higher prices, as Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest brewer and maker of Budweiser, and other producers around the world have announced price increases, CNNMoney.com reported Wednesday.In a statement, the U.S.-Belgian company said: "We plan on taking price increases on a majority of volume and in a majority of markets this fall. The increase helps cover some input costs," adding that prices will rise "across different price tiers," including its low-end brands.CNNMoney.com said MillerCoors, maker of Miller Lite, Coors Lite and Blue Moon, will also raise prices in certain markets."What is going to be a little bit out of the ordinary is that (prices) are going to be able to go up less than in a normal year because economic conditions are tighter," Benj Steinman, editor of industry trade publication Beer Marketer's Insights told the Web site.Anheuser-Busch InBev reported this month that total beer volumes were down 1.5 percent in the second quarter compared with the year-earlier period.Copyright 2009 by United Press International