Are beer drinkers choosing to stay at home to save money?

The brewer Coors, which produces Carling, Grolsch and Worthington, is increasing wholesale prices by 5p a pint on Monday.

How much the increase will affect beer drinkers across the board depends on the decisions of other brewers and individual landlords.

Industry campaigners are meanwhile lobbying the government for a freeze on taxes in this year's April budget.

Coors Brewers - whose products account for more than 20% of the UK market - said the increases were due to production, distribution and marketing costs.

Customers...probably spend more on a cup of coffee than on a pint British Beer and Pub Association

It said the maximum increase on a 288-pint barrel of beer was �15 - or 5p a pint - but added that the majority of publicans would negotiate discounts on the top price.

Coors also said it was investing heavily in marketing and promotion.

Its biggest brand Carling sells 5 million barrels a year and is the UK's top selling beer.

But Eddie Gershon of J D Wetherspoon - which has 640 pubs in the UK - said the chain would not be increasing prices.

Pubs are closing

"We have never raised prices as a knee-jerk reaction to brewers putting their prices up," he said.

Representatives of the industry at the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said drinkers were still getting the best value for money in Europe.

A spokesman said production, energy, transport and wage bills had increased.

WHERE DOES IT ALL GO? Average pint in 2003: �2.04 15.4% goes to the brewer 31.5% goes to the Chancellor 53.1% goes to the retailer Source: AC Neilson/Competition Commission

"People also need to remember that every time they buy a pint, almost a third of the cost goes back to the chancellor in VAT and taxes," he added.

"Customers are still getting incredibly good value - every day they probably spend more on a cup of coffee than on a pint."

BBPA said it was impossible to confirm predictions that beer would rise by 10p a pint across the board as a result of the actions of one brewer.

"Publicans set their own prices and strike their own deals," he said.

BBPA is lobbying the Chancellor for a freeze on beer taxes this year.

In 2003 Gordon Brown added duty of one penny to a pint of beer, but froze increases in the previous two years.

Tony Jerome, of the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) said it was a "bad time for the consumer".

"The brewers say costs are going up but we don't think it's right that consumers should have to pay for an increase spend on advertising.

"That should see their sales going up, and get their money back that way."

He said 20 British pubs were closing every week, partly because increasing costs caused many people to stay at home and drink for less.