Beer drinkers are being warned to brace for more expensive pints as the industry is hit with another tax increase.

Alcohol prices are not exempt from rising costs of living and the tax is adjusted twice a year in line with inflation.

The latest increase represents a 2.2 per cent rise in just six months and since May 2022 the beer tax has gone up by more than 10 per cent.

It means Aussies partial to a full-strength pint will pay nearly $1 extra in tax while publicans will face an additional $80 tax for a keg.

Australia has also overtaken Japan to have the third highest beer tax in the world, behind notoriously expensive Norway and Finland.

Brewers Association John Preston said Australia’s tax hikes had become out of control.

“We don’t believe these increases are now actually raising any more money for the government, they are just hurting beer drinkers and our pubs and clubs,” he said.

“While the treasurer inherited these automatic half-yearly beer tax increases, we’re calling on the government to step in and take some action before a trip to the pub or a dinner out with the family becomes an unaffordable luxury for most Australians.”

It’s a similar story for spirits lovers with the tax tipping over the $100 per litre mark for the first time.

Distillers and spirits manufacturers are calling for a freeze on alcohol excise rises as the price peaks at a milestone it had not been expected to hit before 2029.

Maeve Bannister
(Australian Associated Press)