Ah here, the price of a pint is on the way up again

Irish boozers will feel the blues after hearing that the price of certain pints is set to increase at the end of the month.

Guinness drinkers and those who drink Carlsberg, Budweiser, Smithwicks and Harp will have to pay around five cents extra for a pint of their favourite tipple after drinks giant Diageo announced plans for a 2.5 per cent price hike effective from the end of October.

Granted, an extra five cents will hardly drastically affect the drinking habits of the majority of Irish boozers, but it’s the principle behind the increase that’s caused a reaction, with Vintners Federation of Ireland chief Padraig Cribben lashing out at Diageo for the timing and the threat to the livelihood of those involved in the industry.

“It’s the timing in the context of where the consumer is at the minute, the lack of confidence out there, where the trade is at,” Cribben is quoted as saying in The Irish Sun.

“The timing is all wrong when the trade is under threat. People are at their wits’ end. This move will threaten jobs.”

While Padraig be Cribben at the planned increase in price, Diageo have said that the price increase is a necessary evil to combat the rising price of barley in recent years.

A statement for the drinks giant read: “Barley, the key ingredient in beer, has more than doubled in price since 2009. Energy costs have increased by a similar proportion.”

The end result is that we’re going to have to fork out that little bit extra for a pint from now on, as if we didn’t all have other expenses to worry about.

It’s news that would drive you to drink, if you’ve enough change in your pocket, of course.