Nice statement from the Ironbridge Brewery on their blog
<http://ironbridgebrewery.co.uk/blog/>:

"In response to today's budget I've decided that I'll take the hit and I
WILL NOT INCREASE the wholesale price of our beer. That means that the
price of our beer in pubs should not go up.

We - the brewers - pay the duty on beer. We make a declaration each
month of how much alcohol we've shipped and we send a cheque off to HMRC
to cover the duty. We pay this duty regardless of how much per barrel
we've been paid by pubs and indeed regardless of whether or not we have
actually been paid for the beer. The increase in the duty rate announced
in today's budget means that I have to pay extra duty to this totally
cr@p government but I will not be increasing the wholesale price of our
beer. I will not be passing any increase on to pubs and as a result they
should not have to pass any increase on to the consumer. The price of a
pint of our beer should not be affected by duty increases announced in
today's budget.

Our pub culture is being seriously undermined by central government and
by big pub companies but I'm determined to do my little bit to fight
back. We'll forego our luxury holiday in Much Wenlock this year and the
luxury yacht will have to wait yet another year or two. The price of a
pint of our beer will not be increased by today's budget!

Don't buy beer from strangers!"

Will more small breweries follow suit? 

-- 
Rob - Shropshire
So many cats,
So few recipes...

> Will more small breweries follow suit? 
> 
Yes I know of at least one that's made the same policy decision.
(I would like to give you the name - familiar round here - but although I had 
the info from the MD himself I'm not 100% sure it was on the record.)


-- 
Peter 'Prof' Fox
Multitude of things for beer, cycling, Morris and curiosities at 
<http://vulpeculox.net>
2 Tees Close, Witham, Essex, England    +44 (01376) 517206