5% rise for Thwaites ales

Lancashire brewer Daniel Thwaites has announced wholesale beer price rises of 5% for the majority of its house ales and lagers.

But the Blackburn company says it intends to freeze rates on standard cask products Thwaites Original and Nutty Black — two brands most commonly stocked across its tenanted estate.

Wholesale increases on beers supplied to Thwaites by other brewers are to rise by an average of just over 5%.

"We have tried to peg the increases back as much as we can, but like everyone else we have been hit by increased overhead costs and rises in raw materials," said managing director Peter Morris. "We are trying to hold back prices on products that have the biggest effect on our tenanted businesses. Many of the increases relate to price rises passed on to us by our suppliers."

Thwaites has also announced better terms for tenants adopting Foster's as an exclusive national lager brand; it will enjoy a price freeze for the remainder of the year.

"We are doing what we can to help our tenants, which includes a new agreement introduced this year that now offers discounts of £30 per barrel.

"More than 20 tenants have opted to take on the agreement, and we are hopeful a lot more will follow," he said.

One Thwaites tenant, Lesley Coop, of Ye Old Fighting Cocks, Arnside, Cumbria, said her customers faced steep rises across the bar: "We absorbed increases last year, but these latest rises mean prices will go up appreciably, as much as 20p a pint on premium lagers."