Pictured above: (l-r) Dave and Keith Bott, owners of Titanic Brewery

The increase of two per cent above inflation in beer tax, announced in yesterday's Budget, is 'ruinous' to the nation's thriving local brewing sector, ignores its contribution to the economy and puts thousands of jobs in breweries and pubs in jeopardy, says Keith Bott, Managing Director of Titanic Brewery.

"This is a real kick in the teeth to the local brewing sector, one of the few British success stories of recent years," commented Mr Bott from Stoke-on-Trent's Titanic Brewery.

"Local brewers are just the kind of business this government says it wants to see prosper: they create jobs for local people and contribute to the local and wider British economy by using home-grown ingredients. Yet the current beer taxation regime is killing off our main route to market - the British pub."

"The Treasury claimed before the Budget that their beer duty escalator is 'baked in'. We say it is half baked! Continuing to increase taxes on draught beer, drunk in the socially responsible environment of the pub, will serve only to increase purchases of cheap vodka for unsupervised home consumption. We fail to see how this policy can help tackle binge drinking."

Titanic Brewery, of Lingard Street, Burslem, is a member of the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA), which represents around 450 craft brewers across Britain.  SIBA, and its members, have campaigned vigorously against the Government's 'duty escalator', which increases beer duty by 2% above inflation every year.