A SOUTH Shropshire brewery owner has given a thumbs-down to the budget.

The Chancellor’s 2p extra duty on beer is bad for breweries and pubs, particularly those in rural areas like south Shropshire, says Edward Wood, the managing director of Wistanstow brewery Wood’s.

He points out that many craft brewers are selling to pubs that are experiencing slow trade anyway and which are also facing such huge rises in business rates that they could go out of business.

Brewers themselves are dealing with increased prices for malted barley, hops and fuel.

“The extra duty is ill-considered and untimely. British brewers are already forced to pay higher rates of duty than anywhere else in Europe and the Chancellor has chosen a very poor time to inflict a duty rise on our industry,” he says.

“British craft brewing has boomed in recent years and small breweries are significant employers in rural areas. Given the strong competition between breweries to sell to struggling pubs, the new tax will inevitably put more pressure on jobs throughout the drinks industry.”