Beer could soar to $15 a pint

Tax on beer increased by more than $2 a litre (up four per cent) on Monday, from $53.59 per litre of alcohol to $55.73.

For anyone who's thinking that drinking at home might be cheaper, think again. Tax on cartons (slabs) has risen by 80 cents to $18.80.

Tax on the cost of a keg jumped by $4, raising the cost to almost $74.

"We have seen almost 20 increases in Australia's beer tax over the past decade alone," Brewers Association of Australia (BAA) chief executive John Preston said.

It's not only beer lovers who will be impacted, pubs and clubs will also be slugged under the tax hike.

"For a small pub, club or other venue the latest tax hike will mean an increase of more than $2700 a year in their tax bill - at a time when they are still struggling to deal with the ongoing impacts of the pandemic," Mr Preston said.

While the tax hikes will impact big breweries, pubs, clubs and hotels, many of Australia's micro breweries, such as Bucketty's Brewing Co, won't be impacted.

"We get an excise rebate for up to the first $350,000 which is quite a lot of beer if you're a small brewery," owner Nick McDonald said.

"It's a tax concession they put in a few years ago to help small businesses.

"The cost for us to produce a litre of beer is three to four times higher than for the bigger breweries."

Beer tax goes up twice a year - on February 1 and August 1 - and the BAA is calling on the Anthony Albanese Government to cut the "hidden beer tax" before the next deadline.

"Brewers and pub and club operators were extremely disappointed the former government did not deliver on a proposed reduction in beer tax at this year's March Budget," Mr Preston said. "Our call was a 50 per cent tax cut to the draught beer rate."

"This is a problem that the new Treasurer has inherited from his predecessors and there are many competing demands on the Budget. Nonetheless, we believe there is a strong case for beer tax relief to be provided by the new federal government."

Treasurer Jim Chalmers told ACM he will always listen to any ideas to stem price rises.

"Having inherited a trillion dollars in debt, and with lots of other pressures on the Budget, it's not possible to fund every one of them," he said.