Are the big beer companies testing President Obama’s tolerance? Anheuser-Busch InBev  purveyor of the president’s preferred brew, Bud Light  and MillerCoors, a joint venture between SABMiller and Molson Coors, are raising prices at the same time, during a recession and while beer demand is slumping. With 80 percent of the market between them, the move almost begs for an antitrust review.

Both brewing groups typically adjust the price on a six-pack every year to reflect changes in the costs of ingredients like barley or hops. But their ability to do so now, while their customers are hurting most, highlights the pricing power that has accompanied industry consolidation.

While Anheuser-Busch, acquired last year by InBev of Belgium, has long held a dominant share of the market, the number of big players has decreased. From 1947 to 1995, the number of American brewers fell by more than 90 percent. Though a surge in craft producers followed, few compete directly with mass-market suds like Budweiser or Miller.

That was fine so long as the Big Three  Anheuser, Miller and Coors Brewing  were at one another’s throats. And boy, were they.