The owner of the town's Crown Hotel was told his establishment is not posh enough to sell Peroni. A sound business decision – or sheer snobbery?

There was indignation in Skegness this week as it emerged that bosses of the Italian beer brand Peroni have deemed the seaside town "too rough" (in the Sun's words) to sell its overpriced foreign lager.

Derek Bain, 34, the new owner of the town's Crown Hotel, was shocked to be told his three-star golfing establishment was not posh enough to hawk Peroni on draught. He claims that consultants from Miller Brands, which sells Peroni in the UK, visited two weeks ago and said Skegness "didn't fit the brand". The hotel had planned on installing a draught tap for its Bentley and Ferrari-driving clientele.

"You can get Peroni in Blackpool," says Bain, "so why not Skegness?"

Jonathan Bennett, PR man for Miller Brands, insists Peroni wasn't worried that Skeggy would do to the brand what Daniella Westbrook did to Burberry when she was papped head-to-toe in its checks. "It's not a commentary on Skegness itself; we just didn't feel Peroni was right for [the hotel]. I'm sorry that the landlord was unhappy, but this has been a successful strategy for us for a long time," he said. "Throughput on kegs does affect quality," he added, tacitly implying that his inspectors believed not enough drinkers in Skeg would cough up for a pint that is commonly sold for as much as £5 a pop (though Bain had planned a £4 price point).

David Carter, consultant at Progress Drinks Solutions, said Miller Brands had done a great job of turning Peroni into one of the nation's swishest pints. But he thought the decision was "a bit of blue-collar snobbery". It is common for a new drink brand to be picky, he said - "but not one freely available in every supermarket. You can get it in Asda in big packs. They are being a bit hypercritical."

The Crown Hotel is in good company. Wetherspoons, the UK's most successful pub chain, can only sell it in bottles too.

Bain is already plotting his revenge, and is hoping to entice Birra Moretti, Peroni's arch rival, into the Crown. He may not need to. When the Guardian called on Monday afternoon he'd already had a counter offer from another Italian brand, Birra Menabrea.