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The brewer of Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois has warned pints will have to become more expensive as rising inflation threatens to leave a bad taste in the mouth.

Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s biggest beer company, said it was facing increased costs in the UK that would soon be passed on to consumers in pubs and bars.

Jason Warner, AB InBev president for northern Europe, told The Sunday Telegraph: “There has to be an increase.”

He suggested the rise would come into effect in the next two years but declined to specify the level needed.

“We are starting to see the real inflation rate of the UK coming through and for our retail partners they will see it across all categories,” he added.

UK inflation has grown two per cent since August 2016, with the Consumer Price Index measure up from 0.6 per cent to 2.6 per cent in July 2017.

Londoners currently pay an average of £4.20 for a pint of their favourite tipple, according to a recent survey.

But the Good Pub Guide found that punters in Surrey pay even more, meaning that for the first time ever the capital isn’t the most expensive part of the UK to buy a drink.

Drinkers in the home county, popular with London’s commuters, pay an average of £4.40 a pint, the study found.