AGGRIEVED beer lovers demanding Coles honour last night's pricing mishap on its website that gave tech-savvy buyers the chance to buy slabs of premium beer for just $15.99 have been advised the matter will be between individuals and the retail giant.

A spokeswoman from Consumer Affairs Victoria said the matter was "contractual".

"Based on the information provided, this is a contractual matter, which is best resolved between Coles Online and the consumers who purchased the items," she said.

"Both parties should refer to the terms and conditions of the contract."

But the chances of retailers making a habit of mistakenly pricing products is slim, with the ACCC saying: "While a 'mistake' may raise concerns under the Australian Consumer Law, the ACCC's general advice is that if a business becomes aware of a genuine mistake in pricing and immediately rectifies it, the ACCC is unlikely to pursue it further."

"That said, where complaints reveal repeated mistakes that could indicate a pattern by a particular business, further action may be appropriate to ensure that the business improve their systems so consumers are not mislead in the future."

It came as hundreds of irate beer lovers who believe they have been cheated out of an ultra-cheap beer windfall are lampooning the retailer on a specially created website.

As Coles Online continues to inform people it will not honour purchases made after a glitch on the website saw premium beer available for as little as $15 a slab last night, a growing number of customers were posting vitriolic messages and even altering the company's promotional images to push their point.

Some posting to the Coles ‘No Beer’ Online Facebook page are even calling for complaints to be made to the ACCC as others threaten to "occupy Coles".

A glitch on the Coles Online website is thought to be the reason behind premium beer being listed for less than $2 a litre in what turned into a beer bonanza, selling out supplies of popular brews in just hours.

It's not yet clear how many beer lovers tried to take advantage of the ultra-cheap prices like James Squire Golden Ale for $15.99, which the grocery giants website listed with a unit price of just 19 cents per 100ml, but many are now angry the retailer appears to be trying to get out of it.

Some have reported receiving emails apologising for an error on the website and offering a $15 credit for failing to fulfil the purchases.

In response disapproving customers who thought they’d scored an early Christmas gift and bought up to four slabs of premium beers, the maximum allowed by the website, have taken to the Coles Online Facebook page to vent their frustration.

"Clearly it seems... 'The prices are not down'," posted Alistair Meallin.

Others have simply demanded their beer.

A spokesman for the website said the error had been rectified as soon as possible and had been a genuine mistake.

"Two beer lines were inadvertently listed with the wrong price on our Coles Online website, and we corrected the prices as soon as we became aware of the error,” the spokesman said.

"This was a genuine and obvious mistake, and we’re alerting customers who have placed an order that we will not be able to supply the lines at these prices.

We're offering affected customers a $15 Coles Online credit in recognition of any inconvenience they may have suffered."

Coles has now advised only customers in Victoria, NSW and the ACT were caught up with pricing problems.

Originally published as Coles slams door on cheap beer loophole