“Due to significant increases in the cost of energy, packaging, and raw materials, Heineken Ireland has been left with no choice but to amend its pricing in the Irish on-trade market," the company said.

It said its malt costs are up 120% and diesel costs are up 67%.

The company wrote to its on-trade customers to advise them of a 9% increase in wholesale draught prices to "more closely reflect the current cost of producing and supplying our products".

The 9% increase is the average across the brand portfolio, which includes Murphy's stout.

“It is frustrating, but not unexpected,” said owner of Cork pubs Sober Lane and Electric Ernest Cantillon.

Mr Cantillon said he understands the need to hike prices as he is also a brewer through his business Kinsale Spirits.

“With Kinsale Spirts we’ve had to pass on cost increases,” he said.

Heineken said that it is not passing on "the full impact of cost rises" to its Irish business.

“We have been working hard to minimise the impacts of these increases but unfortunately we have not been able to mitigate all of them,” the company said.

The announcement comes as Heineken recently missed its beer sales estimates amid growing inflationary pressures.

The world’s second-largest brewer said beer volumes rose 8.9% on an organic basis in the third quarter, below the 11.8% average analyst estimate.

Chief executive of the Restaurant Association Ireland Adrian Cummins said that the price increase will add to the cost of living crisis for consumers and for businesses.

Managing director of popular Dublin pubs, The Bridge 1859 and Lemon and Duke described the announcement as a “huge kick in the balls” on Twitter.

Huge kick in the balls this morning one of our major breweries has just put a simply massive price increase on. This madness has to stop. Calls will go in to reverse it but this is simply insane.

— Noel Anderson (@NoelAnderson_) November 10, 2022

“This madness has to stop. Calls will go in to reverse it, but this is simply insane,” he said.

However, Mr Cantillon said there is a silver lining for craft beers amid price increases for more popular draughts, “We like selling it (craft beer) and the gap between mainstream beer and craft beer price wise is closing the whole time,” he said.

The knock-on effect of Heineken’s decision could lead to pints across the board increasing between 40c and 50c as publicans already operate on tight margins, an industry source told the Irish Examiner.

They added that “war is breaking out” over the announcement.

“It looks like we’ll bring the price up to the €6 or past the €6 mark for a pint of larger, say a pint of Heineken,” said Mr Cantillon.

“This is a price point that has been broken in Dublin for a long time and would have been broken in some parts of Cork and in late bars and stuff like that,” he added.

The company said it sets the wholesale price that is charged for its products but “has no role in relation to the price paid by the consumer, as this is set by individual operators within the on-trade sector.” Mr Cantillon said he will “hang back a little and see what other people do” following the price hike.

“Nobody wants to end up the dearest in town,” he said.