THERE'S nothing Craig Abbot loves more than cracking open a cold beer after a long day.

But a price rise on a carton of Craig's favourite brew has left a bitter taste in his mouth.

The Mount Morgan man said he was shocked when he went to Liquor Legends for his usual carton of VB cans, only to find the price had jumped from roughly $50 to $58.

Craig said $8 extra in one hit was "over the top".

He said he had been paying the lower price for a long time.

"The whole town's going to be pretty disappointed," he said.

"It's pretty unacceptable really."

When Craig questioned the new price, he said he was told Liquor Legends had changed Mount Morgan's classification to a "remote" area.

Craig said he couldn't understand why the company would label Mount Morgan remote when it was so close to Rockhampton.

He said on average, he bought a carton a week but had friends who bought more frequently from the bottle shop.

"I won't be buying any more cartons from them anymore," Craig said.

"I'll just have to wait until I go to Rocky and buy two cartons instead of one."

A spokesperson for Liquor Legends yesterday confirmed The Grand Hotel, which runs the Mount Morgan Liquor Legends store, had requested the classification be changed from "regional" to "remote".

Paul Walker, manager of The Grand Hotel, said prices on a carton of VB cans had increased by $3 from $54.99 to $57.99.

But he said the carton could have been cheaper with a special price from Liquor Legends, which Craig may have been benefiting from.

He said some special pricing offers, which were set and controlled by Liquor Legends, could last for up to six months or longer.