Beer drinkers in Pennsylvania may soon be spending more under a proposal in Gov. Ed Rendell's budget.

The plan would triple the state tax on beer, affecting breweries by raising the tax they pay for brewing a gallon of beer from 8 cents to 25 cents.

The budget proposal has yet to pass through Congress. However, if approved, the tax hike would take effect July 1.

Paul Pletcher, owner of Pletcher's Beer Distributor, 330 W. Aaron Drive, said he expects the tax increase to eventually raise the price consumers pay for beer.

"Breweries will pass the increase onto distributors and I expect it will be passed down the line to cost the consumer more," he said.

Eric Patterson, a State College resident, said he thought the tax would not affect the amount of beer people buy. "People would just start buying cheaper beer," he said. "Other than that, the tax wouldn't have much effect."

D.G. Yuengling & Son, one of Pennsylvania's largest breweries, expects the 17-cent-per gallon increase to cost the brewery an additional $4.5 million a year. The increase would mean Yuengling would pay about 40 cents more in taxes to brew a case of beer.

Yuengling officials expressed doubt the brewery would be able to absorb the impact of the tax increase without passing it on to consumers.

Tom Hickey, spokesman for Rendell, said the increase is minimal.

"We are raising a tax that hasn't been changed since 1947. If you drank a beer a day, the increase would cost you an extra $5 a year," he said.

The tax increase is expected to generate $55 million dollars in extra revenue for the state as part of Rendell's "Plan for a New Pennsylvania" budget.

Rep. Kerry Benninghoff, R-Bellefonte, said he firmly disagrees with the governor's proposal.

"I'm not in favor of any of these tax hikes. I'm against them all," he said. "Frankly, there are better ways to balance the budget."

The plan to raise the beer tax is similar to proposals that have been made in 19 other states.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.