Thanks Gliter bug. But for your information $56.00 is within my budget I just felt it was a overpriced. And it totally is.
I think a lot of people are missing the OP’s point. If you don’t feel like you’re getting a good (or even a fair) value, then that takes some of the enjoyment out of the event. Since beer is a social beverage, getting ripped off for a decent beer is kind of like being forced to bring along your annoying brother-in-law as your wing man.
So you either vote with your feet, or you suck it up and pay it. Depends on how bad you want the beer and how inconvenienced you want to be. As someone who usually has a couple hundred gallons of homebrew around at any given moment, it galls me to pay for any commercial beer. I’ll do it to be social, but I try to forget about the economics of it.
I’ll tell you what really hurt. The exchange rate in Australia. The US and AU dollars are about even now, so I was seeing $9-11 pints in most places. Decent beers, but not worth 2x what I’d normally be paying. If I were an Aussie, I’d be living over here now. It would be like Christmas every day.
So make your own beer and get people to swing by your place. If they are used to paying through the nose, you’ll really look like a hero.
Thank you Mr. Strong. My point exactly.
Now I have have a Belgian Black Ale to bottle!!
Cheers everyone!
Richie
I thought that was Williamsburg 
Ahh my friend…you should be making a note TO visit there. Spooky, scary, weird and wonderful!
We may have had 7 beers now that I think about it, but 56Euro was pricey…musta been the dirty T-shirt…
We’ve kinda danced around the subject, but I rarely purchase beers at bars when the price gets above a certain point. A couple of the ones I frequent do a glass size shift and try to keep the price the same. They serve some in pints, others in 14s, some 11.5s and then some 8s and all the prices generally run $5-6 unless they are having a special (generally half price). Of the beers mentioned by the OP, I’d go get them at a store (if possible) and drink what might be affordable. I’ve paid over 50 bucks for a 750ml bottle and it was pretty fantastic, but for the most part $15 is where I start to consider whether or not to purchase a beer. My wine price point isn’t much higher, about $20. Of course if it isn’t coming out of my pocket don’t worry about it too much ;D
My question is how much better can a $25 beer be than a $3 beer? Like how much better can a $500 bottle of wine be better than a $20 bottle? There has to be some diminishing returns somewhere.
It all ends up as piss.
Ahhh grasshopper…
Get yourself a bottle of Old Rasputin XII (500ml, ~17oz) and compare it to a regular 12oz bottle of Old Rasputin. My response is THAT much better. $22+/- vs $2 (if anyone wants to get picky, more like $15.5 vs $2 if both were 12oz) and let’s just say that reminded me I need to go see if I can find a bottle of the XII… ;D
I’ve got 1 in my cellar, No comparison between XII and the normal.
I mostly stick to the draught selections when I’m at a specialty beer bar and leave the bottles for purchase at the store, like mdixon says. It’s partly the big “service” mark-up on bottles and partly the fact that I can get the bottled version whenever, but not so much with draught.
“Now I have have a Belgian Black Ale to bottle!!”
I had a very nice Brooklyn Cuvee Noir on tap the other day. Yours similar?
Indeed. I’ve recently spent too much money on other breweries’ beer as well. It’s almost cathartic in that I realize that I need to pretty much stop buying any beer at all and just drink what I make. After finding out from my dad this past week that a case of Odell Isolation Ale is $40, my jaw dropped. I need to freakin’ quit buying beer.
This is exactly what I do too. When I hit a beer bar, I want to sample fresh local draft or cask. I know I can get their overpriced bottles at a shop for much cheaper and enjoy them at home another time.
As craft beer continues to grow (which is indeed a good thing, but resultant changes are inevitable), I ultimately see homebrewing as the great equalizer in keeping beer a beverage for the “common man” so to speak. It really is a return to the roots of brewing when each household made their own. What is cooler than that? It is no different than any artisan food or craft, if you put your mind to it, you can usually do it better and cheaper yourself.
The common man doesn’t brew. He’s too lazy. (IMHO)
And to the cost point, Schlitz and Budweiser product at $9/sixer is what’s out of line. That’s just one example, there’s others. I guess the low end stuff being so expensive is more what irks me more than the high gravity, specialty, brewed by monk kinda stuff.
Notice I used quotes around common man? You think $9/sixer is expensive? In Canada, the cheapest garbage 6-pack is $10, stuff like Bud is $12, and craft 6-packs range anywhere from $12-21 for basic standard offerings.
Sorry, that was lost on me.
I went over to a coworkers house for dinner once from Detroit into Windsor and to be nice I thought I’d pop for some beer. It was just under $50US for 1 twelve and one sixer. Don’t even remember what it was - nothing I could buy here around Chicago. And the beer was nothing special, drinkable but not memorable.
LOL, grab a 1997 bottle westy 12 (13e) vs a fresh bottle, you’ll know how much better ;D
I missed the wine part of the discussion. I’ve actually never had over a $150 bottle of wine and most of the time don’t get crazy excited, but have had $75-100 (at restaurants) bottles which have excelled. My wife had a 1984 bottle of Dom Perignon which we opened a few years ago that was freakin fantastic. Not sure what that would go for if sold, but it would probably be in the $200-300 range at a store and $500 at a restaurant.
This is what I’m finding to be the case more and more with commercial beer in general, especially in the last few years with the proliferation of smaller brewers; the price lately seems to be disproportionate to what the product actually delivers. Some of the new beers out there are actually pretty good, and I am all for supporting a locally made or artisanal product (if it’s good)…but seeing the now ubiquitous 4-packs going for upwards of $10-12 is becoming a bit cringeworthy. Kind of like what Starbucks has managed to accomplish with its overpriced and generally overdone coffee.
That said, I guess that I really should tip my hat to anyone who can produce a product that the public wants and is willing to pay a bit too much for.
It’s part of the American Dream, I suppose.
I agree with the observation that homebrewing isn’t for everyone, and for many who do brew at home it isn’t even about saving money.
But I’m sure glad that I’ve stuck with it all these years because I’m getting the beer I like and saving a load of money.
The Professor makes a point that I have been harping on for awhile: a lot of the “premium” craft beers being sold at premium prices simply do not meet expectations. It is these products, especially those where it is the premium “packaging” that accounts for the bulk of the cost, that really irk me. In the wine world you always hear statements such as “price and quality do not necessarily go hand and hand,” and while that may be true, it is nothing short of frustrating.
I have no problem paying good money (but not outrageous money) for well made beers that require expensive ingredients or long term aging in the brewery. I just paid $22/750ml for a case of La Trou de Diable La Buteuse - a 10% belgian strong golden with brett and aged in Applejack barrels. It is a truly incredible beer, very unique and worth every penny. It is not an everyday beer, but something I am very happy to have in my cellar. By the way, $22/bottle was the wholesale price. I would assume a beer bar would charge upwards of $75/bottle.
Just to put you on the price track with six packs.
There is about $3 dollars in packaging.
So put it into perspective If you pay $8 a six pack how much is brewer getting for his/her beer?
$8 - packaging ($3) - retailer ( about 30%) - distributor ( about 30%).
This translate to $1.5 - $2 that is for brewer.
Now subtract rent,
ingredience,
electricity,
water,
natural gas,
brewing equipment.
insurance,
Licensing and permits.
Did I forget anything else?
Ah yes labor.
I am not defending $15 a four pack.
I would never buy it.
Just think about it.
The secret is to convince other people to buy it!
It’s the Starbucks business plan. Charge $3.00 for a 50 cent cup of coffee!
See also: the current trend of selling really small cupcakes for really big dollars