Are rising beer prices affecting you?
By William Brand
Saturday, November 15th, 2008 at 2:31 pm in Beer Business, Belgian Beer, Craft Beer, General.
Thought for the weekend…I walked into one of my favorite beer stores the other day and I was blown away by the prices. There were lots of craft beer six packs selling for $10 and the price
s on some Belgian imports way over $10 for a single bottle. I spent $50 on beer for an early Christmas tasting for my San Jose Mercury-News coliumn (and nope. I don’t get repaid for the beer I buy by the Merc. That was long ago and far away in the boom years.)
Personally, six pack prices never phase me because I almost never buy sixers and buying beers individually always costs $1.50 - $2 per beer, at least. Still, looking at the prices was uhhh sobering. But the price increases on my favorite big-bottle Belgians hurts a bit. I’ll still buy them, but judiciously and sparingly, I’m afraid.
So – here’s my question: How about you? Are higher prices affecting your beer buying? And how about bargains, discounters, etc. Know a place with good prices? Share it with us. Talk to you Monday. b
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November 15th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Good beer is worth the price - more important to try new things. Though I do choke on packs of 4 for $10. Trader Joes has Chimay cheaper than any place I have seen.
November 15th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
You asked how it is effecting me, and my answer, not much. I’m a little more careful with my money these days, but changing my beer drinking habits don’t result in much savings proportion to my overall budget, so I haven’t cut back much, if at all.
As to the broader question of how the craft brewing industry is doing, it may be hurting. This might get me kicked off this blog, but I spent last weekend wine tasting in Napa, and a lot of wineries were complaining about the economy driving away customers. While perhaps an apples to oranges comparison, I can’t imagine the economy isn’t hurting high end craft brews either. People can live without high end beer, and these type of purchases are usually the first to go when times get hard.
What do your craft brewing contacts tell you about their businesses? Are there any industry statistics available on this?
November 15th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
I’m an avid collector of hard to find and limited edition craft brews but $13-14 for a four pack of Dogfish Midas Touch and close to $10 for a six pack of Celebration. $18 for one bottle of Deschutes Black Butte II. Give me a break. It looks like the craft brew industry is trying to pull a fast one on the beer drinking community and blame the ridiculously inflated prices on a “hop shortage” instead of what it really is: the horrible economy.
I for one have stopped spending my hard earned dough on beers in this price range and am raiding my fridge for my stock of barleywines and imperial stouts until this hopefully blows over. If not, I guess it will be whiskey for me.
November 15th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
I still think that craft brew is a bargain compared to what some people pay for good wine. I just stocked up on Firestone Walker “12″ at $20 a bottle. But I am storing most of it away and I’m sure it will be worth the investment as I open it over the next several years.
I have been paying more attention to the price of good beer lately, though. As much as I love the selection at Ledger’s Liquors, I have noticed that their prices are consistently a dollar or more higher for many beers that are available at other stores.
At Bevmo, I’ve been looking for the red labels for the sale prices.
But, I’ll still pay $3 for a 12 oz.bottle of something exceptional like Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron if I can find it.
November 15th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
I’m with you William. I never buy 6-packs, mostly singles, and the price of those has dramatically increased lately. The confused grocery checker used to ring “domestic” craft singles at $.99, now they know better and $2 is standard. Still doesn’t hurt much.
The big bottles are starting to hurt. I saw a bottle of Anderson Valley’s 20th anniversary for $8 the other day. Rogue’s special releases going for $15 a bottle is outrageous. As a homebrewer I take solace in knowing I get a cool bottle to feep out of it.
Short answer, still buying the same amount of beer, fr now, but thinking twice when checking out and finding myself usually putting back a beer or two.
November 16th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
Couple of things going on…of course, the increased prices of all the ingredients (and don’t forget water costs, in particular). But until very recently, shipping costs were also up 100% due to gas prices. It takes time to reflect the recent drop. The other is the “Stone” effect, for lack of a better term. Obviously, the belgians have been doing this longer, but Stone Special releases of Vertical Epic and Anniversary brews in big bottles that retail for $6 to $15 and later sell on eBay for $50 or more probably perked up the ears of craft brewers. I see more special releases than ever and they come with much higher prices now (as Mario noted about Rogue). So to answer the question directly, yes, I’ve nominally cut back , but I’ve cut back on everything. I also try to get a trusted opinion before I plunk down $10 for a bottle.
November 16th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
I certainly agree about getting opinions before buying, I paid $10 for a Bel;gian Christmas beer that ought to have been good. It was bunk. Not sure if it was never good or was it old or what? I guess that’s another point, if we’re going to pay $10 or more for a bottle of beer, it damn well better be in good condition. From now on, if I pay that much and it’s old, I’m going to take it back and demand a refund.
November 17th, 2008 at 8:26 am
I make more homebrew than I can drink. But I occasionally purchase beer to research and better understand a particular style. So, though it sucks, the high prices of craft beer wont be hurting me too much. What is hurting me, though, is the high prices of the ingredients. Hop prices have approximately tripled in the last 1.5yrs and grain prices have nearly doubled. Boy has my hobby gotten expensive.
The only benefit I’ve noticed is my practices of experimentation. I’ve been trying lots of unpopular (and therefore cheaper) varieties of hops.
November 17th, 2008 at 10:45 am
I’m hating the rising prices. Around July or August of this year, I started having to search for the lowest prices for good beers, relying less on what I wanted to drink. I ended up drinking a lot of Ommegang’s Hennepin and various Lagunitas beers, because they are the cheapest beers that I like. I barely buy anything by Stone any more, or the other high-priced breweries.
And it’s really off-putting to buy a full-priced Westmalle Tripel or Rochefort 8 at a place like BevMo, with its substandard storage, and open it up to find a stale, oxidized, nearly flavorless shadow of what it should be. They should at least be discounted! That’s sent me to Ledgers for my occasional special beer.
I’ve also had a personal whiskey revival. Nice that there are a lot more ryes on the market nowadays.
I’m definitely spending much less on 6 packs and bombers nowadays, but I’m also at the Trappist every Tuesday for a few beers.
November 17th, 2008 at 11:08 am
I agree about the Trappist. I much prefer to pay for a $6 glass of something really good and know that it will be in perfect condition. For example, I love De Glazen Toren Saison, but a bottle costs about $15 when I can find it and usually I can’t and when I can I have no way of knowing if I’m buying a bottle from a shipment two years ago.
So when the Trappist opens a keg, I order a glass or two. Otherwise, I stick to beers I know are going to be fresh.
November 18th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
gas prices my fall but the price of beer won’t…brewers are too greedy…i’ll pay the 10$ a six instead of paying 5$-7$ dollars in a pub…i mean how do they expect use to tip at thise kind of prices?..i usually tell the server that…when i do go out for a drink it is at a cheap happy hr..or football sunday speacial…i’am making an exception this saturday…i need a bowl of clams & a glass of pale from “marin brewing”….yummy!!
November 18th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
I’m tired of it and have been meaning to talk about it on my blog. Great to hear others talking this way too.
I hate to single folks out but I do enjoy their other beers: Bourbon County Stout for 20 bucks a FOUR pack? I’ll pass. Firestone Walker for 20 bucks a bomber? I’ll pass on that too. Come on guys.
I get beyond tired and a little irritated when I see the “peoples drink” go for alot of money while I see people around me getting laid off from their jobs. Did these place think of brewing a low cost beer for the times? No skimp on quality but also not an “extreme beer”.
Howe Sound Brewing is making a “bitter beer” for bitter times and they are also selling it for a buck less than their other beers.
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5hmzFWAOPjo8Pjan5fmkioFxChhHQ
November 19th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
yeah. yes the economy is bad, but being broke is something i’m always used to…
my plan of attack..
2 to 3-22oz of awesome beer
1-12 pack of pabst
and a quality spirit on sale.
good deals and it will last for a while. i just got a bottle of jonnhy walker black for 25 bucks and i can typically find jamison or jack for 15 @ safeway/longs. in the month of oct. pabst 12′r were 5.50 at longs. yeah!!
everything in moderation. by the 6 or 7th bottle of 2 buck chuck (in 2 weeks) it will make you want to throw up, but if you interweve the good and the not as good, it should do the trick.
have you ever been drinking just pure good beer for a while? that is an interesting beer gut. i’m not tooo calorie concious but most of the ipas and all that is like 2 sodas. sip on that.
November 21st, 2008 at 4:55 pm
I worry about a beer gut too and work my ass off on a treadmill. My basic solution is to drink less, but drink very, very good stuff.