World Wide Stout is expensive

$8.49 Here in KY

 

Guess NY takes it at $11.99 for a $12 oz?

 

Bought mine in NV for 9.99

Cheers!

 

Are you saying the abv has a direct correlation to the amount of resources used?

I know in spirts you are taxed federally on the abv per gallon. I'm not sure if beer is the same but my assumption was there are additional taxes either federal, state or local with beers over certain % abv.

 

To get to 18%, you're definitely using way more grain than something lower ABV. High-gravity beers also take longer to mature prior to release, so they take up more storage space, either in tanks or once bottled. All of this makes a beer at that ABV and that production volume a huge investment for any brewer to make. If they barrel aged it, I think you would see its price double from there.

All hypothetical, but I have to assume an 18% sour would be the most expensive beer it's possible to brew, just based on required storage and time from production to release.

 

I'm saying WWS probably spends a considerably longer amount of time taking up tank space than 60 minute.

 

There is one at a store in my area that is stickered at $15.99 I believe....I stop in there from time to time just to wipe the dust off from it and laugh at it.

 

That makes a lot of sense. Especially since many of the craft brewers have limited capacities and less refined demand planning.

When you think of spirits, an 80 proof Evan Williams can retail at 11.99 for a 750ml when the Fed/state/and local taxes make up 50% of the shelf price and margin has to pass through 3 channels. When you think about it most bourbons are typically aged for 4 years (at a minimum), quite a bit longer than BA stouts. Corn is obviously a less expensive ingredient and tied to commodity pricing years out but it ties up space for quite sometime.

I guess I'm just curious on how the alcohol tax is driven on beer, whether or not it spikes dramatically over certain humps like it does with spirits.

 

during graduation we should do a WWS four year vertical each. during.

 

The Federal Excise Tax on beer is not based on ABV, but does vary based on the size of the brewery. Small brewers pay a reduced rate on their first 60,000 barrels, so a bottle of DFH WWS could have paid 2¢ or 5¢ FET.

Some states do have different beer excise taxes based on ABV, but in most cases it's still a very small percentage of the cost of any craft beer, in the range of 1-10¢ per 12 oz. bottle.
State Excise Taxes on Beer

 

And there you have it - thanks. The beer and wine industries sure have it good. I hope the explosion of craft beer doesn't lead to a change in FET that resembles spirits. I could easily see the BMCs lobbying for abv based taxes as another hit to craft.

 

I heard that that the BMCs recently lobbied for ABVs not to be listed on beer bottles in efforts to make their beers less discernible from crafts from the average consumer, considering the low abv% of the BMCs. Is that true?

 

9.99 in Illinois

 

I have only found it at one store in Hudsonville Mi. It is 10.99 a 12oz. TO ME it's worth it. I drank one soon after I bought it and LOVED it! I think I have bought a total of 4, 2 of which I will age for quite some time now just to see the taste difference. I love this stout, but will only ever buy it when I'm in a huge splurging mood...

 

I've been fortunate enough to find it this year in Illinois for 7.99(2007 vintage no less), but 99% of the places around here have it for $9.99.

 

Then dont buy any ! problem solved

 

The old US Brewers Association (the "Big Brewers" organization, which evolved into today's Beer Institute) was pretty instrumental in helping the old Brewers Association of America (the pre-craft era "small brewers" group) in getting that reduced "small brewers" excise tax rate back in the 1970's.

And, their current support of the BEER act, which calls for returning the FET back to pre-1990's rate of $9/bbl maintains the small brewers reduced rate. They did break with the Brewers Association's move to up the limit for small brewers to 6m bbl., but otherwise the proposals backed by the two groups were pretty similar IIRC.

It should be noted that AB and MC pays dues for all their breweries to the craft-oriented Brewers Association, and many craft brewers belong to the Beer Institute, as well.

 

You must not be into craft beer. Everyone knows beer isn't good until you pay over a dollar per ounce. My math may be wrong

 

I don't mind paying $7.99-$8.99 for WWS or 120 every now and then considering that's what most bars here charge for a pint of Guinness.