Numb to beer pricing?

Wait, what? Are you saying all $30 bottles of beer cost little to make? And don't have batch variation? And that barrels don't cost money? And that you can speak with authority on productions costs of beer and wine?

 

I'm numb, most of the time, to pricing since I'm new to craft beer. Kind of have to be to try new stuff or get good stuff to trade for ones you can't get in your area. Built up a massive cellar and have slowed WAY down cause need to save for BA Stout season.

However, I was pissed when I paid $16 for a 6-pk in my area and then saw it for $11 when travelling.

 

Wow! No beer in this world (for me, anyways) is worth $18/ 12 oz. That's just insane.

 

One benefit of living 20 minutes from the Unibroue brewery is that La Fin du Monde costs less than Bud Light Platinum.

 

Does the price include a lap dance or similar extra?

 

Having moved to Pennsylvania after several years in Michigan - I have paid over the past few months just over $100 total for a 4pack of Founders Backwoods Bastard, a 4pack of Founders KBS, and a 4pack of GI BCBS.

Sometimes you dont realize what you had until you're removed...sigh.

 

To paraphrase W.C. Fields: "The cost of living just went up another $1 a sixpack."

 

Why aren't you trading with friends that still live in MI?

 

Don't make it home enough, and shipping sucks. Plus in the Pittsburgh-area I have to drive 45 minutes to get to any place with any worthwhile selection of anything worth trading.

I'm going to California in a few weeks with the lady-friend for a Sonoma-NAPA-SanFran trip. We're hitting up the vineyards most of the time, but I'm stopping at Russian River, and a few local craft shops there so I'll probably get some stuff to carry/ship back that'll be worthwhile.

 

That's cheap as hell.
The manager must not stock much besides Lagunitas and macros.
I dropped 25 a piece of Life is Like without blinking, and I'm pretty broke.
Maybe this is why, lol.

 

I was probably numb at first because my first few additions to my cellar were BA Batch 9000 and Black Note. I guess I went with the "Go Big or Go Home" attitude.

 

I am thinking of conducting a study, and I am betting lupulin threshold tolerance has a linear correlation r value of 0.87 w.r.t. price threshold tolerance )

 

I"m completely numb and it's to my detriment. You're touching on something that i've been thinking about. This shit needs to stop (in my life that is). I need to think about the value more

 

There are so many options now and I do find myself getting more and more price sensitive these days. I don't mind paying more when I know something is good or will be worth the experience, but for regular 'daily drinkers' I get a little stingy.

 

Lagunitas has the best priced beer period.

 

That's a ridiculous price. $4 - $5 tops.

 

Choices have never been more plentiful, but demand is still strong, so it's a seller's market and prices reflect it. I suppose I have gotten numb to it though, because I still cough up whenever its time to quaff.

 

I think there's a fine line between being aware of pricing, and halfway ignoring the pricing. For beer that I have had, and love, I know what I expect to pay - and won't budge much beyond that. For beer that I haven't had, really want to try, I just make sure it's within reason and buy it. At this point, drinking beer is a hobby, and how do you put a price tag on a hobby that you love so much?

 

I wouldn't say I am numb, mainly because bills always come first. But, with the income I have, I can be a bit frivolous when it comes to my buys.

 

My comments were based on a comparison of wine production costs against beer production costs. 100% it is a nonsense if a bottle of beer is priced at $30+, and is more a result of low-supply economics and hype than actual cost of production.

Beer does cost hardly anything to make. Wheat, barley, hops, water, yeast. Maybe some fresh fruits if you're making a flavoured beer. A world-class beer like Rochefort 10 can be bought in Belgium for 2 euro. What extra costs can be tacked on to justify a beer being priced 4-5 times more, biodynamic barley malted by the Pope?

Batch variation exists, sure, but that is far different from vintage variation that exists for wine. Batch variation for beer is generally more of a quality-control concern re. a product that consists of fairly generic inputs and is made to a recipe. It's like saying that my bolognese sauce last night was different to the one I made today - sure it is, but the difference typically isn't of any consequence. Of course, non-uniformity and batch variation are catchphrases that "artisans" and "craft" breweries use to justify their pricing structure, but usually it's making a mountain out of a molehill.

Barrels - again, beer producers aren't really using new oak barrels. Old barrels don't cost that much, and they can be reused ad nauseum if you're not looking for oak-imparted/previous liquor flavours.

From someone that knows a fair bit about Burgundy wine, I see the same tricks of the trade being used by the "artisan" and "craft" breweries as the Burgundians in order to crank up prices.