Ridiculous Prices...

$45 is nowhere near "the norm" for any sort of beer release. There's 3,000+ breweries in America, and I would bet that less than 1% of them have ever released a bottle that cost over $40.

 

Boulevard just hit the NY market, and they are selling 4-packs of the Sixth Glass for $18 at a place in Kingston known for jacking up prices. you can generally find it in the $12-13 range most other places. KBS is absurdly expensive. I've only seen it at restaurants, but $25 is still expensive

 

split a case a few years back and it was around $180-90 if I remember...it was under $200

Enjoy

 

most I paid was $15 a bottle at Allagash for sours and just bought an Allagash large format for $21, Brett Saison aged in a wine barrel. Allagash sours and barrel beer are great in my opinion and for a few times a year worth it to me.

Most of my purchases are under $40 a case and under $12 a six pack. On tap with a meal is another story

Enjoy

 

Maybe its just here in california, but cfh $45, $65 for first tier you didn't camp out for it, lost abbey veritas $41, ddg $41, viet speedway stout $35, hill farmstead's releases are pretty expensive as well, I think it was $55 for an Ann with tax. So maybe I was exaggerating here, probably closer to $30, which is still absurd for a single bottle given their costs imho. Even more evidence of this is the fact that breweries like Alpine, Alchemist, New Glarus have no trouble making a profit and price their beers reasonably. Bottles of 750ml nelson, duet, pure hoppiness only cost around 5 or 6 bucks. And for their releases, they are never over $12 for a bottle.

 

Utopias at $200. Soooo not worth it for that price.

 

19.00 dollars for Lost Abbey Track #10. Nope.

 

Did they at least use lube before they bent you over? Christ alive!

 

12.7 or whatever. the small corked bottles.

 

This isn't even a store gouging but $16 for Sculpin, while its a good beer (Grapefruit is amazing) is totally absurd.
I'd take fresh Sucks ($10-12 a sixer) all damn day and three times on Sunday.

 

Many beers have excellent aging potential.

 

Agreed, so let's all agree that we'll leave everything priced too high to expire on the store shelf!

 

I paid 15$ for an Uncle Jacobs 12oz. out the door. An outstanding beer! But WTF is with Avery being that much more for an already expensive barrel-aged market!

 

Wine does have a higher markup than beer, but it's certainly not miniscule in comparison. Liquor, not sure what every state is, but here in Ohio the state sets the price of liquor and our store barely makes anything off it. We just have it so more people shop here.

 

That's normal to cheap. A case at the brewery is $220

 

I really think we're complaining about price too much. Certainly there are breweries that are pricier than they should be (FFF bombers, Bruery, Maine, Against the Grain, etc.), but FFF and Bruery are both easily worth the price they charge to me because the quality is that much better to me than alternative options. Also, when you factor in the price of ingredients (malt for the huge Bruery beers, weird ingredients for their stuff, different sorts of barrels which are not cheap, what I can only assume are metric fucktons of hops for FFF, etc.), the cost does not seem that ridiculous. Yes, they could lower the prices and I would be a little happier, but as others have said, these aren't every day beers. I purchase them every now and again when I feel like it and other cheaper options when I don't.

I just wish people would understand all that goes into making beers, specifically with anything barrel-aged, sours/saisons due to the time and care involved in wild inoculation and blending, and often pricey adjuncts and additions like fruit, spices, coffee, etc.

Always remember: value is relative, and no one is forcing you to buy anything.

 

Oh, while I was on my soapbox, I forgot this little nugget: despite what people constantly say on BA, there are not alternative options easily available that are just as good as expensive/rare options, and that difference in quality means less or more depending on the person. For me, I don't want to spend $10-12 on Big Bad Baptist just because it's easier to get than BCBCS; it's so inferior to my palate (though still good) that I'd rather save that money. Similarly see Dragon's Milk and BCBS.

For other examples, there simply aren't alternatives: show me a good shelf beer that's as good as Fou Foune, Montmorency vs. Balaton, Flora, West Ashley, Double Barrel Hunahpu etc. Those beers do not have shelf equivalents or cheap equivalents.

For IPAs, I agree there is most likely a cheap shelf alternative in most cases, but sometimes I wouldn't even go that far when I consider the difference between a truly transcendant hoppy beer like Abner, King Sue, Julius, etc. and the best thing the shelf has to offer (dependent on location).

 

Cantillon does this also, saves some of their more sought after releases for on-site only.