Modem Times

These things are all correct. Another thing to consider is that because rum barrels are used almost to the breaking point, unlike bourbon barrels, they're usually in terrible condition. That means they require a lot of maintenance, which means much higher labor costs, and it also means that more barrels end up getting dumped, which means wasted product and lost revenue. The higher price of these bottles simply reflects the higher cost of making these beers. I'm not planning to increase the cost of barrel-aged MP release across the board, and I'm generally a fan of finding a sustainable price for something and sticking with it.

That said, a few comments on here aside, all of the pressure is in the other direction. When my biggest headache is not having enough beer, I'm not thinking about lowering prices. Supply and demand, and all that.

And for what it's worth, I've tasted barrel-aged Monsters' Park blind alongside many other barrel-aged beers, and there is no doubt in my mind that it can hang with the best in the category.

And if you don't like the way I write, that's cool. It comes with the territory anytime you do something different. If I wanted to offend no one, I'd write vanilla ad copy like some kind of marketing drone. And then I'd find a new job.

Cheers & thanks,
Jacob McKean
Modern Times Beer

 

Nothing wrong with your opinion, especially on special release prices, but cutting them off entirely out of spite seemed a bit excessive.

 

How cockstaggeringly honest!

 

Anyone up in OC seeing Oneida cans at Bevmos/totalwines yet?

 

Thanks everyone for clarifying the rum barrel costs. @ModernTimesJacob - appreciate you taking the time again. Cheers!

 

How many breweries are charging $30 for a bomber of BA stouts? I don't think $30 for a bomber is the norm or "what everyone else is doing". I can see 750ml for $30, but a bomber is pretty heavy. Each release they price it up higher and higher. I don't fault them for it, it's the winery model as pricing moves with demand but at some point they'll price themselves out of the market. I just don't feel the beer world is as tolerant for price increases at this pace. If they can get it, more money to them though.

I'm going to pop open a coffee from last release tonight, see how it is, I'm still definitely on the fence with these beers. I've really enjoyed their sours, but the BA stouts haven't really been in my wheelhouse.

But anyplace with a long hold time for BPT stuff shows they have their customers in mind and they've always been really friendly when I've dropped by for a beer. I just wish I liked their beer on a more consistent basis as everything about their culture is something I fully support (well other than the quick price increases ;0).

 

Hell, the example given earlier of "not Alesmith level" yet is odd since Alesmith's recent online sale was for an expensive ass imperial pale ale. Then you have instances where they charge equally as much for a non-barrel aged beer like Beer Geek Speedway. The justification there is that it's a collab. How hard is it to realize that the justification here is that the price of the material to age it in is not your standard pricing for a barrel aged beer.

Eh, hopefully it just means I won't have to F5 as much tomorrow to get them if so many people are outraged by the price.

 

God damn Jacob swimming in his money pool again, and getting even further rich off his high profit margins on things like Rum barrels and vanilla.

 

Who is selling Rum barrel aged beers for less? BT-rum isn't available unless you're in the society, but if it was for public sale it'd be $40. Sucre rum is $30

It isn't fair to compare a brewery that kickstarted two years ago with Firestone Walker, their costs are completely different.

 

Last and only rum barrel aged beer I had was from clown shoes. It was hammer of the holy and it was $13.99. Thought it was good. I'm going to try to get these but if I don't oh well.

 

Totally agree with u geek speedway and the pale wasn't worth it for the price. Reason why I didn't buy em.

But for me to buy in a ba when the first time was so uncarbonated that I had to run it thru a soda steam to even finish it. And the second time left me underwhelmed due to its lack of quality imo. Not logical for me to drop high end money for what i think is a mid lvl beer.

Plus what I think is a short barrel time, all these factors don't appeal to me.

I'm pretty sure they will continue to sell out and be successful and I wish em luck. Their beers are not just my speed.

 

Good lord. Council's bottle release is tomorrow, too. $48 for two bottles. 7 amazing beers for sale tomorrow, but will cost upwards of $200 to purchase them all.

I swear these sales come in bunches.

 

We've come a long way in pricing. FW used to charge $10 (FW X) for their anniversary beers at one point, and that was considered expensive at the time.

 

This got a chuckle out of me because it got me thinking about the way we made the vanilla variant. We just kept adding vanilla beans to the tank until it tasted amazing. Later that afternoon, I started thinking, "Goddamn, vanilla beans are EXPENSIVE and we just used a crapload of them. We should price out what this stuff cost to make." And then immediately I was like, "Nevermind, I don't want to know. No matter what it cost to make, if I price the bottles over $30, people will freak out." So yeah, swimming in cash over here.

But just to provide some further food for thought: I remember the first time I spent $20 on a bottle of beer (St Bernardus Abt 12 60th Anniversary Edition at Pizza Port Bottle Shop) and thinking, "This is my absolute outer limit." So I totally understand why people have this knee-jerk reaction when they see $30. But my view as a consumer changed as craft beer changed, and of course I ended up spending more to get truly special bottles (DDG & Odonata Rorie's Ale: I'm looking at you), and they were worth every penny.

Ultimately, it comes down to this: higher prices allow breweries like Modern Times to make more exciting stuff. We can be an adventurous, risk-taking brewery because a market for $30 bottles exists. I understand some people will regard that cynically and assume it's just rationalizing profit maximization, but at least in the case of the brewery I own and operate, it is not. Knowing that a market exists for higher priced bottles allows me to pull the trigger on a bunch of expensive, beat-up Nicaraguan rum barrels, which then allows me to make a really awesome new beer. So to me, higher prices support innovation, which ends up benefitting beer drinkers who like this kind of stuff.

There is, also, something to be said for the validation that comes with higher prices. The people in my building who tend to argue for higher prices are not the finance people; it's the brewers. Price is one way hard work, skill, and talent is recognized. Just something to consider.

Cheers & thanks,
Jacob McKean
Modern Times Beer

 

You really had to do it, so that now the variant I wanted to get will be the one that will sell out first?

 

On top of FWIBF!

As if I wasn't excited enough about this variant already. Goddamn Vanilla Beans.

 

@ModernTimesJacob Thanks for the explanations! Do you think future releases there may be an opportunity to sample the beers on draft prior to the BPT purchase? With these kinds of sales I usually try to limit myself to one or two of the variants and it would be great if we could taste beforehand.

 

This is something I always try to convey to friends, family, etc. who grumble about "that restaurant is too expensive," or "why does a pour over coffee cost $5." Beer, like craft cocktails, eating out, specialty coffee, is a luxury item (as many have said on here before), and when someone pours an insane amount of thought and work into a specialty product, they deserve to be compensated for it.

 

Genuine question, is there any other brewery that does this?

 

Bruery for Society Members, HPB maybe? Not too many, but then I hold MT's customer service in pretty high regard so I thought they'd appreciate the feedback, not holding it against them or anything like that if it's not practical.