2015 Goose Island Bourbon County Stout $$ question

Kroger got a decently large allotment nationally. Probably the biggest allotment of any single retailer (I mean, let's not kid ourselves, counting the entire 2300+ stores as a "single retailer" doesn't make a lot of sense.) I'm not looking at the list of stores and allotments, but it's something like 35-40 stores total.

 

I'll try to pick up one of each (except BC barleywine; hard pass). For the most part they are pretty tasty, and as long as they don't really escalate past $20 a pop, I'll be pretty ok with that. I can't imagine myself picking up more than one of each, two tops if I'm lucky. Heaven knows I'll see people waiting hours in advance for some and trying to line their fallout shelter with the stuff. EDIT [I'd like to note that if it's a 750ml, ~$20 is the max price. In the 12 oz'ers, $12 tops. No arguement. I'm leaving it for someone else to take].

I could never really understand how people could buy more than 1 or 2 if it's a super limited beer that sells out within a day. I've actually met people with the audacity to take the day off from their jobs, follow a delivery truck with rare beer from stop to stop, taking as much as they could. Beers that are limited and/or high in ABV struck me as sharing bottles, not for hording like a gluttonous Smaug, or to trade for bottles you can't get in your area.

/endrant Sorry, just frustrations of working in craft beer retail and seeing what some people were willing to do or say in order to get "that" beer.

 

That's why I'll be buying some Bell's 2 Hearted after work and not paying ridiculous prices and dealing with people like that. Greedy jerkoffs like that have ruined "special" releases for me.

 

I think most people agree (or at least I do), that GI is jacking the shit out of these prices. Hard to dispute that since it is in fact happening. The point is that when you compare it to other high-quality BA stouts (and frankly, even to a lot of shitty BA stouts) BCBS has been underpriced for years, and this is more of a market correction than anything and was bound to happen eventually. Still at the equivalent of 13 bucks for a bomber of a top-tier BA stout is insanely cheap--find me another bomber that cheap and I'll buy it all day. I totally get what you are saying and it sucks that the days of BCBS being 1/2 the price of most equivalent beers is over. It's absolutely a cash grab, but it is what it is. Considering the cost of a replacement product, you won't be able to find a comparable substitute for less. IMO of course.

And frankly, it's hard to imagine any brewery selling a product of the caliber of BCBS as cheaply as they used to when every no-name, upstart brewery out there is charging $20-25 for BA stouts that are often mediocre, and people are lining up to pay it. How can you really blame them?

 

That might be the breaker for me. I picked up a 4 pack of regular for $23 last year which I figured for $6 a bottle with tax not bad, got the coffee for $24. So will probably pass this year and go search for more BWB

 

Regal Rye is $12 more and they are all the same size... At least before one was a bomber and one was a 12 oz.

 

gonna be around $10 a 16.7oz bottle here... will grab a couple cases to stash away

 

I mostly agree - the format change was driven by the desire to increase the price more than anything - but I think you're overstating the amount of the increase, as I don’t think anyone was selling these for $5/12oz bottle last year. I think MSRP last year was around $27/4pk (so $6.75/btl). Personally I paid $8/btl, and I was happy to find two at that price.

 

$6 a 12oz here last year

 

I definitely paid $5-$5.50/4 pack in AZ. So, yeah, the change is not welcome, and I won't be buying any this year (which isn't so much a dig at Goose, as I'm just cheap and tend to avoid bombers.)

 

Top Hops in NYC, which is usually the first place around here to release BCBS, and usually has the biggest turnout on BF, released their prices earlier this week
everything but the regular had limits of 1PP, and getting one of each was guaranteed to the first 200 people

BCBS $10.99/bottle or $118.99/12 bottle case (including a 10% discount) while supplies last
BCBW $12.99/bottle
BCBS Coffee $12.99/bottle
BCBS Regal Rye $12.99/bottle
BCBS Rare $64.99/bottle

 

Regal isn't line priced. I'm pretty sure they are selling it a few dollars below cost.

 

That Regal Rye price looks to be either a mistake or an incredible (below cost) price. The Indy event has it at 24.99 and the wholesaler price mentioned above has their price at 15-20$ per bottle.

 

HAHAHA!! Yes. Exactly. This is a luxury product sold to people with disposable income to spend on BEER. It comes out once a year, is delicious, and makes us happy, so of course it's going to be expensive and marked up. Thank you for bringing some reality and practicality to the conversation. I ain't an idealist, so I'll buy as much as I can within the per bottle limits of the store.

 

Is the new bottling a "greedy" move to raise prices, or is it a way to make less bottles (1/3 less for the variants sold in 12oz last year), and possibly spread the love out to more individuals than the 12 oz 4 pack? A 1 bottle limit vs. 1 4 pack limit would effectively reach 3x more people per ounce of beer 48 oz in 4pack vs. ~16oz in half litre. Clearly more beer per bottle should be a margin gain, but more people being able to get the beer should also be a marketing/customer gain. Clearly inbevs motives are more likely the margin increase than the customer appreciation angle but I have to believe its a factor.

 

Just because it's a luxury item doesn't mean it's not a dick move to double the price with what would be less bottles for sale. And of course it's only more suspect that this change occurred after the Inbev buyout.

 

Im in California and for example with the Bruery and Alesmith (2 of many) putting up quality stuff I am only really in search of the variants. Most big chains will be selling for around 15$ a pop of BCBS while last year 4 pack was 22$.

 

While I agree with this you have to realize Jacob's is more per ounce because it is still 12oz bottle not the 16oz. I enjoy Jacobs tremendously so I pay the premium for the smaller format.

 

Your math is poor, the price per oz isn't doubling, more like 29% assuming a $5.49/12 oz last year to $9.99/16.9 oz this year.

 

Wow. 65... dollars? Surely not pesos? Perhaps there is a mistake. Roughly a pint of beer for $65? Is there a golden ticket in the bottle? Or is there a message on the other side that allows you redeem some of your monies back? At least one's dignity? Will I gain enlightenment after drinking it? If I pour some out for my homies, do they finally reach Valhalla and dine with Odin and kin? Perhaps the bottle, when recycled, will spew out quarters like a slot machine-praise the gods my luck is turning around! Seriously, if I was Windows Vista, I would shut down becau-DOES NOT COMPUTE. What? It's aged in "freshly charred American white oak barrels" that housed some of Heaven Hills "finest whiskey," hurr durr durr. There are so many memes, GIFs, jokes I can make against that pricing. Let me get this straight, once more: $65 dollars is what you barter for a pint of beer? I'm missing something, clearly. Being a poor college student/bartender, I think I need someone to tell me, explain to me, lecture me like the idiot I am, why, WHY someone thought this was a good idea.

But seriously. Why? And who will buy it?