Let's Compare Craft Beer Prices in 2012

Not sure if you were given bad info, but the case law is still very much in place. We don't have to buy by the case because there are bars and what not with to go licenses (with a "soft" limit of 192 oz), however they tend to be very expensive. We have grocery stores with more competitive pricing, but we they still have prices that are usually over what I've seen for the same beers in other states. Sub $10 six packs are almost non-existent anywhere. So to somewhat clarify: no we do not have to buy by the case, but we do if we want something at a price resembling what people in most other states pay.

 

Inflation sucks if it frequently increases and I'm still making the same money. Bar prices here are bordering on the obscene.

 

maybe you'd get a raise if you worked harder and spent less time on ba.

 

Retail price increases are NOTHING compared to the insane price increases at bars. Late 90's the prices per pint that I was paying slowly hovered above and around $3/pint but then over the 2000's it more than DOUBLED per pint at most places.

Also there's been the increased spread of the faux pint glass at the same time.

And last but certainly not least is the doubling in tipping expectations for "satisfactory" service from 10% to about 20%.

So, I consider it a much larger pain in the ass for the consumer that pint prices have done what they've done - when you like at the final price.

 

The only thing we can do as consumers is to support those beers/breweries that offer value and consistent quality and ignore the ones that don't. Complaining on consumer related websites where the three tiers might be looking is fine too since, unless you talk directly to the retailers and distributors themeselves, its your only public voice. Calling out and hammering retailers on twitter/facebook is my new favorite way to complain about prices (and freshness).

Other alternatives are to purchase beers by the 12 pack and keep an open mind to the beers/styles you like to drink and not pay so much attention to the new beers that everyone here wants, or beers that come in .5l, bombers, 750's, or 4 packs. I have been rediscovering many breweries that I have enjoyed in the past that still offer value 12 packs like Victory, Troeg's, Otter creek, ipswich etc. And I have also discovered some quality/tasty beers that may get overlooked by beer geeks like Widmer's newish flagships.

I would be totally lost for fresh, hoppy, inexpensive IPA's if it weren't for homebrewing though.

 

Hmm...well some new breweries I'm thinking of are rolling out with silk screened or corked and caged bottles. Both in one case. Doesnt seem like they are interested in cutting costs. One brewery opened up a year ago and only did kegs. Now they are rolling out $10 four packs of 500ml bottles.

 

Those are very understandable reasons to go large format as a smaller startup,but it doesn't change the fact that many customers will not see such beers as a good value. I can tell you that if I see a new brewery's beers on the shelf, I will be inclined to try them. However, if they're $9 bombers of a Brown Ale or Pale Ale, it better be really freaking good or else I'm one and done with it considering it's twice the cost of DFH Indian Brown or Victory Headwaters. Is it fair to compare a small brewer's pricing with that of large, long time craft brewers? No. But in the end what I'm saying is that if you're going to be priced higher than the other options, you better have a damn good product in that pricey large format bottle.

 

This is true.

 

Same here. Even the ones with really, really shitty beer have cool packaging sometimes. One of the worst here that recently got in trouble for rodents and feces in the brewing area actually has the nicer large format bottles.

 

Bar prices in MA are ridiculous and it's starting to creep out into the suburbs too. Seems like $7 for a pint of common beer like Smuttynose is the new normal. That and everything worth ordering is in 12oz pours where you really only get 10 oz or less with the amount of head they are serving on top, it's not affordable to drink socially in bars anymore.

There was a seafood restaurant in Kittery that had great Maine beers on tap and good food but they raised their beer prices from $5.50 a pint to $7 and I won't bother taking the drive up there for that.

 

thanks for appreciating the sarcasm. i owe you a beer.

 

Craft beer price increases have been far outpacing CPI in recent years. I think everyone expects increases over time, it's when the increases don't seem to jive with everything else you purchase, that eyebrows get raised.

Shipping and taxes seems to make little difference - if that was the case, our local beer would be less expensive than those shipped across the country, but its not for the most part. Which market you are in and what retailers and distributors can get away with (demand) and still sell their desired amount seems to have a greater effect on beer prices imo.

 

I absolutely agree, pricing is everything. Our goal is to sell as much beer as we can in our Taproom by the pint, wholesale bottle sales are still important, but we want our 22oz bottles to advertise for us, get even more people exposed to our brand. Thus we set the targeted price of most of our bottles at $4-$4.50 each for a 22oz. In our market that is more than the 22oz bottles from the likes of Redhook, Pyramid, etc. but less than many of the other craft brewers with comparable products.


As the old cliche goes "something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it"

 

Half-and-half and toothpaste cost the same in Washington State as they do here. Boston Lager is 20% cheaper.

 

Good to know the higher prices are put in those really cool labels and not necessarily for better beer.

 

The point of the thread was to ask why beer costs more in Massachusetts than it does in much of the country, not to complain about beer prices generally.

 

hmm I don't follow... maybe my statement was incomplete. If there is a new, small brewery with a limited amount of capital to spend on starting up, saving money on equipment and packaging potentially allows them to actually have a higher quality product, with the best ingredients available, while still maintaining a reasonable pricepoint. Not every one of them does this, but it's what we've done.

 

$4 bombers are decent but that doesnt exist in my market. There's a local IPA here that sells for $8 a bomber. Maine beer Co sells in the same price range with 500ml bottles.

 

You're dating yourself with this complaint, if your avatar weren't enough.

Actually, I too remember the 10% tip.

 

Without knowing the exact cost of all that goes into packaging and labels, I'd like to hear some figures on about what the cost is for all the effort that goes into the design and production on alot of the beers with those eye-catching labels. I'd rather have really good beer at reasonable price and meh packaging, than good beer at a high price with awesome art on the bottle.