Surly Beerhall Price increases

I neither said nor implied anything of the kind. Perfection as the standard of an either/or is silly, but I think that since you did present this as the alternative, we have nothing furhter to discuss.

 

Bernie Sanders is going to be pissed.

 

And a case of Steinhaus returnables was $7, or you could get fancy, cross the river and pick up Point Special for $10. Ed's 500 had scoops of Schmidt for 30 cents a glass. Those were the days indeed.

 

I think a better argument would be why distributors cant bring us fresh cans locally instead of shipping them elsewhere. Getting old literally and figuratively. carry on

 

Then it goes to $1.00 and then another $1.00 and before you know it you are paying $8 for Surly Hell.

 

I realize why Surly wanted to raise prices, its because they're already making truckloads of money and they know they can charge more without losing business.

I go to the beer hall quite often but usually dont get anything I can get in cans because of the cost. Why pay $5.50 for a glass of furious when I get a 4 pack for $9?

I think its ridiculous that Surly can't be criticized without half the twin cities contingent getting all riled up.

 

This is the reason i posted the bell's comparison. I assume that the costs for bell's has rise in the past 3-4 years in approximately the same fashion as they have for surly. This includes other costs such as increasing distribution.

 

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me

Or is this more of a "if everyone else was jumping off the cliff" situation?

 

It's pretty easy to just not support a business if you don't agree with their practices, or think they're screwing you over. And unless you're their accountant, any speculation of reasoning for price increase is just that.

As far as 4 pack vs. beer hall prices, you may notice that on premise (bars, restaurants, etc) operate with higher margins than off premise (grocery stores, liquor stores, etc) across the board, not just the breweries that fit your argument.

 

You can drink beer at home, folks. You can't always get what you want where and when and how you want it, but you can drink beer at home.

 

I think it is more likely than not that they raised prices just because they could. Given the crowds continuing to come, NOT raising prices is, as they say, leaving money on the table. Surly has no moral duty to not make more money than what someone else thinks should be "enough."

But, as I observed in another thread, it does not take much to get Surly Nation riled up.

I also wonder how many of those criticizing Surly for raising prices above the norm are doing so with their iPhones, iPads, and Macbook Pros?

 

We've all got our feelings when we choose a team to be loyal to, and somebody rips on our team.
In an emotionless world, everyone would make their decision like Mr. Spock: weigh the cost of the beer and the food and the crowds and the wait times against the quality of the beer and the drive time and the parking situation and how hot the servers are, and simply patronize the place or not. In this world, nobody cares about your decision, because we all make our own decision based on how we weigh the factors.

But that's not how it works - we're emotional, right? From the first time I had a Furious, to the first times I had Four and Darkness, Surly had a piece of my soul. (I really don't consider myself a Surly fanboy, but work with me here.) So when somebody speculates that an increase in the price of beer is because some greedy bastard wants more of your hard-earned money, well, you just went and ripped on our team. And, by the way, let's say this is all about Omar adding wealth: is that wrong? How much should be enough for Omar: however much I have? Who's to say?
But I digress.

The point is we don't know why the price increased. It's possible that it's simply to milk more cash for Omar, which may or may not make him a wienerhead. Or, it's possible that he wants to pay all his workers a helluva goddamn wage, which may or may not make him Jesus.

Which way you speculate may well depend on whether Surly is your team.

 

I know it has been stated by others, but what about the cost of materials increasing and they want to maintain their margin? Plus, I'm sure they can make enough money to make a few dollars by charging $3-4 a pint. However, it has also been mentioned that they probably don't want to undercut every bar that pours their beer and makes them even more money.

That being said, a place like Dangerous Man that doesn't distribute has noone but themselves to answer to and make money for. They aren't building a storage facility and sharing profits with distributors. Shouldn't we be asking why they charge $5 for a beer? They presumable have less overhead.
I'm not going to ask that question, I like DM and have no problem with $5 pints, I'm merely stating that the two have way different business models, yet their beers cost the same at the source.

Anyway, I'm fine raising the prices a bit, everyone deserves a raise and added benefits for growing a successful business and all. My wife is a teacher and for them to get a raise, generally taxes go up! Life's a bitch I guess...

 

Bass Camp (restaurant closed in mid 90's) near Winona used to have all the burgers, fries, and beer you can consume on Tuesdays for $5. Bangers in downtown Winona had nickel taps on Thursdays -- for a buck you could bring a tray full of beers back to your table. Good times.

 

Now you've done it. You weren't satisfied with riling up Surly Nation - you just had to cross the line and rile up the Apple fanboyz with your rhetoric. Do you also poke at hornet nests?

 

I'm going to start calling all of your bosses and ask them to start lowering your wages because I think you're making enough money based on a few loose things I figured out through a message board.