Jester King Release - Omniscience & Proselytism Blend 3

Echo those earlier comments. Price has a way of thinning the herd...and there's nothing wrong with that. JK is making the brewery more accessible for me and my family and I would expect to pay a little more for that benefit.

This is a hobby for most of us and if you cannot manage the price, well that's just how it goes. I like to ride horses, but I don't own one b/c there are financial limits to that hobby for me. Nothing unfair about it.

 

Most people economics stop at their wallet.

 

think it's worth trying to make it out there saturday at open?

 

Or if we simply spoke to others the way we would face to face instead of like a bunch of self-important, dogmatic elitists.

This is my favorite JK beer. Maybe I'll end up with a bottle.

 

I opened this thread expecting it to be a big discussion about the price increase, and I have to say, y'all did not disappoint!

 

You're one of the y'alls now.
(And you of course have an opinion but are much above the conversation to add it).

 

I'm double liking this

 

I understand economics and the fact that JK makes beers that cost a lot of time and effort to make. It's their business and they're free to price beers how they choose and as a consumer its my job to decide if its worth it to me. Personally $20 for a pint is too much for me. There are very few beers out there that I find worth that price and for me I don't feel any of JK's beers are on that list. Nothing against them, I'm just a cheep ass. I look at beer based off of the experience it gives me and I can enjoy 2 six packs of some world class beer that I bought at HEB more than an single bottle that requires me to drive 3 hours round trip to get. But that's a personal choice. The only thing I don't like about price increases (like I said I understand the economics) is the idea that increasing the price actually doesn't help more people try the beer. It prices out certain people and allows others willing to spend more money to accumulate more bottles. Like Brad said, there are plenty of great beers available in TX at the local store.

 

But do you have a *rudimentary* understanding of *basic* economics (ie. shouting down everyone with some buzzwords like "supply and demand" without having any actual understanding of economics and/or the complexities of running a business?)

All joking aside, I was on the fence on many releases at $16 and $20 does price me out of buying bottles of these as well. Not because I can't afford them, but rather because the beers I most enjoy from JK are not the fruited sours and that's just a lot of money for a pint, as mentioned. That is to say nothing about the quality of those beers either. People love them for a reason. I have no emotional reaction to the price increase other than it's disappointing that craft anything ends up having to cost so much. I'm lucky to have the job that I do so that I can buy these types of things when I want to. I will continue to get out to JK as much as someone with a couple little kids and a 40 minute drive each way can reasonably do so. I actually opened my Fantome del Rey last night and enjoyed it very much for whatever that cost me (ropiness and all, and yes, it was a strange viscosity appearance wise, but the mouthfeel was enjoyable.) I do agree that the price increase will have the unfortunate side effect of pricing out some of the more casual JK visitors new to these styles, but that's hardly a problem worth worrying about too much. They're not raising it up to $30, which would probably still sell out fairly quickly and wouldn't be totally unreasonable, but would have much more of an impact on the casual/less economically able fans and overall customer goodwill.

 

Not even saying they're on the same level, although I do love fresh Cascade Apricot, but Cascade suddenly doesn't seem so expensive anymore at ~$27 for a 750.

 

It you break it down by price per ounce it is basically the same cost per ounce so you arent off with that statement.

 

I realize that which is also why I rarely buy Cascade anymore as much as I like some of their beers.

 

I am not an economist but I completely understand JK's decision to raise prices. They have previously charged $20 for unique barrel aged and time intensive beers like Cerveza Sin Frontera and others I cannot remember at the moment (Buford's and/or Repose possibly?). This is a business decision and I have no problem with it. To be honest, Jester King is a unique brewery in the first place, brewing beers that may not cater to the casual beer fan or the masses. In many cases, these beers are expensive to make. Off the top of my head, breweries that specialize in barrel-aged beer such as Rare Barrel and Lost Abbey have similar pricing at $30 and $40 per bottle, respectively. Many people cannot or will not purchase their beer at that price point. However, these types of beers could be considered luxury items that require skill, time, and resources to make. For customers that cannot or will not pay the price for these luxury goods, Pizza Port (Lost Abbey's more "proletarian" brother) offers plenty of great beer at a great price point. Similarly, there are plenty of customers that can and are willing to pay for JK's fruited "luxury goods" at $20 a pint while there are plenty of customers who would rather buy a few bottles of Le Petit Prince or multiple sixers of Live Oak, Hops & Grain, or many of the other great local choices sitting on shelves around Austin.

That being said, I do think this will sell out the first weekend if not by Sunday. While some of the people buying the beer will be those who don't care about the price because they want a luxury good to drink, many will not care about the price because they will either be getting similar value from the trade market or making a profit on the secondary market. JK raising the price won't do much about this and, let's be honest, this is the real reason why JK casual fans will not get a chance to get a bottle of O&P. Not much JK can do about that though. And not sure they care. They are making good beer, selling out their inventory, and making a profit. Business as usual in the USA.

 

No doubt in my mind the bottles will sell out quickly. If I lived in Austin and could get there early enough to beat the lines, if that's possible, I would most likely buy a couple bottles a day. Unfortunately I don't live in Austin and those bottles become much more expensive with travel.

Strictly out of curiousity, I wonder how much JK could charge and still sell out quickly? I assume there's a breaking point somewhere, maybe $30?

 

Depends on the size of the bottle.

 

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't know of a brewery out there charging much more than the equivalent of $22-24 for 500ml of fruited sour at this point. I know Casey has some 750s that sell for $36. I'm not sure of anything priced above that.

 

I don't have a clue how to calculate the cost of making their beers ($ per time spent in barrel? Can that be accurately quantified?). Who knows what they should cost.

I also realize my opinion means nothing, and like everyone else here, if given the chance I'll pay $20 now.

 

Agreed, I won't be making this release unfortunately but I will not balk at the $20