Transient Reserve Society

Someone complaining about Lagunitas prices...Now I've seen it all.

 

quick PSA, Chris posted on Facebook that for January the tap room will only be open Saturdays, with days/hours being added back in starting in February

 

hey their hop stoopid may be cheap but 9.99 for pils? reg ipa?

 

just in case anyone is up in the U.P., Jack's Foods in Menominee, MI has Transient beers in stock. Brendan from Transient is from here, so we're the only place outside of the taproom and select MI and Chicago accounts that you can find this goodness.

 

Trill, Treehouse, Alchemist that is not Heady, Abrasive, Hopslam is right up there.

 

They charge the same price as any other excellent craft beer 6 pack if not less.

 

And they have 12-packs, which very few breweries sell.

 

Honestly, I'd be delighted if enough people are turned off by the $20 price tag to allow me to get Juice is Loose whenever it hits. Everyone can feel free to vote with their wallets, but complaining about a small brewing operation charging $20 for a great 4-pack is missing the point, I think.

 

I paid $22 for JIL

Trill/Treehouse are both $4 cheaper, can't speak for Alchemist stuff

Hopslam is $18 last I saw (and a six pack iirc), Abrasive is $18ish

Paying $22 for a four pack is not the norm

 

Every incremental price increase (sure, for JIL is may be JUST a few bucks), but it pushes beer prices up in general.

Again, I'm speaking of the perspective of someone who has had this hobby a long time and is dismayed to see how prices have behaved over the last 5 years.

 

Beer is fresher (and better) than it's ever been, so cost increases aren't entirely uncalled for. I don't like paying more and more for beer either, but if you want a super fresh IPA with tons of hops, that's going to cost more than a 6-pack of Goose IPA. The quality level of beer I've had this past year has been the best overall since I started drinking craft beer. I'm happy to put in a couple extra bucks to keep the innovation and attention to quality going.

Also, while I still think we should be moving away from the pricing discussion, it would be interesting to see the difference between MA's taxes and Chicago's, which are extremely high for liquor.

(a quick Google search seems to imply that the Illinois beer tax is at least double that of MA, with Chicago having an even more significant tax on beer. I can't find Boston beer tax info)

Not to mention the fact that JIL was $21.50 after all taxes, putting it pretty much in line with the $18 DIPA 4-packs I saw listed last week on Trillium's site.

 

You're forgetting additional shipping costs for all of those beers, except Hopslam

 

There are many factors that play into pricing across markets wither its cars, or beer that nobody seems to be discussing or even considering if your going to discuss prices in an honest fashion.

Its a far deeper subject then the idea that well a 4 pack of JIL is $20 and the brewery is gouging....Number one nobody here other then Transient knows their overhead....

Many of these variables are not even controlled by the brewery. A discussion of prices can be a deep subject left for a different thread then on the Transient thread.

 

But it isn't their cost, or freshness that is driving this up, they are just charging more because they believe that the value of the beer is based on comparable bomber pricing. The brewer has stated that here, that part isn't open for discussion.

If a bomber of a 22oz DIPA sells for $10, than surely a 4 pack of 16oz cans totaling 64oz should be more in line with that price which is why they charge $20....(thank our lucky stars they aren't charging us closer to $30 since it is comparable, too).

Despite the fact the industry has traditionally charged a premium for a bomber as they will package 4/6 packs of the exact same beer at the same price. Is Transient a market disruptor leading the way for other brewers to align their beer pricing more with bomber price per ounce?

By the same token, would you start saying "people are willing to pay $8 for a pint of my beer in a bar so maybe I should be pricing my 4 packs at $32?"

 

Well, pricing of a Transient product was the one that triggered the discussion. Fair enough though.

If anything, I was most disappointed by Transient's reaction. Sure one person said "gouging" which can reflect on the business negatively but a business shouldn't go around name calling and insulting people (just my opinion though). It certainly left a bad taste in my mouth.

Before we get the constant stream of brewery defense that seems to accompany these threads, think about if any other type of business had a reaction like that.

As I said though, at the end of the day we all have our definitions of value and I'll leave it at that.

 

I didn't see anything posted that implied to me that he was charging what he was simply because he was going by bomber pricing. It seemed more like a defense of the pricing (relative to bomber price). But who knows.

And no, I'd never make the pint argument, because I already don't like bar markups; I prefer to drink at home, so if anything would pay a premium NOT to drink in a bar (not that I want that sort of pricing model to catch on).

I actually find this sort of reaction refreshing, because part of what I love about this hobby is that the brewers are people, not just some huge conglomerate (i.e. it's cool to actually talk to the Goose Island brewers as opposed to AB-InBev corporate about GI beer). I get what you're saying, and obviously it's not super professional for a business to get into arguments, but again, I like to see these guys as people, and not just businesses. I get your issue with it, though.


Anyway, it doesn't seem like this discussion is going anywhere, and as others have mentioned, while this is a Transient thread, there are probably better uses of it than discussing the price of a 4-pack of one beer for like 10+ pages.

 

One last time... I mentioned bomber pricing for a few reasons. 1 The liquid inside is the same. 2 The packaging cost for a bomber is cheaper. 3 The initial investment in equipment is less for a bomber. (Again, the beer inside is the same.) These are the reasons why small breweries favor bombers, because your misguided belief that they have more value makes you pay more for them. I have challenged you time and again to give me a reason why bombers are more expensive. You refuse. You just say "traditionally they are more expensive". That is not a reason, that is a result of something unrelated (your perception) which is wrong. The one reason they are more expensive is because they are often used by small breweries that operate on different margins than large breweries (along with the above mentioned benefits for a small brewery to package in that format).

Comparing me to any of those breweries is ridiculous, as we operate in completely different worlds as far as finance and infrastructure. Bells makes more in a single batch of Hopslam than I make all year and I'm what, $2 more expensive? Lagunitas sells Hop Stoopid for $5 a bomber, which you see as some sort of bargain, well I'm not far off on pricing.

And I'd like to know specifically when I called anyone names? House of Wortship repeatedly insulted me and my business, and I am not going to sit back and take it. If he has an issue/concern he can contact me directly, instead he posted publicly on 2 separate threads to insult me.

 

Time to buy more Transiet beer. Well said.

 

In your defense you never called me names. I apologize that you feel I insulted you and your business, it wasn't my intent. As a craft beer fan, I wish you and Transient the best despite our disagreement on pricing.

I agree, let's move on.

 

I would love a Transient/Pipeworks collab...