The great pilsner conundrum

A $6 milkshake is commonplace now, as is the $14 hamburger. And people are paying it...even me .

 

A couple of things at work here: I understand why a small place might try and charge such prices for cans. The fact is, for most breweries the margin on cans is minimal after all the packaging, labeling, materials, and other costs are taken into account. For example, our host brewery earns about $5.25 a six-pack from the distributor. Taking out materials and production costs, that leaves them with about $1 profit per six-pack or $4 per case. They try to keep the retail price decent, at about $10 give or take, so this is the realty they are looking at. Even some major economies of scale don't make this a very profitable venture. So I get why a brewery might try and get as much as they can in this format

That said, it's still a pretty outrageous price at retail. You think it compares unfavorably to German beer here? Try comparing it to the prices I pay over there. For example, a crate of local Rauchbier or Kellerbier sells for around $12-15. A crate of Warsteiner can typically be found for under $10...and sometimes as low as $5 a case.

Third thing is, yes, some places do a decent job with these beers but many many more do not. Adds insult to injury when you shell out the equivalent of a case price for a 4-pack of pilsner "with a twist"

 

For those in the NY area I have a question. Not a Pils but also not an IPA - Newburgh sells their Cream and Brown Ales at $10 for 4pks of 16oz cans (I don't know how they distribute but I don't think they do it themselves). I know these are boring styles (to the DIPA only crowd) but I am very comfortable at that price point for non trendy everyday type beer. I'd like to see more of that from my locals. I'd love Barrier to put their Icculus Kolsch or Simple Cail Common on the market at that price for example. Anyone know how they are able to work that out? They must have a big canning line, I don't think they contract out.

and yeah I wouldn't pay $16+ for a 4pk of a half assed pilsner with some Mosaic thrown in either. SN Summerfest, anything by Jack's Abby, Bitburger or DAB work for me.

 

I buy imports a lot still. I love rothaus. But ill only but it when the store has a new shipment in. I still drink Becks. But i buy a shitload of NJ pilsners because i can get them fresher. I drink a lot of sixpoint crisp. Foegotten boardwalk free parking is great. Wolsters Pils for >$1 per can. It doesnt matter
Im pretty happy with it all. Plus theyre mostly $10 a six or less. Im with @TongoRad
Its all fair game if its fresh craft and imports.

 

yup... I'm an adventurous beer drinker and I think I have an open mind about brewers experimenting with styles, EXCEPT pilsners and kolsch-style beers. Those are the only styles that I look up the beer's descriptions, reviews, and specs to avoid any misguided "innovation."

 

It funny you mention German beer prices. I just got back from Germany and spent some time visiting my brewing friends there... all of whom are making excellent beer, and to a one, they each complained about the pricing. In Germany right now, there's a race to the bottom price-wise. The large national brands are driving down retail prices so fast and so severely that many of the smaller brewers have a tough, if not impossible time competing.
The per capita consumption of beer is also falling rapidly, so much so, that some deep analysis of the German beer industry suggests that we're going to see a lot of breweries go down in the near future if prices don't rise. Tiny breweries, that in theory shouldn't be worried about export, are now relying on export for their beer just so they can stay afloat...but in many cases export, especially overseas, is a false value due to the high costs and low profitability. But sometimes that's the only option. For many in Germany (just like here in the USA,) beer is a commodity product. Without the clear and agreed-upon perception of unique value, to warrant higher prices, there will be some troubles in the future.

 

This sucks. You need fresh faces and adaptation to stay relevant. For example look at Budweiser. Its been the same beer for the most part and now craft has moved up in the world because people wanted something new. Things can not continue forever being the same. Where is the innovation or excitement to see new brewers. Eventually, somebody has to pass the torch but its all about the money so i guess itll be a while or just never happen. Good luck to small brewing. Cheers.

 

Good points. I think the prices will rise, and we are seeing people becoming more willing to pay a bit more for their locals, in order to see them survive. That said, in places like Franconia and the Oberpfalz (and Koeln and Duesseldorf), there is still a lot of consumption at the taverns, which helps offset things a good deal. Still, any rise in prices will come nowhere near the prices we see here. There would be a national revolt!

 

As long as the national brands are willing to charge such low prices (e.g., 5 bucks per case/crate on a sales promotion) I really do not see how these market conditions will change.

It really seems that having a low price point is important to the German beer consumers.

@einhorn

Cheers!

 

By me the PA stuff wins out most of the time. But if I see very fresh Jever or Pivo, they go to the top of the list.

 

Havent had either. Looks like i need to seek out

 

I have a problem when the newer Noble hops (Merkur in Stammtisch) are used to add a lot of bitterness -- as well as combining a lot of Noble hops, it just stunts my palate. Sam Adams' Noble Pils almost made me drink milk for a week.

 

I commonly find DAB within 4 months of its package date (12 oz bottles and 16 oz cans). I enjoy the beer, but also enjoy that it typically costs <$1 per bottle or can [based on 12-pack of bottles or 24 bottle/can case].

 

It seems like DAB really moves around here too. And no wonder, they have a very nice beer for the price. Personally, though, I don't look at it as something that will satisfy the Pilsner craving - not hoppy enough.

 

They used to be 12 dollars 12s but the price here is up to 16 a 12. Still buy them though. I believe it was the distributer that causedthe increase.

 

This "trend" is at least 25 years old. When I moved to Germany in 1992 a crate of beer costed DM 20, today it's about the same (EURO 10). Approximately 70% of "brand name" beer moves when it's on TPR, hence the resistance of breweries to raise prices. Thanks to the likes of Aldi, Netto and Lidl, Germans have become accustomed to inexpensive food & beverage and have lost a lot of brand loyalty simply because most German pilsners taste the same. Indeed a conundrum, but I have now heard at least for the moment that many of the top brands are at least moving forward with a price increase by the end of the year which would translate to an additional 1 EURO on the crate price. The question is, will the retailers play the game and raise accordingly or use it as a tool to attract customers.

Great story about how Warsteiner decided to not involve themselves in the race to the bottom and went from 6 million HL to about 2.5 million HL of "healthy hectoliters", i.e. decent margins. The only thing that has kept many German breweries alive over the years is their export business.

 

Were you at drinktec? We were going through Pass Control at the Munich airport, and it seemed we heard “drinktec” often as the reason for travel to Germany as we waited in line.

Our destination was Bamberg. Prices have gone up, but were still 2.30 to 2.90 € for a half liter at the breweries. I always appreciate that as it is almost half of what a beer costs in my small town when one considers the tip.