When did you STOP looking at price?

I still look at price but many other variables factor into my purchasing decisions ahead of price. This started about 4 years ago when I got into craft beer. I had gotten to the point where I wasn’t drinking that often because I didn’t really like the beers that I was drinking. That has changed. I usually spend less than $50 per month on beer. Quality, variety, and freshness are far more important to me than price.

 

I start with what I want to drink and then I look at price, but what I want to drink can vary and I have different price expectations/limits for difference styles. What I consider a reasonable price for a pilsner vs IPA vs rauchbier vs bourbon barrel aged quad can vary. However, what I want to drink my also be influenced by prices.

That's my non-answer answer. You're welcome.

 

Yeah.....I suppose I'm still a miser. I just don't have the cash to buy everything that I'd like, so I'm a big "bang for the buck" guy. Maybe we'll hit the lottery and I won't have to worry about prices.

 

Beyond a certain price point there are diminishing returns on quality, so I tend to shy away from a lot of $10+ bottles(12 oz). A lot of high priced beers have a cheaper version of a similar beer from another brewer. There are exceptions to the rule, but it has to be something that really catches my eye to make a purchase. At tap rooms I'll buy just about anything on tap, but often the differences in price there are much more negligible.

 

The price difference between macro beer and higher-volume craft beer is not a consideration for me. ("higher-volume" means beer in the Summit Brewing / August Schell / Sierra Nevada / Bell's class.) And (fortunately for me), I find them to be enjoyable and extremely well-done on the whole. I almost always have a beers from this class in my 'fridge.

I would never even consider any beer that costs ~$1 / oz or more, regardless of the format. And approaching that limit, I would have to have a really, REALLY good reason. (Dying to try is a really good reason to buy one or two, but no repeat buys).

Beers in -between I'll buy if I want to try them but, again, they will not likely be repeat purchases.

This has nothing to do with what I can afford without crimping my lifestyle. I could afford to attempt to get a ticket for one of the TG highly hyped release events, and then to go to Decorah, spend the night, camp out, and fork over the money. However, that whole package does not have value for me.

 

As a guy who works everyday for a living and has a budget, of course I look at price. There’s some ridiculously priced beer out there that I always pass up. Every now and again, I will splurge on expensive type beers, but for the most part, I stick to beers that represent good value.

 

I still look at price but depending what it is....i don't care about price. Things like fresh German and Belgian imports don't seem to matter to my wallet.

 

As many have stated, it's not so much about absolute price (of course it is for some things...) but whether the end product is worth the price it commands.

I'd sooner drink a $25 bottle of Sante Adairius than $20 CBS. (Although I did pay $25 for CBS. Bleh.)

 

I always consider the price. I'm a big believer in bang for buck. These $20+ 4 packs (looking at you Singlecut, Exhibit A, etc) are simply not worth it. That said, I have no issue spending dough on all the local goodies and don't need to LOOK at the cost because I know by now that they are priced reasonably with Foam & sometimes 4 Quarters at the highest end of my spend spectrum.

 

I simply refuse to be subjected to excessive pricing. The fact that they do it doesn't bother me but if I let them do it to me that would.

 

Cliff notes: everyone but the OP looks at price and/or value in some sort of fashion (including me)

/thread

 

An excellent approach, sir.

 

I'm no billionaire. My cut off (for beer) is around $20, but often spend half that amount or lower.

 

I never did, but sometimes I should

 

These days you'd better look at the price! There are plenty of beers on the shelves that look like simple 12 oz. beers but actually cost much more!

Even worse is buying a simple beer (pale ale, porter, etc. - without any aging or added ingredients) and then finding out it cost much more than you thought it would.

 

Never...

Price is always considered when I purchase. That is not to say that I don't splurge, but I always try and rationalize the price-per-format.

 

Well, sometimes I won't look at the price if it's a format (6pk) and a brewery I am familiar with. I will have a good idea what the price point is. A couple of one-offs recently caught me off guard though. Bou Lou by Boulevard was a little pricier than I would have liked it to be.

 

When I first got into craft I didn't think about money as much as I do now. Now I think about when and where I'm doing my drinking. For example, knowing that I was going to a block party that would last upwards of 6 hours I didn't see any good reason to buck up for NEIPA's, so I bought a 12 of gansetts and enjoyed every last drop. If I know I'm going to have some days of just chillin around the house then yeah, I'll buy a couple of four packs and enjoy them at a normal pace. Thinking about the when and where I'm doing my drinking kind of takes care of how much I'm spending....

 

I don't really pay attention to the price. I mean, I'm aware of it, and I roll my eyes at $22.50 four-packs (I'm looking at you, Trillium), but I'd rather drink one more-expensive-but-very-excellent beer than two less-expensive-but-only-pretty-much-OK beers. Of course, in the end, I drink just as much, or more, of the more expensive beer because, frankly, I'm a craft brewer's wet dream of a patsy.

 

I know where I can get my favorites at a good price, if I see something I want to try I will shell out more than usual. Usual being under $11 for an average 6-pack, under $13 for a quality 4-pack.