Maine Beer Company (Black Barn Program)

Thank you for the post.

It’s disgusting that they’ve lasted this long with those prices. They’re nothing more than a draught-only brewery for me.

 

I do agree with you generally, but I would have sworn their system was going to have shown itself to be in need of fixing years ago and yet here we are. They appear to have access to some sort of witchcraft, so I'm not going to second guess their decisions anymore

 

I guess this is the response I truly don't get -- then again I never saw beer pricing as a moral issue -- this isn't bottled water during a hurricane. Thanks to the previous poster for providing context of the price, and as was mentioned, one just needs to measure whether MO or Lunch is worth the 30-40% increase in price over other IPAs in the market.

Their parking lots sure were full last time I went through, so people seem still to be buying their beer. I'm sure their bottles sit in some stores, but I certainly don't see crates of them sitting around when I'm in the area. That being said, I also don't buy as much of their beer as I would if it were cheaper -- that's disgustingly obvious, but then again I don't really think that's what MBC is aiming for: people walking out of their brewery with loading carts full of beer.

They've lasted quite a while at this point... predating most of the case-slingers, but I agree, it is a chance they're taking, keeping their prices that much higher and using a format that most breweries are moving away from. Maybe they're just trolling... they name their beers after meals after all...

(I know).

 

I generally agree that the prices don’t bother me. I just find them personally too high and confusingly out of sync with the market, so their beers are an easy pass for me. But it’s their business, so whatever works for them. They seem like nice people and I still enjoy the tap room once or twice a year.

 

You just contradicted yourself...

You guys proof-reading your posts before hitting submit?

 

I don't see any contradictions in that post myself.

 

Sure, there's a reasonable interpretation of what he wrote, but have you tried willfully regarding every other person on the internet as a fool that you are personally obligated to correct?

 

>prices don’t bother me
>I find their prices too high so I don’t buy them

How thick minded are some of you to not see the contraction? Bums.

 

Just because I'm not personally willing to spend $2000 on a TV doesn't mean I hate that there are $2000 TVs being sold in the world.

 

You are bothered that the price is $2000, hence why you’re not buying it - his whole post

You lost bruh

 

Nope- we all lost reading your persnickety posts- Do you enjoy being a pain in the ass?

 

What an odd thing to pick a fight about.

 

You're either trying too hard or not trying hard enough. I can't quite decide.

Also, you meant "contradiction" ya bum.

 

Well, they're obviously hacks over there at Allagash...

Without seeing the actual numbers (which we never will), this is a tough sell for most...and why a lot of their product sits on shelves.

That doesn't mean they're not leaving money on the table...if they sold cans at $20/4 pack, which is very expensive for something like MO, it would be a MASSIVE discount, in a more convenient format.

How much more beer would they sell then? And maybe make more money...which could be given to their employees.

The slogan is "Do what's right" not "Do what's right now".

It appears to be the same witchcraft that the Patriots use.

 

tfw when you don't know the definition of bother but the drunning kruger is stronger

 

How do you plan to spend your winnings?

 

Based on some of the responses I'd change my original message "Its hard to argue with their prices given their ethos" to "its hard to call them out on their prices given their ethos". SingleCut was obviously just trying to do a cash grab when they switched from 16.9 oz bottles to 16 oz cans without lowering the price (maybe it went from $7.50 to $7 but still). It was easy to call them d-bags its not so easy with MBC.

I don't know the founders and don't know how real they are but based on their "origin story" they really do sound like they are just doing their thing and don't really care if people buy their beer. They'll do things their way util it doesn't work anymore, at that point they will either go back to doing what they used to do or if they can change and keep to their goals then they will. They aren't looking at what the market is doing but just doing what makes them happy without stressing.

Now why does this seemingly doomed plan work? I'd guess a couple of reasons. They moved from Industrial Ave Portland to Freeport. Freeport I've got to imagine is a heck of a lot cheaper than Portland. Competition in Freeport is much lower. What other brewery is North of Freeport that's really good? Direct to consumer sales is a great model and I've got to think they are killing it where they are. Availability of their bottles is fairly limited, you don't really see a ton of it. Enough that its easy to get but its not really always there. From a draft standpoint its one of those beers that people get excited about on draft. It seems to be available in a lot of places. Its got a more well known name than a lot of beers and even those of us not willing to buy it in bottle are ok buying it on draft since the draft prices are generally normal. The owners are pretty smart even though they don't seem to really have high aspirations. They've probably already secured their futures so becoming Tree House rich really isn't their goal. If they are leaving money on the table who cares? I think we expect "high profile" people to want to grab as much as they can while most us don't do that in our daily lives. Who can't say they aren't trying harder to make more money because the effort just isn't worth the time? I'd guess that's what MBC is doing, they make enough and the effort to be bigger just isn't worth the time. Either that or they are the complete opposite and are milking this image of guys who want to do the right thing

 

My scorching take on this is that they will probably have to lower their prices eventually, but the bottles are now iconic to the brand and are here to stay.

 

I'm interested to see how the whole Second Dinner thing works out. I was not a fan of it and I see that they still have bottles a week later and it is only the second release of it. At $8 a bottle it is a bigger test than their cheaper stuff and, to my tastes, it doesn't really stand out in any way. I am a big fan of Dinner but I would be a bit surprised if they are able to keep producing this beer at that price point.

 

Chef’s kiss.