New Breweries - Big Bottles

Bombers are quite popular around here too. I Think alot of stores can buy 6-12 with minimal storage space vs what would take up alot of room for 6 packs. Also for places that cant sell singles it works well too.

 

I see them a lot here in AK too but not as much as you guys in your respective places. I find it to be a turn-off because I like to taste them. What if I don't like it? We also have a place here called La Bodega, where you can buy a six pack of assorted types. I buy a few and then decide which ones would be worth making.

 

there's a brewery in san diego called iron fist i think. they may have been around for a few years now but i have not had a single one of their beers. seems like all their beer is $10 per 750 ml and the reviews are not exactly amazing. i sometimes wonder what people are thinking when they open a brewery in san diego without bringing legitimate a-game beers to the table. i guess it's a marketing thing if you have the "san diego" location for your brewery.

 

Ten bucks is an okay price if it's a special beer that costs the brewer more to make like an imperial stout, or something that is Bourbon barrel aged, but if it's a regular menu beer that is just an average quality beer, then ten bucks is too much.

 

It is a lot cheaper for small breweries to bottle in bombers than 6 packs/4 packs of cans or bottles. Be patient. If the beer is good they will sell enough to afford a more accomodating bottling line.

 

But if they sell enough to buy a better bottling line, why not just pocket the dough and go with what got them to that point?

I hate bombers. I especially hate bombers in the Midwest. Everything is $6+. I love Bell's for doing 6 packs of everything, and Founders for doing only 12 oz bottles of 99.8% of their capacity. And at least out here bombers are under $10.

 

You pretty much said everything I think. My Vader skills are increasing in strength I see...

 

I'm prolly in the minority here, but I don't feel $10 is all that much to spend on a new, untested bomber, and my receipts can attest to this. I only prefer sixers if I can somehow grab a single bottle to try it. Think about it: Sure, the price per ounce may be higher with the bombers, but if you don't like the beer you're only left with around 20oz or so of excess crap; with a sixer, you've got five full bottles and one partial one left over.

In the end, though, I'd rather have a $10 bomber than a $10 11.2oz-er (I'm looking at you, De Molen, BrewDog, etc).

 

Man if you are charging that much for a beer that isn't even imported it better be damn good. I can pick up a well made and delicious Unibroue beer for 8.something a 750.

 

I believe these brewers are taking on a foodie/wine mindset. Meaning, an okay supermarket bottle of any known wine style is gonna hover around $10. They're thinking why can't we price our beer of equal quantity the same. In fact, do you think they might be trying to appeal to foodies? Hmmm...

 

I don't mind,but if the bottle is over $15 I want it to be something I can age.

 

We've seen a lot of the same here. If you have tiny capacity, you only need to sell a little beer, so you might as well price it at $10 and just wait for the tickers to show up.

As I see it, the problem isn't just the bomber-only mindset. The problem is that all these new brewers want their own brewing equipment, so they all buy their own tiny systems, pay their own rent, etc, which results in low capacity and high per-batch costs and prices. If brewers thought of brewing more like a business, they'd make use of the efficiencies made possible by sharing a brewery with other brewers. Sure, maybe this doesn't satisfy every wannabe-brewer's fantasy, but it's almost certainly the best way to get reasonably-priced beer to your customers. If you show up with a new lineup of standard styles in $7 bombers, you're not trying hard enough IMO. And no, adding coriander seed or something to a 7% abv IPA doesn't all of a sudden necessitate a new brewery or justify these prices.

Many brewers seem to want to walk this weird line of producing artisan products but marketing them as everyday items. You can make artisan stuff and charge appropriate prices, or you can make everyday stuff and charge much less. This cognitive disconnect is perhaps most apparent in the marketing of $7+ bombers of "session beer."

 

I definitely agree, it seems like a dumb move. There's a small brewery near me that only bottles in bombers, priced $6+ for a basic amber ale. I've had one of their beers on tap (a mediocre-at-best IPA) and the reviews on all their offerings are weak, so I can pretty much guarantee I won't try more.

I hear their bandwagon-jumping bourbon-aged stout is a good candidate for a Blind BIF "killshot," though...

 

if its 22oz, which 1 12 oz beer and 1 10 oz one, then I figure 5 to 6 tops. More than that, I just have to pass. When these American brewers think they can charge near the same price as a belgain import, they lose me. its pure profit.

 

A local brewery in Northern VA just did this. They're obviously trying to jump on the Imperial IPA craze. $8 for a bomber. No thanks. I can get a bomber of Hop Stoopid Ale for $5 or a 4-pack of Double Trouble for $10.