Outrageous Beer Prices

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by LesDewitt4beer, May 1, 2025.

  1. brewme

    brewme Grand Pooh-Bah (4,014) Mar 1, 2014 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Pliny
     
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  2. blueshawk69

    blueshawk69 Pooh-Bah (1,711) Jul 16, 2022 Kansas
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    1. No, no we don't.
    2. (paraphrasing that old movie quote) "Scruples? We don' need no stinking scruples!"
    3. If'n you think it's bad now, just wait. There's nothing so bad that it can't get worse........
     
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  3. md3kcn

    md3kcn Savant (1,130) Feb 4, 2021 North Carolina
    Trader

    What are you even tipping for? No idea how pouring a single beer and giving it to you isn't just part of their job description...
     
  4. keithmurray

    keithmurray Pooh-Bah (2,967) Oct 7, 2009 Connecticut
    Pooh-Bah

    YIKES!
     
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  5. MrOH

    MrOH Grand Pooh-Bah (3,995) Jul 5, 2010 Virginia
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    Just good American manners.
     
  6. dcotom

    dcotom Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,637) Aug 4, 2014 Iowa
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    This was taken at the growler station at my go-to bottle shop this evening. Toppling Waters, a collab between TG and Central Waters, is an amazing BA imperial stout. But while the per-ounce price ($3) isn't out of line compared to some other TG stuff I've seen, these growler prices will give you a heart attack. :astonished:

    [​IMG]
     
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  7. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Just my two cents...

    Yes, it absolutely is part of their job description, in much the same way that table service is part of a waiter's job description. Even so, in the US there's an expectation that you leave a tip for service, even if that service is perfunctory.

    That being said, my feeling is that there's no need to add insult to injury. If you're being grossly over charged at an airport, concert hall or ball park, I personally think it's ridiculous to expect, or to leave, a 20% tip. Even so, if you're a customer and you want to go ahead and leave that much, of course that's up to you.

    When I'm at the airport and for whatever reason decide I want to buy an overpriced drink, I don't tip based on the cost of my drink. I leave a tip based on what the "normal" cost of the beer would be in town. Depending where you are, a pint of PtE generally runs between $8 and $10 a pint. So maybe I would leave a couple of bucks as a tip, in the situation described by the OP.

    After all, it's not the waiter or bartender's fault the prices are so high at the airport. So I don't feel as if it's fair to penalize him or her by stiffing them on the tip.

    Again, just my two cents.
     
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  8. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    In comparison to the pricing of KBBS at the TG brewpub, it looks to me like those crowler and growler prices are an absolute steal! :wink:
     
  9. LAFreeway

    LAFreeway Zealot (669) Aug 2, 2023 California

    I agree, if a place is charging $25.00 a beer, they should be paying the person who hands you the beer a living wage not dependent on tips. Plus, handing someone a beer isn’t bar tendering.
     
  10. moodenba

    moodenba Pooh-Bah (2,502) Feb 2, 2015 New York
    Society Pooh-Bah

    Note: Washington requires that all employees receive local the minimum wage from the employer, with tips additional. But most states follow federal law. The federal minimum for tipped employees is $2,13, with the employer required to make up the difference if the tips fall short.
     
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  11. md3kcn

    md3kcn Savant (1,130) Feb 4, 2021 North Carolina
    Trader

    I was taught in southern manners school what tipping actually means - "To Insure Promptness". Tips are meant to be paid after the service is complete, as something to look forward to as a reward for insanely good service. If a tablet asks me to tip, I don't. Cash-only, after getting served (with some great conversation about beer and the community)!
     
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  12. jesskidden

    jesskidden Grand Pooh-Bah (3,145) Aug 10, 2005 New Jersey
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    That is generally agreed to be a myth by etymologists* - but there is a "southern" connection according to some labor historians.
    TIME - ‘It’s the Legacy of Slavery’: Here’s the Troubling History Behind Tipping Practices in the U.S.

    * Whenever I write "etymology" I often mistakenly write "entomology" - the study of insects.
    "!@#$, if there's a FLY in my beer, damn right I ain't tippin'!"
    Of course, was the fly really the responsibility of the bartender? Sometimes, I suppose.

    I used to go to a local bar that had big double-doors to the patio area which they kept open during nice weather in the spring and fall. Place was too often full of flies. I told the manager he should get one of the big beer companies to print up sponsored fly swatters. He didn't think it was funny.
     
    #232 jesskidden, Jul 10, 2025
    Last edited: Jul 10, 2025
  13. moodenba

    moodenba Pooh-Bah (2,502) Feb 2, 2015 New York
    Society Pooh-Bah

    Your bar didn't stock the right beers. When I visited Straub's eternal tap in about 1980, I walked away with a Straub flyswatter.
     
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  14. DCH

    DCH Savant (1,119) Jun 12, 2013 New York

    wow WTF, you could buy a keg of something decent for those prices
     
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  15. LesDewitt4beer

    LesDewitt4beer Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,315) Jan 25, 2021 Minnesota
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Happy Hour isn't as happy as it used to be, esp for my wallet!
     
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  16. MrOH

    MrOH Grand Pooh-Bah (3,995) Jul 5, 2010 Virginia
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    If it was "To Insure Promptness", wouldn't you be paying it up front like any other insurance? There is something to be said for greasing palms when you walk into a place like a gangster in a movie.
    Just because a business is overcharging and should be paying a living wage, doesn't mean they do. I'm not going to take that out on the employees. After all, it's my choice to patronize the business. I don't need to get a beer at the airport, ballpark, concert, etc.
    This is probably the correct way to deal with this.
     
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  17. md3kcn

    md3kcn Savant (1,130) Feb 4, 2021 North Carolina
    Trader

    Mr. Pink was 200% in the right - I won't patronize a business that wants me to overpay for a pint, and I won't support a system that wants me to comp the salary of someone that could pick a host of other entry-level jobs.

    If it's one thing I learned from this thread, it's that tips are pointless and I can just get my beer in bulk at Total Wine, by the keg.
     
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  18. MrOH

    MrOH Grand Pooh-Bah (3,995) Jul 5, 2010 Virginia
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    Have fun drinking at home!
     
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  19. LAFreeway

    LAFreeway Zealot (669) Aug 2, 2023 California

    Aren’t you taking it out on the employee by not buying that beer? Either way they’re not getting their tip.

    Also, I believe the beer in question was purchased at a stadium. I knew a guy who took those type of jobs, they were never paid less than minimum wage like an actual bar or restaurant employee is. Plus, one day the employee is selling beer, the next hotdogs or tickets or T-shirts. So you tip for the beer, but none of the other things?

    Having said that, I just would not spend $25 on a beer, I don’t think I would enjoy it knowing how badly ripped off I got. I always do tip over the 20% rate at a regular bar or restaurant though.
     
  20. LouisHD

    LouisHD Initiate (30) Jul 11, 2025 Ohio

    Brew your own. It's cheaper, fresher, and better beer so long as you keep everything completely sterile.
     
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