Price gouging in TEXAS

Utopias is +-$200 for a bottle to an end consumer at retail. There are 12 two oz pours in the bottle. $20/pour isn't normal bar markup (though they should be making a decent profit), so I don't think it's as much a ripoff as it is simply a high-priced drink.

 

Prices are a little crazy. Beer is "trendy" right now with lots of people trying to get anything resembling "special". Things are going to get priced at what the market will bear. Sadly there are more willing to pay to try something than not.
Just drink the specials that day(not special releases) when out. 2.50 for a pint of Buried Hatchet last night. That is hard to beat.

 

Don't forget Bruery prices for stuff like Black Tuesday and Chocolate Rain are more in the $30-40 range......

 

I'll never pay more than 17 dollars for a beer. That's the most I've paid for Jester King.

 

I feel (and am) like a n00b asking this, but how do you tell off-hand how many oz a glass is, without asking the bartender? I think the smallest pour I've ever gotten was like 10 oz?

 

If I dont know, I ask. Tulips and snifters can be the most confusing, because there are several different sizes, so I can't tell if its 8oz or 10oz or 12oz most of the time. So just ask.

 

Makes me wonder how much my KBS pour was. That came in a small snifter. DanzBorin/MattChow- How much was KBS? $7 right?

 

Nobi lists how many oz their glasses are. Isn't a snifter like 8 or 9oz?

 

Don't get all this ranting about prices. If you don't like the price, don't buy it. Simple. It's not like there aren't other good beers out there. I don't bitch about the price of filet mignon. I just buy another cut of steak.

As to not knowing the price beforehand, I don't get that either. The beer bars I go to either have the price & size on a chalkboard or a menu. Maybe if the establishment won't inform you beforehand, you should go somewhere else.

 

I understand that, but they still deserve to be brought out in the open so we know where to avoid. Just sitting here complaining won't help and I'd rather vote with my wallet regarding all this. Would be helpful to name the bars.

 

Drink at home. Get a backyard or porch or something.

 

I was being sarcastic. It's a great beer. I'm glad I have a bottle, wish I had another.

 

I think that was a 10 oz pour. Small Snifter, but all the way to the top. I felt it wasn't over the top. I expected $1 an oz and felt we did better.

 

Got it. My sarcasometer is broken this morning.

 

Are you referring to Barrel Aged Yeti or one of the various Oak Aged Yeti's (aged on oak chips)? I don't believe any BA Yeti made it to TX though, but read that bottles were selling for roughly $20-$25. BA Bigfoot was at least $18 a bottle. Sucaba was around $16 a bottle when I picked one up at HEB.

If you gauge those bottle prices to what their keg equivalent would have cost I bet you would have been paying much more for the other beers you listed.

 

I'm astonished by the page 1 responses (sorry I'm too lazy to keep reading before typing) but seriously...come on. Bars are expensive to own/lease and operate period and location makes a drastic difference.

Without knowing exactly what a place like Strangeways or Zio Carlo's pays in rent I would venture a guess that it works out to be 1/6 the rent of places like the Common Table, The Moth, and the FW Saucer (I don't know those rent's either so it's total speculation).

I can name a bar with that price and assume that it's the price set company wide. Would I pay $30...ehh...I'd split it gladly on a Friday night amongst friends (same reason I'll buy a bottle of Cakebread at a restaurant). Sometimes the price allows for those with the means to pay but not the means to track down a bottle for home the chance to try it. Lucky for me I sometimes have the chance to do both.

 

FWIW, the bar that grendle and I were referring to is notorious for overpriced beer in general, not just special releases. I wouldn't necessarily mind paying $30 for Black Crack at a bar if the everyday beers are priced more reasonably (for bar prices).

I like how World of Beer prices their bottles. Their default price includes the on-premise markup, but they give you a 30% discount if you buy your bottles to-go. They've become my go-to place for Bishop's Barrel because of this.

 

The most I spent on a bottle at a bar was for Iris, which I believe was ~35$, then a Classic Gueuze for ~30$, then a Beer Geek Brunch Weasel Calvados for 20 and some change. The prices I remember may be a little off as there were many beers that night, but I feel those are worth spending that much.

 

The most I've paid was $27 for a bottle of Hannssen's Oude Gueuze.