Barrier Brewing Co.

Those Grimm cans have the additional cost of being distributed built-in to the $5 retail price (and they're still cheaper than Barrier). I'm talking about buying bottles at Barrier's brewery, so OH is an apples-to-apples comparison. How can you not equate buying 16oz of beer direct from one brewery to buying 16.9oz of beer from another? If the "format" is the reason for the price difference, wouldn't it be a poor decision to bottle instead of can?

And we're not talking about "pennies on the ounce". A 4-pack of an OH IPA (non-AGE/non-session) vs. 4 bottles of Money is a significant difference in price - $16 vs. $24. That's a 50% premium for a whopping 3.6 extra ounces of beer. You can try to spin it as me being a cheapskate (which is the furthest thing from the truth, unfortunately to a fault), but I fail to see a legitimate reason for the price differential between this and what I'd consider superior IPA's that cost less and aren't that hard to come by these days (ie. Captain's Daughter). Trust me, I'm not the only person who is put off by the cost of these bottles, which is a shame, because Barrier brews some good beers.

 

I was a big Barrier homer for a long time (I've spent a LOT on sixth kegs from them) but the price creep and the decision to bottle has really put me off. There is no way I'm paying $6/500ml for Money at the brewery, especially when you can find Ninja vs. Unicorn cans for much cheaper and they taste pretty damn close. It's also a kick in the nuts when a 64oz growler of Money from the tasting room is substantially more expensive than stores who do growler fills of Money within 5 miles of the brewery.

 

But alot of other breweries in the area charge alot more for growlers of their popular IPAs at the brewery - OH and SingleCut come to mind. At least at Barrier you can usually find other beers like Imposter, Icculus, Simple, Lights Out, etc for $12-14, where those will be $16 and up from beer stores in BK and Manhattan (I know some LI places can be same price as the brewery). I too have noticed the price creep but I don't only drink IPAs so I'm not really effected by it.

 

Gonna have to agree with this. It's the same reason why when I see Singlecut bottles around the city I usually only grab one or two. They're just too expensive to purchase in quantity when similar beers are available for significatly cheaper prices. Can't justify spending $25-$30 bucks on a 4 bottles when I can go to Other Half and grab a 4 pack of 16oz cans for $15-$16 (aside from AGE which is $20). I'll still support both breweries because they make great beer but I'll mainly be buying their beers when I see them on tap because most beers at bars are priced similarly.

 

Speaking of money, that's an expensive-ass coaster, @Tbub18

 

Ha! True story

 

I was going to mention that as well, but I didn't want to come across like I was quibbling over pennies on the ounce.

 

really felt they brought the growler price up to match the bottle price...and am not a fan of that
i wanted to be drinking Money on the beach...but i dont go there w/ bottles...ever
that said they really dont seem to need me as a customer anymore...the place is fuking packed my last 2 trips
tuff parking and groups of people walking up the block i assume back to the train...
so yea i will grab the occasional bttl/growler locally
i already miss the good old days

 

was this on a bottle release day? I've never seen it like that. I think the location is a but out of the way for it to get too overrun.

speaking of bottles and prices - Greenport has been selling 6 packs for almost year at good prices. Wonder how they are doing it? - they do have a much larger space and aren't self distributing.

 

Your cost distinctions are legitimate and warranted, but one difference between the products put out by Other Half, Grimm, Singlecut, and Barrier, is that I can walk into some stores (from Putnam County to Long Island) and actually buy Singlecut or Barrier bottles/cans. Since you can't say that about Other Half or reasonably say that about Grimm IPAs, it's doesn't exactly make sense to compare them so directly. While you are factoring in pennies per ounce, you should also factor in chasing time (time is money), gas (or subway) costs, and see how it goes from there. Lucky for you if it still works out cheaper for you.

 

Notice which ones are in cans and which ones are in bottles.

If Singlecut canned, I'm confident people would be going crazy for their IPA more than OH.

 

But I thought beer connoisseurs were not swayed by packaging.

On a serious note, I have no idea if the choice to go with a bottling line has put Barrier and/or Singlecut in a position where they can reach far more outlets. The overhead costs of a quality canning line to a quality bottling line (and then using them) are not apples to apples as far as I understand. Note that I'm not familiar with the setups of these breweries (or the facility used by Grimm on Staten Island).

 

Ah, sir, you are treading into dangerous waters, especially since this is a thread for Barrier. Someone with more cojones than me should start a thread titled "NYC AREA BREWERY SMACKDOWN," and we can let all of our hot air run unabated there before the moderators shut the thread down 10 responses in.

Which is the long way of me saying, Grimm > OH > Barrier > SingleCut, but let's pick the conversation up after school in the yard. Bring your lunch money.

edit: I would like to clarify that I love all four abovementioned breweries!

 

It could just be my timing, but my recent visits to Barrier found it much more crowded than earlier ones.

They've dressed down to look far less sexy.

 

Grimm = OH = Barrier = SingleCut = breweries that make some good beer

That's how you rank them. Now move along.

 

*hands @zid lunch money, cleans retainer on shirt, scurries off*

 

the last trip was the Wednesday of thanksgiving...i try to get the wed growler discount because i am totally out of hand in the spending department or am a cheap bastard im not sure which ...and to be honest i dont know of any special bottle release but yes bottles were for sale...got 5 growlers im also pretty sure i got discounted on everything but the 2 Money
for the record their was over 100 ppl inside...and no one getting fills it was a bar scene
i dont mean to flame good for them! its all about making $$$ and taking care of your family as far as im concerned
but i just want good beer...i can get good beer anywhere nowadays

 

I'm well past college age but I remember Thanksgiving eve is the biggest bar night of the year. Alot of thirsty LI kids as I recall. My last visit was NYE day and it was nice and quiet - hung out for awhile and got 3 growlers no problem.

 

good to hear...maybe there is hope for me

 

Not really.