The great pilsner conundrum

There is also the fact that they are usually a new smaller business and the big companies that have been around for a while that distribute far have made enough money to lower the cost price, which may happen over time with the newer hot breweries.

 

Perhaps, but other breweries have managed to open up shop and still offer beer at lower prices. I think the more honest answer is simply that the market for small breweries making hazy hoppy beers in cans is super hot, so they can charge what they like. Once you've established that foundation, you can expand your pricing into other styles, and people won't bat an eye. I don't blame them, per se, since if folks are buying, the market is signaling your prices are fine. I just don't buy the explanation that they HAVE to charge that. And, since I'm fairly frugal with my beer purchases, I tend to eschew breweries that charge like that.

 

Competition can be very good for consumers and beer, and the traditional German or Czech pilsner is a perfect example of why that is. Classic, genre-defining, world-class beers for a reasonable price. Local breweries should have a slight advantage for freshness, but if they don't pass the value test, so be it. May the best beer win your dollar.

 

I get Jack's Abby rotating traditional lagers for $8.99 for a 6pk/16oz cans. I can't beat that otherwise. Only one did I think wasn't up to snuff. That price and those beers are 100x better than most of the dusty old German lagers I find around.

 

Some really top-notch local pils here in MN are available for ~$8 - $10 for a 6 pack / 4 pack or ~$15 for 12 pack.

In comparison, Weihenstephaner Pilsner is ~$11 for a 6 pack and Pilsner Urquell is ~$10 for a 6 pack or ~$16 for a 12 pack.

No conundrum here... just what you feel like drinking!

 

I feel this dilemma isn't strictly a matter of locals vs. imports but also imports vs. imports. Connecticut is lucky enough to be one of the states that gets Rothaus, but it's a rare purchase for me compared to other German pilsners because of its $15-16 price tag at most stores.

I do feel my area is pretty fortunate overall though to have both fairly priced American pilsners on the shelf like Jack's, Von Trapp, Prima, and Pivo, as well as local breweries making quality pilsners that aren't costly. Counterweight's Workhorse has been my most frequent purchase over the last few months both because it's my favorite pilsner made in the region and because it's priced pretty fairly at $10/4-pack of pint cans.

 

With craft beer, I tend to stay away from pilsners simply because most of them just arent very good and even with the ones that are pretty good, they can be inconsistent.
As much as we all like to hate on macro beers, the fact is that its very difficult to make a pilsner taste the same every time because you cant really mask the flavor.
Thats why for a pilsner, I tend to stick to what I know and what I know is going to be consistent, which for me is usually Miller High Life. Say what you will about it but for me it always tastes the same, is always refreshing and always reminds me of my younger days.

 

Dude . . . you live in Ohio, the land of Great Lakes, Fatheads, and Rhinegeist. How are you not getting consistent, excellent pilsner beer?

 

One of my local retailers sells 6-packs of Sly Fox Pikeland Pils for $7.99 and they are always fresh (e.g., about 1 month old). Based upon my communications with Michael (@TongoRad) you might even find this beer cheaper in your area?

I personally am not a fan of Warsteiner but if I could find fresh Weinhenstephaner for less than 10 bucks that would be a purchase for me. There is plenty of Weinhenstephaner on my local beer retailers shelves but they are never 1 month old (more like 5+ months old) and they are priced well north of 10 bucks.

Cheers!

 

Unfortunately for us, no, our prices can't compete for the PA beers. Maybe we're better for FW Pivo, though - that could be had for $9.99, same price as Sunshine Pils. Both outstanding beers, imo, and well worth the extra few bucks over Warsteiner or Radeberger, etc.

 

Curiously, and I apologize if you have already answered this, how much are 4-packs of IPAs from these breweries costing?

 

I have come to appreciate a good pils, but I also do a lot of mix-a-six purchases so I don't always check individual bottle prices. I think I would notice if a pils was costing me more than a couple of bucks on a mixed six pack deal. Maybe not - I kind of take the view it's a mixed six and is what it is. For me the freshness does factor in more than local - maybe even more than it does with the smoothie-type IPA's, so I do tend to not pick up the imports in favor of the local/regional sources.

I agree with others that we are fortunate to have Jack's Abby, von Trapp and others readily available at pretty reasonable price points in MA and the New England region. It seems to me that location may be coming into play on this more than one would think? I agree creates a pickle. Sure - everybody wants to support the local-ish folks, but when they do price themselves high it gets tough. When I go to Wisconsin, I usually pick up a couple pf pilsners I know I like and they are generally in the $1.50 a bottle range, sometimes less. Hard to judge sometimes - when I hear people in other states rave about how much they save at a farmer's market versus the outright robbery that goes on around here...wonder if the same applies to beer and I just don't notice.

 

Don’t forget Prost - they do some good German styles as well

 

Holy Cow!!

To the best of my knowledge this is the first time where I have seen that beer prices are cheaper here in PA vs. your neck of the words.

My next purchase of Sly Fox Pikeland Pils is going to taste even better!!

Cheers!

 

A function of the cost of business (or customer market conditions) of New York City?

Any guess on what rents those breweries are paying? Also, do you think their labor costs are high? And maybe high taxes to NYC?

Needless to say but I do not live in NYC so I am unaware of the cost of conducting business there.

Cheers!

 

I still end up going for German brewed pilsners much of the time. A good pils is a good pils, and I don't have a German brewery bias. However, most of the local breweries are still not doing pilsners, or are doing them poorly. Most U.S. craft options, which are mainly from PA, are at least as old, and usually a lot older, than fresh shipments of German pilsners (which normally drop 2 to 3 months from bottling). How it takes so long to get these beers from PA to Ohio shelves is a mystery to me.

 

Quality is king for me. If a beer is calling itself a Pilsner and has no real resemblance to those from Germany or the Czech Republic, it's not worth my attention.

OTOH -- if it hits all the right points, I'll be sure to mark it as a regular choice.