When did you STOP looking at price?

I agree on this point a ton. The cost of drinking out at a bar for even mediocre beers far surpasses what you spend even on a very expensive bottle at the liquor store.

 

I continue to buy expensive beer but only buy when it's at its lowest price. For instance, BCBS @ $12 a bomber, KBS @ no more than $22 4pk, Westvlerian Il @ $15 euros, and mix packs of Sierra Nevada @ Costco for $25. I love beer too much to refuse it's price but I'd rather pay less and I'll never pay more than market price. I still plan on buying a bottle of Utopias in 2019 but I will only pay $200 or less in hopes of $179 @ Costco. So for me price matters and always will.

 

While I am a tad sensitive to price I think availability is really of higher priority. For example some time back I ran across Cigar City Jai Alai white Oak for $14 per 4pak. I grabbed that because it's a rarity. Bottle/can releases from local breweries same deal. $25 for a superior barrel aged stout I'm standing in line to buy isn't too much. Life is too short to drink crappy beers.

 

I find myself putting more and more beer back down on the shelf after seeing what it's priced at. This is mostly for your normal every day beers. Anything over $4 a can is probably going back on the shelf.

 

I have never stopped looking at price because, for good or for bad, it is a "metric" that figures into the drinking experience. I will readily acknowledge that I take at least a small measure of pride in finding a good brew that doesn't set me back as far in the pocketbook.

 

Or a shift in who is on and not on the forums these days

 

I had a period where I stopped looking at prices, and I guess that was after I'd been exploring craft beer for a couple of years and wanted to start branching out into wild ales, big barrel-aged stouts, and other styles that are known for heftier price tags. I wanted to try stuff like the Xyauyu barleywines, Black Tuesday, the 50/50 Eclipse releases aged in different brands of whiskey, and so on.

So I tried them. Stopped paying much attention to the price tag for a few years, until I got to a point of diminishing returns. I've had a few ultra-limited "whalez," but not too many, and I've had enough beer to know what beer's potential can be and what the top end is generally like.

But now I've gone back to looking at price tags. I am comfortable enough in my experience to know the difference in what I'll get between bombers selling at $12, $18, and $30 price points, and I've found that the opportunity cost outweighs the marginal (or sometimes non-existent) increase in quality associated with "top tier" releases. Same reason why I rarely get up early on the weekend to line up for a special release anymore, except with the opportunity cost measured in time and sleep rather than damage to my wallet.

 

I have bills, wife, kids, and debt... I never stop looking at the price...