Pipeworks Releases and Updates (2019)

Grimm is selling their 4 packs out the door for $20 or less....same with 66oz growlers.

 

To me the interesting thing about the single can approach is that it should increase access to more people for the beers. And it also fits a bit with the ‘ticker’ mentality of a portion of the beer drinking population. People are able to grab a single $7 can of a couple of different beers instead of committing $20 to a single beer. It’s certainly not a good model if I really like one of the beers but for trying new things it works really well.

 

I’ve made the $/oz argument before but let’s not pretend like the consumer wasn’t getting taken for a ride with those $12 IPA bombers.

 

I'll preface this by saying $7 a can does seem a bit steep, but...

You can't just take single cans multiply it by 4x and say "this single can is a rip-off". Bulk purchase basics. I'd gladly buy just 1 or 2 of this type of beer for a "premium" compared to having to buy 4. I also recognize the seller is "giving up" volume on a per purchase basis and this is why.

I love places like Bottles & Cans that break them up for you at (I think) little/no extra charge but that's the retailer, and it's not the norm unfortunately

 

We all know bomber pricing was bad in general.

 

And now the pricing is better in 16oz cans.

 

As much as I love Sure Bet, this one seems a little too fruit heavy for my liking (for the same reason Jaycase mentioned). So I doubt I'll try one. But I like the single can idea in general, especially when we see the other DIPAs in them.

Let's all keep in mind though, craft beer isn't, and has never been, a poor man's hobby. The amount of people I see complaining about prices these days amuses me. We all have enough disposable income to play this game, and if not, sit this one out. Complaining is going to get you nowhere.

 

It is also much higher cost per oz than they charge for other beers they package in the same format (16 oz can), which is the point here. Sure, I'd expect a markup for one can vs. a four pack, but 40%?

 

This is just such a weird comment. Craft beer for a very long time was much cheaper than it is today. Just look at the pricing for something like BCBS as proof (if we are talking about the high end of the craft beer market).

 

But those beers have less ingredients and are made at a much larger scale. Even down to the cost of the cans. I bet the can cost for Lizard King is 40% less than the can plus sticker on Rainbow Sure Bet.

 

The 40% comparison was to a $20 four pack so it is not a comparison to things like Lizard King but rather the higher end of cans Pipeworks has been releasing.

 

So you're saying you don't remember BCS sitting on the shelves before 2010 because it was over $10 for a 4 pack and people thought it was too expensive? I'm just saying in general, craft beer is not cheap, and it never has been. Yes, prices have increased, but so have ingredients (its called inflation). Especially with the amount of cake batter and fruit brewers are using these days.

 

Fundamentally disagree with this.

 

I would've thought/hoped for a $6 price per can (figure it'd be $20 per 4-pack for $5/can, but then an upcharge for the single can), but I'm not going to cause a stink about it being a dollar higher than I may have hoped. I'm not really buying beer nowadays anyway and am hoping to get more into the mode of buying what's on shelves and available (and hopefully lower cost, like NvU, Lizard King, Bodem, etc.). But, if I need some beer for the holiday next week and there is a can of this available, my guess it that I will buy one to try it out. I've certainly made worse purchasing decisions before.

 

No it’s not a 28 dollar 4pk. It’s a 7 dollar individual can. My guess is most nerds out here are happy to pay a premium for the opportunity to only by 1 can in the tickets paradises we currently live in.

 

He is correct though; the way it has always been and I have been in the craft beer for a long time now. It was never cheap and it was always more expensive than the usually 6/12 packs of macro beer. I'll never forget buying Dreadnaught bombers (and still do buy them!) and loving every last drop.

 

He said back in the day craft was cheaper to what it is now. He never compared it to macro beer prices. How much was a 6 pack of budweiser 10 years ago? How much is it now? a dollar more? 10 years ago a bottle of BCBS was $2.50 for 12 ozs, now it is $15 for 16.9oz. You didn't see beer going for $20 a bottle 10 years ago. That was a luxury purchase back then. Now it is the average price for many style and a bargain for others. I can get a Pipeworks 16oz can of IPA for $7 dollars now whereas 10 year ago I could get a 6 pack of a top of the line ipa for $7. Craft prices have inflated at a much higher rate than macro beer over the past 10 years.

 

I agree with everything you are saying, but his point was that craft beer was never cheap, which is true. This was always an expensive "hobby" just like golf, car racing, etc.

 

that's not entirely true. in the 90's craft beer was priced cheaper than MBC beers, i'm assuming because they were fighting for shelf space. Goose Island, Victory, Great Divide and others six packs were usually a $1 cheaper than macro. I remember buying Rogue and Red Hook bombers for $3 about inline with macro quarts. If you were going to splurge on beer it was on imports.