Has inflation impacted your beer budget?

Ha!

 

Nice bargain.

 

My local Kroger seems to have an unlimited supply of 12 pack High Life bottles on sale for $5.99 pretty much constantly. The actual craft selection near me has rapidly dwindled in the past few years.

 

TJ's as in Trader Joe's?

How's that work, are they their own distro and buy direct from breweries then store cold? Seems sort of contrary since they have no coolers in stores.

Again, if it's Trader Joe's were talking about.

 

I still buy the same amount of beer which is excessive but definitely costs a helluva lot more!

 

@GetMeAnIPA explained that at his Trader Joe's at least, Swami's and a few other beers have a sticker indicting that you can ask staff to fetch you ones from the cooler in back. I have not seen these stickers at my TJs but I will take a closer look next time I visit.

 

Ah, pizza port... Beer I wish I could try...

 

Jester King has a couple beers I would like to get at the brewery but the current cost of gas makes the trip more difficult to justify.

 

PBR! You are the "Man". No. Not yet. But I've been buying less lately. I was happy to find Maine Beer Company in Texas. Lunch and Woods&Waters.

 

I’ve always been a fan of cream ales. They were created as smooth, budget ales to compete with big name lagers. They are not meant to be expensive or to utilize expensive ingredients. I try to buy them if I see them but have noticed that they are $10-12 a four pack. It seems like no matter the ingredients or style, they will be sold for whatever people pay. As a comparison, I bought a sixer of Genny Cream today for $3.99. I bought a single Jacks Abby Cream Ale for $4.99 as a comparison. They are both good for the style but it’s tough to justify 1 for the price of 6.

My point is that it seems the price of craft beers is rising and will continue to despite inflation.

 

I'm still working through my cellar primarily, but I don't anticipate too much of a change in terms of my at home purchases. I typically drink one beer at home on most days.

Where I do see a current and future impact in my on-site consumption. Standard style beers are creeping close to $10 a pint after tax and tip, and "single barrel or variant" BA beers are getting close to that for 5 draft ounces.

The chicken wings special is long gone at my previous near weekly trip to my local bar. They have also shifted the quality some of draft beer breweries offered (turn to cheaper kegs / producers) and charge a buck or two more per shaker pint. I now wait for something I really like on tap to consider going, and usually pass on the wings when I do.

Reminds me of this song released the last time our nation faced crippling inflation.

I got a job working construction for the Johnstown Company
But lately there ain't been much work on account of the economy
Now all them things that seemed so important, well mister they vanished right into the air
Now I just act like I don't remember, Mary acts like she don't care

 

I cut back, but not on beer. I probably average $26/week, roughly 1 beer per day at home plus maybe a beer every 2 weeks at the local brewery, but I am saving $32/week by going to local public pickelball courts with my wife 2x per week instead of driving further by myself to a club where it costs me $8 to play plus gas to get there and back each time I go.

 

Hasn't impacted my beer budget yet. I've cut back in other areas. Carpooling with my wife to save on gas as one example. Beer budget adjustments will be one of the last resorts.

 

Definitely thinking more about while I enjoy going out to breweries, bars, restaurants from time to time, drinking at home is much better deal. And will be on lookout for more 12packs. Or closeout pricing purchases at my local store I frequent, as he gets cases of beer, sometimes "old" but still tasty and sells like half price

SN, Saranac, JackAbby, VonTrapp, MillHouse (local pale and kolsh) all good options for me

 

I'm not sure how Trader Joe's stocks their beer before it gets on the shelf, but I can say I have picked up beers from the store shelf that were still quite cool, so they either came from a cooler behind the wall, or they were just dropped off from a refrigerated truck. The last IPA I got there was 5 days old from Brewery X. It was excellent.

 

It hadn't, but I think I'm going to cut back. I spent $80 on beer last weekend and that's a little more than I should have.