Craft beer and economic pressure

That's insanity. I don't know if it's just TN prices but I can typically get a 4x16 pack of something with a reasonable ABV for around $12 or $13 from a local spot. The most I paid was for a 4pk of 9.5% triple dry hopped idiocy that was my favorite beer I've drank since July, and that was $22, which hurt, but for how impressive it was that was fine.

If you go to the source most places local to me are really reasonable but unsure if that's the case anywhere else.

 

Around here there is only one local brewer that's putting out craft four packs for $12 or less (Jack's Abby, which is a lager-exclusive shop). But even their prices have skyrocketed. A couple years back they sold 6x16oz packs for $8. Now it's 4x16oz for $11-12.

Among other local brewers, $14 is the baseline starting price point for lagers and other lower-ABV styles. There are plenty of breweries that charge $16 and up for every beer they make. It's tiresome, to say the least. I guess there are enough rich people who like beer in this state to make it work for them, but it's pricing me and others I know in my income bracket out of this industry. Maybe when my kids are out of daycare I'll be able to buy more local beer again.

 

Economic pressure is certainly curbing my spending on craft beer, but it's one reason in a lengthy list: decreasing interest in craft beer, increasing interest in other hobbies, consuming too many beers not worth the price over the years, etc. etc..

With a local event this week, I actually have access to some beers that I would've considered "unobtainable grails" just a year or two ago. I haven't bothered to attend since I don't want to deal with finding a sober ride, paying a lot for a small pour, etc. etc.. I'd rather grab a 4pk of something I know I like on the way home and enjoy one or two with my GF.

 

The funny/odd part about this is that I am stuck in an extended family of wine drinkers who think nothing of regularly dropping ~$14 (or more) + tip for a single glass of nice wine (i.e., the wine-equivalent of a nice craft beer). Luckily, I escaped the gravitational attraction of good wine and find myself getting far more enjoyment out of good craft beer...for less $$...although I still often balk at paying $20 for a 4 pk at a local brewery when the beer is only marginally (if at all) better than the similarly fresh and totally enjoyable other craft beers I get at the local retailer for $16.

 

Wine is expensive! Even the house red or basic pour tends to run as much or more than a good craft beer. A decent bottle of wine makes the $20 4-pack seem reasonable.

 

I generally gravitate to less adventurous styles available from bigger craft brewers. Convenience, price, and regular availability over time are considerations. Finally, the traditional British ale and European lager styles available from the 70s into the 90s shaped my palate (for example Harpoon IPA is one of my go-to brands). I'll also take a chance of a local brewers one-off that looks interesting.

 

My weekly craft beer cost average back in 2010-2013 timeframe was probably around $20-$25 on average. Then probably in the later part of the decade it creeped up to around $40 per week. I would average around 2 beers a day, sometime more if we have a bottle share or get together, rarely only 1 or none per day. Lately I’m probably only spending $25 per week on average again, basically for 2 factors. 1). I no longer have the ability to buy single cans/bottles locally, most all are 4 pack/6 pack formats at all of the breweries and retail. 2). I’m now very satisfied and prefer to only have 1 beer a day. So the reduction in volume and less premium priced singles are saving me money despite the ridiculous inflation in last couple years. Also I rarely buy expensive 4 packs ($16 or more).

 

Surprise! Stuff costs more in Massachusetts than it does in Tennessee!

Comparing costs across regions using the U.S. dollar doesn’t really even make much sense. Minimum wage in Seattle is around $20/hour—compare that to the lowest-wage states (Georgia and Wyoming), $5.15, which is below the federal minimum wage of $7.25—and you start to see what I mean. Housing costs vary widely across the country—why wouldn’t grocery and beer prices be the same?

$100.00 is worth $115.74 in Mississippi but only $86.51 in New York, according to this source. You just can’t compare prices of anything across different areas—it’s apples and oranges. Simply put, people who live in high-wage areas spend more for the same things than people in low-wage areas. We are all just acclimated to the cost of living where we are.

 

Living in the DMV is all about balancing the amount of money you have vs. how horrible your commute will be vs. how safe you want to feel.

 

Over the summer I saw JA Pre-Pro Lager on the shelf of my local grocery store. Pretty much anything JA releases that doesn’t have froot or any other really oddball ingredient (which is somewhat rare) is an auto purchase for me. When I saw the price at $14.99 I had to pass. Why would I spend that kind of money on an adjunct lager when I can get the Haus Lager for $10? Makes me wonder if Haus Lager is operating at a loss or slim returns.

 

The food and beverage industry goes through an almost constant "thinning of the herd". It is an industry that is among the most volatile when it comes to openings and closings. There is an expression I was told long ago- Want to make a small fortune in brewing beer? Start with a large fortune.

That said I really have no idea if craft beer is in a serious downward slide right now, but the industry does have baked in volatility.

 

That equation works in a lot of places. In my case I’ve thankfully eliminated the commute from the math, but by the time I’d managed to do that we had already purchased a home (at considerable cost) that has much better access to downtown than our previous home—as long as you’re willing to drive and can afford downtown parking. In their infinite wisdom the various overlapping entities that manage public transportation in the Puget Sound region eliminated some key bus routes to force people onto the shiny new light rail system—so my commute, which had been a quick and easy 15 minutes by bus (if the bus wasn’t already overflowing with passengers by the time it got to my stop), became 45–60 minutes. That was when I really started making the case for working from home. And with rising office space costs downtown, my employer quickly saw the wisdom of that idea. At this point I could (and sometimes do) work from anywhere in the world. The remote work phenomenon—despite pushback from many employers—is changing the whole income-commute-safety dynamic.

 

I'd have to imagine that the economy of scale helps with House Lager. You can run a few batches all at once, can them all in one go with only one setup. If you're doing short runs of beer you're brewing less, canning less, etc... setup costs are still the same.

 

Stopped into a brewery in upstate NY today a found a 4 pack at $32.00. I won't mention the brewery but never again will I buy a beer from them. This is a brewery I stood in line to get their beer in the past so I was a fan of their beer but not at their arrogant pricing.

 

Did they have stuff that was more reasonably priced? Specialty one-offs are inherently expensive to produce. Here's an example of an economic advantage for higher volume beers: