Brewers don't want to piss off their local retail customers by undercutting them, so you'll often see beer pricing at the brewery (draft and takeaway) that's roughly the same as average retail prices in the area.
In my city draft pours and packaged beer is generally always cheaper at breweries or their taprooms than you'll see the same beers going for on tap or in coolers. The only real exception is Whole Foods who has 4packs of stuff from Grimm and Other Half for at or just under the brewery price. I've heard this enough I assume it has to be true, but also don't really understand the logic for the average brewery-bar/restuarant relationship. I mean even the most widespread breweries have at most handful of taprooms across an entire state, are restaurant/bar accounts really that concerned about people driving an extra 30 minutes to save maybe a couple bucks on a beer? Especially since the average brewery probably has worse food/ameneties than a place whose priority is food and general service as opposed to beer production. I feel like it'd be just as likely for a venue owner to go "if you want to spend an extra hour to drink in a dingy taproom with a crappy food truck feel free."
In my experience out here you can save like $1-2 on a 4-pack at the brewery. I always think of it that it's like not paying sales tax
The brewery I used to work at had multiple accounts, both package and draft, all across our city of 90,000 folks. One account was the dance club next door, and another was the hipster hangout at the end of the block. Why would those place carry the breweries beer if the brewery was undercutting them on price? The beer was notably cheaper at the dance club than at the brewery. The accounts have a lot of choices of what beers to pour, a business owner doesn't want to alienate regular customers.
My favorite brewery has one day a week where they sell their 4-packs at a discount, but otherwise they're the same price at retail stores. They also self-distribute, so no middle man.
The original Blue Point (very basic) taproom on River Av. kept prices reasonable under the original owners. (Prices were from about 2010, from memory.) Any visitor got three (3-4 oz?) tasters of the standard priced beers. Growler refills were $10 for standard beers, $8 with an AHA card A new growler was an extra $2. Plastic-ware was standard. For an extra dollar, they served your pint in a glass you kept.
This is consistent with my experience as well. It's why I seldom drink at brewery taphouses in PDX. Maybe for an anniversary event, or to try a brewry exclusive, but otherwise I typically drink at beer bars for added variety and lower prices.
No. There are plenty of stores that are buying it that would not appreciate that. How do you find that a rub? Is it itchy?
Not necessarily a "problem", mind you, but in my opinion it's an important fact to recognize. That they're making much more of a profit from you if you're buying their beer on premises, rather than at a bar or package store, that is.
You have more taphouse options than I do, which is why I tend to be brewery focused, except for like after work or some such thang. That's also why I miss Great Northern so much, they had stuff no other place in town had, and their prices were very reasonable (pints of Pliny for $5.50, and Cantillon on tap? I tried to keep the place going......).
Could be, but I have no problem supporting them to keep them open -- they brew terrific beer. @hanuswalrus
Draft is way more expensive IME. A 4x16 standard IPA is around $11-12 here, but usually around $7 a pint at the brewery plus tip. Breweries that sell cans are usually prices about the same as all the liquor stores in the area.
Because if somebody wants to go to a dance club, they'll go to the dance club and not a brewery. I can't imagine a normal person going "me and my friends want to dance but we can save $1 per beer by drinking next to some hipsters at a place that closes at 10PM so let's do that instead," but I can easily see somebody going "It's definitely worth the extra $1 to have this good beer in a setting that provides other benefits the taproom doesn't have." Besides a dance club, which is a pretty wild example to consider being a competitive option with a brewery taproom, even just a normal restaurant that prioritizes actually good food and service, I'd also consider it very reasonable to pay a bit more considering the extra elements a brewery taproom won't provide. If it's a bar a mile away from the taproom, sure I could understand the undercutting along with the fact having a relationship with nearby similar-ish businesses is probably good all-around, but at least the way I see it the situation would have to be pretty specific. But what do I know I'm not a businessowner. Even having said that, in my local market I see higher prices at bars/shops/restuarants than taprooms, so doesn't seem that the paranoia of being undercut is totally universal.
I hope so, because the local pizzeria that has a large outstanding set of craft beers on tap wanted $20 for 6oz of a Bottle Logic BAStout. Admittedly, it was probably outstanding, but I dont recall paying that much when drinking BA stouts AT BottleLogic.
Fascinating. From my perspective in the industry. And the segment we are actively discussing. This is truly an existential crisis. Care to expand?
The club opens at 4pm, pours the stiffest drinks in town, has 20-25 taps, and has the cheapest prices in town. Lots of folks go there well before the 120bpm stuff starts. The brewery in question was also one of the most popular restaurants in town, and if it was packed at happy hour/dinner time, even the employees would go next door after work. You might be missing out on some possibilities.
