Beer Price Changes

Yes they do and have charged in that neighborhood for years, even at the brewery. Pricing errors happen.

e.g., Not too many years ago Brooklyn changed from 6 to 4 packs for their Black Chocolate Stout without a price increase to distributors but a number of retailers used the 6 pack pricing for the new 4 packs rather than the MSRP for the 4 pack.

 

Yes go do that now...or say something instead, but that's your call. Local shop here is charging $15 per bottle!

 

Honestly, the situations that truly baffle me are those when a beer is available in both formats. If I can get Enjoy By for $16 for a 6-pack, why am I ever going to by that $7 bomber sitting next to it? Tröegs did that for many years with Mad Elf, though I haven't seen the bombers this year.

 

Black Chocolate Stout is back in 6 packs this year. Last year a chain where I live was selling it for $7.99 a 4 pack with discount card (8.99 without)a very good buy. This year the same chain is selling the 6 pack for $10.99 (11.99 without) with the discount, an even better buy. I never buy beer by the case but I made an exception yesterday.

 

Evil Twin EMJ was around $18 per bomber...

And now $13 for a 4 pack of pints.

I'm not complaining.

 

I think it depends on the store. Total Wine just moved in around the corner and their 4/6 pack prices blow my mind.

$6.99 for Old Rasputin
$6.99 for Oskar Blues IPA
$6.99 for Deschutes Obsidian Stout

Add the $1 off coupon they email per 4/6 pack and beer is magically back at 2002 prices!

 

I think brewers are realizing that the increased profit margin they could gain from bombers vs 12oz 6 pack format isn't paying off like it did a few years ago, so they are starting to transition into moving more volume of beer at lower profit margins in the 12oz format, and ending up actually profiting more on the bottom line by doing so.

As far as Enjoy By scenario...I'd prefer to buy a single 12oz bottle for ~$3 and spend the other $13 saved on other high quality 12oz beers for variety. That's just me though.

 

Yes, there are also many local laws that force brewers to not sell their packaged beers at the brewery lower than retail.

 

I agree especially for beers that need to sell quickly like hoppy IPA's. You need to sell higher volumes otherwise if they sit on shelves too long no one will buy them. I've seen SingleCut beers start to sit on shelves longer recently and I wonder if that's the problem there. People would rather buy a $3-5 16oz can than a $7-9 bottle which I think is just over 16oz anyhow. The cost of cans is certainly going up for local beers as well so the profit margin on bombers is decreasing.

 

I think the bigger issue is that many large retailers aren't big fans of bombers because they are far more hassle to deal with than six packs, they don't move as fast as cold six packs in the cooler and their existing shelves and coolers are simply optimized for 12 oz packaging, not 22-25 oz packaging.

 

I also buy Brooklyn BCS by the case; my last case purchase was 2012/2013. I always age the beer for a minimum of a year before drinking it since that beer is too 'hot' for me when it is fresh. I have a 6-pack left of my 2012/2013 case for this year's wintertime drinking. Time for me to buy another case of this excellent beer.

Cheers!

 

The only explanation. Price drop theories across the board is a completely separate discussion from this wonder find and would be happened upon by seeing about a buck less suddenly in a few different 4/6 packs by a few different brewers. The WWS example isn't even close enough to be an outlier in a price drop discussion.

 

That's great! I hope this is a continuing trend. My staples are hovering about the same - Saranac, GL. Bittburger went up. Smuttynose is about the same as GL pricewise and then sly fox and ithaca are about a dollar more for sixers. Depends on where you shop. So did Korbinian go up and a few other things. Genesee's latest 4 pack, the winter warmer is almost 11 dollars, mad elf, xocoveza. . .

 

@TriggerFingers mentioned it and I happened upon it yesterday
my eyes lite up like silver dollars

4 packs of Even More Jesus and Imperial Biscotti Break for $13.95 and they are freak'n 16 oz cans - two shelves up Biscotti was $17.95 for a 22oz

22oz for $18 or a half gallon for $14 - - - - WTF - - - - I spoke with the owner, it was not a mistake

 

That's a pretty good example to be certain. I'd imagine they've had to have dropped the price on that reprehensibly named Brown Ale as well, because IIRC, it was in the northern teens for a bomber. There's NO brown ales that special!

 

If breweries really wanted to maximize their profits in the current craft beer state, they would enter new distribution markets with the bomber format only for their highest rated beers. Beer nerds (myself included) are more willing to pay premium to try the highly rated beers we could only previously get from out of distribution travel or trades. Then after 3-6 months, phase out the bombers and switch to 6 packs or 4 packs to keep repeat buying volumne buying.