Complaining about Prices

Oh, and in my travels yesterday Oxbow Pale Ale on draft at State Park was $9, and Coniston Bluebird Bitter at Lord Hobo was $12.

 

Not surprised. But your boys @ 5 Horses seem to be kings of the proud pricing. Dragged to South End location this weekend: $9/12 Oz for Idle Hands 4-Seam IPA (6.6 ABV), $10/16 Oz for Pseudo Sue. Oof. And $14 for 5 chicken wings (pieces, not whole wings. But at least they looked pretty with scallions/parsley & stacked up)

 

This brings up one of my gripes. Why the hell has an order of chicken wings become like an order of oysters or something. It’s $2-$3 a wing now in a lot of places. What happened to $0.10 wing nights?! A beer and wings should not cost $25.

 

Throwback to The Alchemist brewpub where Kimmich priced beer and food so that a college kid or anyone traveling through could get a beer and a burger for $15. Think you can only do that at Tasty Burger or Charlie’s Kitchen around Boston these days.

 

They're not really that unique, it really speaks more to the area (the South End isn't cheap either in general, probably more expensive than Somerville/Cambridge). Five Horses is definitely on the pricier end, but they're not really an outlier like they used to be when they first opened.

As I said, on Saturday my drinks were priced like this...

Lamplighter - Finnegan's Wake an Irish Dry Stout at 5.1% ($4.50 for an 8 oz. pour)

Lamplighter - Stupid Seagulls a dry hopped pale lager at ~6.6% ($4.50 for an 8 oz. pour)

State Park - Oxbow Pale Ale ($9 for a 16 oz. draft)

Lord Hobo - Coniston Bluebird Bitter ($12 for a 12 oz. pour)

 

The Pour House on Boylston and Renegade's in Eastie. Though the latter's draft prices can be on the higher end of the spectrum.

 

Because the back end of a warehouse under the bridge is a better location than halfway between Kendall and Inman? JA and Medusa also have less immediately local competition than LH and Mystic, so the aim to keep prices "low" seems to be a conscious effort, whereas Mystic has steadily been increasing theirs, and people keep buying, so...why not? I think it's more philosophy and market reaction than location.

 

Sorry, I meant Lord Hobo the brewery, which is located in Woburn.

Which brings up a good point, the draft prices at the brewery I've heard are on the cheaper end, whereas the beer bar is one of the most expensive...period. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think draft prices for Lord Hobo's own beers are more expensive at their beer bar than at the brewery.

Here's the prices at their brewery from a review here on BA:

"Best brewery beer prices in metro Boston and maybe the state. Seriously! Much of the menu is $6 for a 20 ounce pour. The high ABV stuff is $6 for a 12 ounce pour, and one or two things were $7. Pretty brilliant."

At the beer bar here's the prices:

-Angelica/Hobo Life/Angelica Hazy Orange: $7 for a 16 oz. pour

-Meat and Potatoes: $8.50 for a 16 oz. pour

-Boomsauce/Glorious: $9 for a 16 oz. pour

-Caviar Godmother: $13 for a 12 oz. pour

It likely is more the latter, but I'm sure rent has steadily increased in that area as Chelsea has become more appealing over the years.

 

Not sure if it has much of an impact since (I'm assuming) Mystic's space is zoned industrial, but the brewery does abut the most pricey neighborhood in Chelsea (Admiral's Hill).

 

It's getting ridiculous at some places in upstate NY.

One of my favorite spots in Saratoga recently had a Grimm DIPA -- $12 for 8oz. I didn't mistype that. Two other bars had it at $7-8 for either 12oz or a pint. So it's not like the distributor jacked up prices, just that one bar is trying to bilk people. And it's not an isolated example for that place, either, so I'm done going there. Bummer, it's a great spot, I just can't justify supporting a place that does things like that.

 

Wing prices spiked in 2017. They're back down now, but restaurants never lowered their prices.

Same thing that happens with airline gas/fares.

 

This is very true. You go to certain package stores and there are SO many options, its just crazy. It also leads to a lot of these beers sitting for a long time. I almost picked up a 4 pack of Captains Daughter the other day. Looked on the bottom and saw 6/2/18. YIKES.....

 

What, you never heard of $3 wing nights?

 

What’s the wings futures market looking like?

 

The general trend is up (red lines are super bowls):

 

New brewery just opened in Fort Edward that’s charging $8.50 a pint for IPAs. About as cheap a place as there is to operate.

 

If you are willing to forego the meat, you can always get a great sandwich and a full local pint at Clover for less than $15. The fries will push you over budget, though. I believe full pints at all of the Clover locations that serve beer are only $5 and they pour some good stuff - JA, Mystic, Aeronaut, Notch.

 

Slickfin? Had somehow never even heard a single word about that place opening.

I'll go check it out, as I do any place that opens within a couple hours of here, but an $8.50 pint makes me reallllllllly not want to. Especially since I can go down the road to Battle Hill, get very good beer and pay, like $6/pint.

 

asked and answered! LOL

 

Just opened, 1 barrel setup I think. Husband/wife, he’s a former bomb tech that homebrewed. I’ll check it out when I’m home but i’m less excited about it at the price point. Hate visiting upstate NY from Boston only to pay Boston prices.