Favorite brewery you can’t afford

Dovetail in Chicago -- at least their specialty/seasonal beers. Just saw their Festbier for $16 a 4-pack of 16 ounce cans.

Love to try it, but when I can buy a 12-pack of good beer cheaper, I just can't justify the cost.

 

I don't drink excessively so I can buy whatever I want. If need be, try supplementing the expensive stuff with cheapos.

 

Prairie Artisan. Great beer and overflowing the shelves, but I refuse to pay that much. Recently 415 North showed up here. Same thing with them.

 

Since I don't too many in a row, anymore (I think), I'll still shell out for quality, but Equilibrium's arrival raised my eyebrows when I saw what they wanted for a couple of their IPAs in my local yesterday. Anything over the $20/4pack had better be gobsmacking in quality.

 

SRSLY?

Fuck that.

 

Andrew Tate, is that you?

 

Good question. Buying somewhat less of the expensive stuff is a given, but the NA market isn't that "mature" yet for anyone having the balls to go super high. Your question was about the readily available beers, so my hesitation to pay high transport cost for ordering from abroad isn't the focus here. That for example makes ordering directly from the US a very special thing.

Let's look at the maximum prices here. A supermarket chain is my main provider, and I switch between the two, maybe three ones with the broadest selections with home transport to my address, and order every new NA beer I see, to be included in the hauls. There is just one above €4 right now among say a hundred different. Already makes me hesitate buying it another time after the tick, but why not?

I have ordered before from an online company with ready selections of 12-24, at a €3-4 per beer. As recent as yesterday I found another to me new domestic online company, thought they only sell live, and they provide singles. They have the most expensive NA beer I think I've ever seen: 6,40 €. Will order one at some point, but not two.

 

Anchorage.

 

What $105 for a 375ml or whatever size their bottles are is too expensive?!

 

Clown Shoes, been told it’s great numerous times but any of those beers I’ve seen online here are starting from 25€ to far more. Even for a bomber sized one it’s a bit much.

 

Maybe this is insensitive but a lot of breweries are just straight up lying to themselves justifying some of the prices. Some of the ones listed here are shocking and laughable (if I have disposable money will I cave sometimes? Yes) For me to answer the question I'll say Nightmare brewing, it was pretty decent for how old it was but 30 dollars for a 4 pack is simply not sustainable.

 

I agree but the market justifies the cost. It’s tough to say that a certain brewery isn’t “worth it” when they’re sold out every release. Although, I’ve personally drank quite a few and said to myself; “how can they think this is worth that price?”

To answer the OP, 450 North. They showed up here several months ago for 8-10 a can. I’ve tried a couple and mostly enjoyed them but I have locals doing the styles just as well or better for around half. I would buy more if the cost was less.

 

I’m in a similar boat. I don’t drink enough to pay much attention to price.

 

Toppling Goliath. I've cut back drastically on my beer consumption in recent years, so it pains me to see most of their stuff in >$16 four-packs of 16-ounce cans nowadays. We used to be able to get singles, but the seltzers, ciders, and hard fruit juices (!) have pretty much killed off the singles space. When the singles occasionally pop up, they usually run $7-8 for a 16-ounce can. Unless it's one of their flavored imperial stouts, which can run upwards of $20 a can. I hate that format anyway, so I'm not buying at those prices.

(Hard fruit juice? I remember when they called this "wine." I mean, really.)

 

Cascade immediately comes to mind. I don't see their stuff on my stores' shelves anymore, so maybe they pulled out of Michigan.

Sooner or later someone in this thread will reply with Side Project. (I suppose that I just did that. ) I was shocked at some of their prices when I visited there a couple years ago.

 

And what exactly was the point of this comment?

 

It's really not all that great IMO. Most of their stuff that I've had is overdone, with the Pecan Pie Porter being the only truly good beer I've had from them

 

Now that's a bit surprising to me. I know Smoothie Sour is a thing, but at least locally, I don't see them packaged/distributed aside from 450 North. And even the one local brewery that brews them frequently doesn't really make them as good as 450. I'd love some cheaper ones that are on par. All that being said, it's not super often I crave the style

 

Probably Russian River. If I could get the fresh Blind Pig and Velvet Glow at $3 a bottle instead of $6+ I would never not have them on hand.

 

If you have Instagram check out Arvon Brewing Co., and HOMES. I’m sure not everyone will agree they’re on par with 450 but for my tastes I think they do just as well and cheaper too. Cheers

 

There are some that I just can't justify to myself. Since I mostly buy singles to review, I tend to avoid 22/25oz doses, particularly those that are over $30. This includes Bruery, Fremont, Clown Shoes, etc. It would have to be something compelling before I'll buy those expensive bomber$. Yet I'll still buy BCBS variants, Prairie BA stouts, and Founders BA stouts that are equally expensive per ounce.

 

I always feel dirty whenever I buy stouts from Side Project or bombs from Lost Abbey. Those months I cross my fingers my wife doesn’t notice the charges on the credit card bill.

Similarly, I would be more amenable to buying a 450 beer, but the Binnys have them at 35.99 a 4 pk. Not a chance.

 

Agreed here. Now that 3F is pretty wildly available here in the states I do find myself passing on it a fair bit. Now granted if it’s a new to me offering by them I will buy it everytime but I don’t scoop up every single bottle with glee like I would if the costs were less.

Cascade is also crazy priced. They make great beers but I’ve passed in them for many years. I justify 3F due to their elite nature but $50 a bottle for most Cascade offerings is out of hand.

 

Sadly for me, it’s Fremont. Their barrel-aged offerings used to be one of the best values in beer, at $12 per 22oz waxed bottle of world-class liquid. Today those same beers sit on shelves at somewhere between $28 and $33. I love Fremont and I’ve supported them from the start, but at those prices I just can’t do it. (It does help a little that I stocked up on the lower-priced stuff over the years and still have a pretty substantial inventory amassed in the cellar.)

 

Jester King. Ironically, a local gas station specializing in beer just had bottles of Vie en Rose on clearance for $9.99. Considering I bought one a few months ago for $25, it hurt a little less to buy 2 more.

 

In addition to some previously mentioned, most 500mL bottles from Bottle Logic seem to have crossed the $30 mark at retail, so I'm less likely to take a chance on them now.

 

The most I ever paid for beer was 15 Euros per bottle for Westy 8 and 12 (I actually preferred the 8), in Brussels at a specialty beer shop. (This was partially to please my son, who was with us in Brussels and was going through a beer phase.) And recently I stopped in at Hill Farmstead in VT and dropped over $100 on a number (not all that many) of beers. I guess I could afford to spend that much regularly on beer (I don't drink a lot--usually only one beer a day) but, hey, it's the principle: it's just too much.

So that was one kind of beer over-expenditure--for very high quality beers I rarely have access to, more experimental purchases than anything else. Another is "soft spot" expenditure--someone from a nearby brewery, Triple Bottom, comes to our local farmer's market and sells 16 oz. four packs. Some are really excellent... But I've been unthinkingly paying $17-$18 for these four packs and toting them home. The other day at the market I finally balked when I thought about how expensive they are (especially given that I usually buy pilseners, and not fancy imperial stouts). I had started buying them at the height of Covid in the dead of winter, more as a way of supporting the brewery than anything else--it had just been started when Covid hit and I really wanted to help the brewers. But I've finally decided to apply a more rational calculus to my beer expenditures--after all there are more reasonably priced excellent local beers, such as those by Neshaminy Creek, Sterling Pig, Sly Fox, etc.

And recently I even bought a 12 pack of Yuengling Lord Chesterfield Ale, with the excuse that my wife uses it in one of her bread recipes. I've had a few cans and really it's not bad. I appreciate the reasonable price. If my conscience bothers me I tell myself that Dick Yuengling's daughters will soon take full control of the brewery, and his noxious politics will be a thing of the past (or are they already?).

 

Referend Bier Blendery.
Stopped in here for the first time this weekend.
The barn was built in 1856, used to be Pinnacle Ridge Winery.
They do all open fermented beers, blended and aged with everything from Apricots to Ice wine juice.
Fantastic Farmhouse style Brewery!
But, you only get 5oz glasses for around 6 bucks.
I could rack up a hefty tab there in no time, as their cellared bottle selection for in house consumption is quite up there.
If you're anywhere near Kutztown Pa, and enjoy farmhouse style open fermented beers, this is a must see & taste.
I wish I could show the pictures, but that's above my pay grade.

 

As far as bottles go, Anchorage Brewing Company is flipping nuts charging over 100 dollars for a 12 oz bottle of beer, I don't care how good they say it is.
50% of that must be transportation fees?
I guess if money is no concern, then that's the brewery for you.
I wouldn't pay that much for a case, let alone a single 12oz bottle!

 

They are out of their mind charging what they do. The sad thing is that people actually buy it. I don't understand.

 

Those EQ hops are pretty damned good. I enjoy them more than some of the east coast heavy hitters I've had.

Have you tried their beer? While I agree they're expensive, I've never really had a beer like ADWTD.

 

I see lots about cost. I worked in a brewery this year, in fact recently. A few things I have learned. 2 Row Barley almost double in price, in less than a year. It has consistently gone up over the years. Other speciality barleys have gone up by 30 percent. Water is the most expensive thing in a brewery. Another thing I learned creating a fantastic beer cost money now days. This brewery I worked at, cut corners and try to produce the beer as cheap as possibly with maximum profits. I do indulge in some more expensive beer because I want them to continue handcrafting beer from barrels aging or quality ingredients.

 

Not a lot jumps to mind, honestly. Most of the more expensive stuff that I have access to I’ve found ways of at least sampling and have often been disappointed (hype does that). I’m kinda over a lot of the high priced American stuff, very little of it is actually worth it IMO

I guess I can say that I can’t *often* afford many of the Belgian beers that I love, at least not in packs, I do single bottles here and there. But I suppose that just makes it more of a treat when I can enjoy them.

 

I wish TRVE Brewing was less expensive. They're still one of my favorite breweries in Colorado but when their flagship IPA is $16.99 for a four pack I know damn well that's going to be gone in one or two days, so I buy something cheaper.

 

Other Half is one I have noticed being very pricey. When I see it at my local distributor, they start at $22/4pack and some are priced at $30/4pack! Luckily, they ship direct to PA. When you order directly from the brewery the most expensive I’ve seen for a 4 pack is $22.

 

I remember when ADWTD sat on shelves for $30 per bomber and that being quite a sticker shock.

 

I'm sure choices are different no matter where one resides/shops. In my location Prairie Artisian brews are quite expensive. With such a slim target market this makes me wonder if they're even fresh. Some beers from local Blackstack are too expensive for me as well. Not many folks will splash out for a $25 4pk of mystery science or even 6 bucks for a can. Aren't we supposed to save money at the retail level vs a taproom? The only way I'll be trying PA beers is if they're a gift or if I find $. Unexpected free $. Even then I might just want to get something I already like.

 

Crap, is Tunnel that expensive now? Guess I haven't purchased it since last year; and I need to pay more attention to the prices. Still buy it, tho.