Great Notion

not going to dive into Beer economics, but as usual it all comes down to competition. For the time being, GN is the only place where you can regularly get this style of beer that is clearly popular. As everyone has noticed, a lot of other breweries are now trying their hand at this style and as more and more get better at it and it becomes more widely available, GN will have to review their pricing model.

that said, the one brewery in the state that is on their heels would be Block 15 and they have no problem charging a premium for their 4-packs of Story of the Ghost or Dab Lab Juice Joint ($15 i think?)

I have a hard time thinking GN will impact the overall beer market as there is too much competition out there for places to hike prices up on standard IPAs/Porters/Lagers etc. etc. and with the insane margins that already exist for production vs cost for a pint of beer, there is no reason for any brewery to mess with their customer base

 

Kinda crazy to me that GN is the only place that is doing hazy IPAs on the regular in Portland. In Seattle we've got multiple breweries (Skookum, Structures, Fremont, Reubens) putting these out on a consistent basis.

 

we have a lot of breweries that are doing them consistently, but GN is the only place that ALWAYS has at least 3-4 on tap no matter when you go. Also, other than Block 15, they are putting out the best product for this style IMO

 

Charging $5.00 for 16 oz vs $5.00 for 13 oz isn't too much of a difference. Certainly not what I would call 'considerably less'. The crowler pricing is another story.

 

Most of their beers are $5.00 for a 10oz. Juice Junior is one of the few that's a 13oz pour.

 

Well, in rough numbers, it's 1/5 (20%) less product for the same price. Depends on ones definition of "considerable".

 

Juice Junior and Ripe are the only two IPAs they have on tap currently. Both are $5.00 for a 13 oz pour. Most of their IPAs follow this pricing, from my experience. For comparison, Block 15 does 14 oz pours of Sticky Hands for $5.00.

Totally agree ... just tossing out my opinion. For me, their draft prices seem to be just about in line with most other places of similar quality. It's the crowler pricing that seems off to me ... which I believe was what most of the discussion was surrounding earlier in this thread if I remember correctly.

 

I don't believe that their draft pricing is out of line compared to other breweries/beer bars in general, but I'll be curious to see where the 4-packs land. If they're in the $14-17 range (maybe $18 for bigger brews) that would seem to be in line to me.


Side note- the draft selections at an airport hotel bar in Phoenix are awful.

 

What new force will put NW beer pricing on a different trajectory so that it "catches up" with the national average (or whatever metric we're comparing)? Our craft brewing industry is 30+ years old; if it was already on a trajectory to close any regional gap, we'd have noticed it by now, so it would have to be something recent and structurally different.

I think a trend like premium-priced cans/draft of short shelf-life IPAs at relatively few breweries does not predict a swing in the region's general beer pricing, nor do I see any other current trend large enough to do so. Our breweries have a pretty long history of opening and operating profitably at the current pricing structure, so I don't see any reason to consider inevitable a big price increase relative to other cities/states/regions.

 

Okay, it will never happen.

 

From what I've read and seen in other threads on BA some breweries other than GN are already approaching the same price per can as the rest of the country. The lines are too.

 

I agree with you completely. In fact, I was going to end my post by asking if anyone had a good local example of a specific - rather than gradual - pricing decision that they felt changed the market in a discernible way.

 

I think you're right.

I get pretty jazzed by the intersection of economics and beer, so I was hoping it would lead to some new-to-me data or insight. I'm no expert but I like to think I pay attention to what's going on around me, so while I couldn't think of a rational argument in support of his theory, I was hoping he had one and would elaborate.

 

Nice write-up on everyone's favorite Portland brewery.

http://www.wweek.com/bars/beer/2017...nged-everything-now-its-our-beer-of-the-year/

 

That headline alone is going to trigger 75% of this forum.

 

"It's almost like, since we're making Northeast IPAs, we're traitors."

That's sad.

They brewed an orange cream IPA before and it was very good so I'm expecting the strawberry to be just as good. I believe this will be a series of beers similar to Tired Hands milkshake series.