Is all "bomber" packaging a rip off?

Just look at price per ounce. I gladly pay $8.00 for some of the Jacks Abby barrel aged framminghammer porter. On of the best barrel aged ones out there. I also like the SN fresh hop and estate series at $6 per 24 ounces.

 

While it is true that the retailer is the ultimate arbiter of beer pricing the brewery does indeed set the stage for how a beer is priced:

· By using a 22 ounce format vs. the format of 12 ounce bottles in a 6-pack container

· By establishing the price they charge the wholesale distributor

Cheers

 

if it's available in 12 0z side by side I'll go with 12 oz but so many beers are only in bomber format. Just paid 19.99 plus tax for a bomber of barrel aged big foot . Was worth every penny.

 

This basically ends the thread.

 

A blanket "yes" to answer this question would be ignoring the fact that some beer takes a good amount of money, time and space to produce (lambics, aged stouts), so sometimes the price is justified. Most of the time it's not though, especially in the case of bombers of IPA priced at $8+ (which is why I rarely if ever purchase certain styles in bomber format).

 

Many fantastic beers (like at least 50% of my favorites) come only in bombers. So it's either buy 'em or not. Too many good ones to complain about what size/price they come in.

 

Lagunitas bombers are $3.99 at my local shop.

 

Not always.

 

No, not all.

Think of the space and time that barrel aging takes up, space and time that could have been used to make less labor-intensive, ingredient-intensive brews. Holding onto a beer for a year or more and sometimes post-aging blending makes a beer much more expensive per ounce than Heady. Also, smaller production runs add into higher per-ounce costs as well.

Is a Corvette a rip-off when you can buy a Cruze?

If you don't want to buy a bomber, then don't. But they're not "rip-offs", unless the same beer is also available in smaller packages and costs significantly less per ounce in the multi-pack. Even then, you're paying for it in a different way.

Think about soda fountain soda vs. canned soda vs. 2 Liter sodas for the same product. Is it a rip-off if you want to buy it in a 20 ounce bottle versus a 2 liter bottle, which is often less? No, you're choosing the quantity that suits your desires.

I buy almost all my beer in bombers and most of it is not available in any other format. Rip-off? No. It's just that I have decided to buy in that configuration. You may not decide it's worth the expense and in that case, do not buy it. Simple.

 

First hand experience notes that many smaller breweries with capacity issues cannot produce the same product they produce in bombers, in cans or bottles for true mass consumption. For them, they are doing us a favor, and thus letting us buy at least one 22oz bottle for thousands to enjoy vs. 4 or 6 packs that only half the people would enjoy.

Sounds like they are blowing air up my butt. But what are you gonna do. Am I happy I can have a 22 oz. bomber of a local beer vs. NOTHING? Yes... Would I be happier if there was cans sold in 48-64 oz. total formats and I couldn't get them because less people could buy them, and I missed out? I'd probably be upset.

But for the larger breweries with no true capacity or ingredient issues, this format SUCKS.

 

I'll buy any beer that I like no matter what the packaging format is. Are some bombers over priced IMO they are but if they are a great beer than I'll just pay the price. I think the format that really gets me is the 16.9oz bottle which around here seems to sell at about the same price as the 22oz bomber. $8.00+ for a 16.9oz bottle of DIPA is out of line. Am I guilty of paying that price of course I am. Hey it was good beer. I guess it all comes down to the fact if it is a beer I want to drink then I'm going to pay the price no matter what the format.

 

When they sell direct they do. They also set the price they sell to wholesalers at.

 

Yep. Like I said. Brewers don't decide how much their beer costs to buy.

Also note that I said "brewers" and not "breweries". The brewers themselves rarely decide what to charge the distributors and retailers, let alone what their mark up is. Yes, "breweries" (CEOs, CFOs, BODs etc...) play a part in it, but usually not "brewers".

Thanks.

 

You mean "breweries". I said "brewers".

I'm not trying to be snide. I was responding to a post saying that the people that *brew* the beer decide how much you pay at the store.

 

In my post that you quoted I was typing about Heady Topper. The brewer is the owner and controls everything including the price.

 

My experience is different. Several bottle shops will sell you a single with the exact purpose to try the beer. It will come out somewhat higher than 1/6th of a six-pack, but not by much. It has given me the opportunity of trying much more beers this way, I will gladly take my business to those shops, and I will feel much less guilt trying something new in 12 oz, at a reasonable price.

 

I understand that he sets the price for direct sales; not at retailers. His situation is also very unusual. My point stands. Thanks for clarifying.

 

Many (most?) of the US craft breweries are owned by what were the brewers when the company started; in many (most?) instances brewers = breweries in this regard.

Cheers!

 

Depends on the beer. Generally, craft beer is underpriced IMHO.

 

Sure, but you're from here. And you underprice your beer. *

* But please don't stop