Jailbreak Brewing (MD) outrageous pricing.

Looks like it was cans of Big Punisher. I had no idea they were canning, but alas I don't follow them closely since I can usually get all their stuff at Max's. The can design is quite nice.

Their blog post on canning was a bit interesting to see the process it takes to bring a beer to cans.

 

I bought Big Pun last night at Shawan. It was $12.99 iirc. Worth it? Well, its not mind blowing or anything. But different enough to warrant a try if you like tropical sticky sweet DIPAs. I wouldn't pay any more than that though.

 

As noted in the link in post #2, the brewery does not own a canning line but contracts packaging out to another company:

While these mobile canners allow a small brewer with limited capital to join the canning fad, their services aren't cheap (I've seen second party quotes of adding up to $10 [!] a case for the brewery, but actual rates are usually not noted on the canners' sites). They are the equivalent of renting a car rather than owning one. Works economically for short/temporary periods but not in the long term.

 

I had their Big Punisher at the Maryland State Fair this year. I really enjoyed it! I was excited when I saw it in can version last week. It was 15 though and well, my excitement quickly diminished. I know they are new, local, and all of that but that's a tough one.

 

Jailbreak is a highly leveraged operation. I'm not surprised to see high price points on their stuff. I've only had a couple offerings from them, but I have yet to be impressed.

 

I think they could take a note from Burley Oak on the whole patience thing. Yes, Burley Oak did use a kickstarter to buy a hand-canning machine, but they've also been around for 3 years and have established themselves a bit more. People know their product and know what to expect from them. It will be interesting to see what Burley Oak's price point for cans are; however, I'm much more excited for them. I wonder if Jailbreak will keep canning after this initial distribution.

 

I gave in for a $14+ 6 pack canned on 9/26. It's damn tasty, but it's also the last 6 I buy at that price point. I'd buy more often it was Flying Dog, Duclaw, Heavy Seas, or Evolution type pricing ($11). No need to rake people people across the coals just because you're the new kid on the block. Not going to win a lot of people over that way. I mean JB fronted their own 2 million to start, so please no whining about being poor now. Thanks.

 

Figured I'd chime in for what it's worth. While the Big Punisher cans are fairly expensive, it is one of the the most expensive beers we make. Much has to do with the ridiculous amount of hops we add into the beer, the types of hops we use(some of which are direct imported from New Zealand) and primarily due to the low yields. Completely understand if $13-15/6pk isn't your bag but the decision had to be made, price it as such or not can it based on the cost to produce it. Unfortunately, we recently detected through quality control analysis that we had some aging issues with the first few runs and just recently released a recall of all affected batches. It's an ornery beer but one we stand by. We've corrected the issue but still a hit for sure.

We also recently released our Welcome To Scoville (jalapeno IPA) in can and at a shelf price of about $11, more in line with similar ABV beers in the market. We'll be releasing our Infinite (amber) in 4-6weeks which should have a shelf price of about $10/6pk. Hope you allow us the opportunity to earn your loyalty. Releasing our most expensive beer first may not have been the perfect sequence of releases but it's still being well received thus far. Thanks for taking the time to even discuss our little operation. Drink well.

 

I'll be on the lookout for the Welcome to Scoville, I love pepper beers. Unfortunately I haven't seen anything in Virginia yet but hopefully its just a matter of time.

 

Haven't seen this one around yet, but $15 doesn't seem too outrageous for a DIPA.

OTWOA is $17.99, Hardywood's Great Return is usually $12-$13 for a 4pk. Can't vouch for the quality, but there's definitely a precedent for the pricing. Hops aren't cheap.

 

I'm blown away at the whinging in this thread over the pricing. Don't like it? Don't buy it, it's that simple. But as some have noted, this is what high-quality DIPAs cost today, end of story.

edit: I mean, if it's high-quality. I have no idea, but the pricing isn't out of whack for 72oz of DIPA.

 

Wait, so people are complaining about spending $14/15 for a 6pk of DIPA?

 

$15 is not over the top for a DIPA six pack. In todays scene if you don't want to spend that much, you do have other choices, but as others have pointed out for a DIPA this pricing is pretty much in line with the current market. Do appreciate Justinbonner's response. Public perception (or love for the brewery) has alot to do with what people want or are willing to pay as well. A month or so ago Pizza Boy, up here in PA, released some of their "regular" beers in bombers. West Shore IPA (not a DIPA) which I really like is selling for $8 for a 22oz bomber at the brewery, even more if you get it further down the distribution line, or more than $24 a six pack! I posted on a Pizza Boy thread about how I thought this pricing was out of line and received push back that I wasn't being fair, go figure.

 

6-pack, 12oz = 72oz. $15 = .21/oz
4-pack, 16oz = 64oz. $12-$14 (avg. for a 4-pack of very good hoppy beer, i.e. 077xx, Heady, Gandhi, Abrasive, etc.) = .20/oz

people are bitching over ONE PENNY MORE PER OZ

lulz

 

I just bought a case of Firestone Walker Double Jack at 9.99 a 4 pack on sale; usual price 11.99. That sale price works out to 14.99 a sixer. Sculpin goes for about that here. My understanding from 2000 miles away is that Double Sunshine is more like $16 for a 4 pack of 16 oz cans? Apologies if I have that wrong. But this pricing seems unremarkable to an outsider from CO.

 

Im surprised to see the prices this crazy in the stores. I've been there and done their tour and had some beer -- they said they were breaking out into stores, etc -- maybe its just because theyre new? Distributors adding $ in case they dont sell in stores as a risk maybe?