Make you're own six-pack in the store

Sounds like you can get some pretty good deals but you've also got to watch out for quality and price. Marty's in Newton, MA is owned by a distributor and while it has a great selection, it is essentially a dumping ground for out of date beers. They are also the most expensive game in town and one place where this mix a six doesn't work.

They let you do a mixed six for any beers in the store and give you 10% off. But then they apply a single bottle fee of up to 30% on top of the evenly divided six or four pack price, so you actually end up paying more. So for that $10 bottle of Higher Math - as part of a Marty's six pack - it will cost $10 - $1 (the 10% off) + $3 (single bottle charge) = $12, guaranteed to be the most expensive Higher Math in the Boston area.

In all fairness, Higher Math is probably sold as a single any way so the single bottle charge may not apply, but the principle still applies to everything else so if you're not careful at Marty's, you could pay a hefty premium for a mixed six of 6 -12 month old IPAs...

 

I find MYO 6 packs can be a gold mine or a disappointment if you are not careful.

Often beer past their prime will end up in the MYO 6 pack offerings. This is a common practice. As always, check the dates and stay away from non dated bottles.

Typically establishments do not put beer over the price of the MYO 6 pack price into the mix, so if all goes well the establishment is still making money. For example, Wegmenas will put $9.99/six pack beers in the mixed bin and charge $11.00 or so.

The gold mine aspect comes into play when a higher priced beer ends up in the bin. This can happen when a single bottle in a packaged set is broken, or when someone else 'sneaks' a higher price beer into the MYO 6 Pack and the remainders flow to the general fund. I was lucky enough to get 3 Tank 7's the other day - a bargain at less than $2.00 each. Timing seems to be everything here.

Another establishment I frequent allows you to buy individual bottles, priced differently, and allows you to purchase any number. This seems to be a bit better from a freshness point of view, and it allows you to try a variety of price points without the timing aspect of the full six pack approach.

 

Who needs Powerball?

 

The Wegmans near me do it for $11.99 and they have decent stuff to choose from. Freshness can be an issue but that seems to be getting better and just be sure to check the dates and you will be fine. It's hard for me to want to buy 6 packs of the same beer anymore because I like to drink so many different things and try new things so it's not a bad option. You could argue that economically it's not the best move but prices in my area have crept up a lot so a 6 pack of one common beer can be $10.99 so a dollar more for an assortment is a non-issue to me.

Some other stores charge per beer and this can add up quickly. Also, I have seen a few others who had close to 0 fresh beers to choose from (and most were really really old too, some close to or over a year old) so I don't bother with those places anymore for the mix a six.

 

Here in the Phoenix area Fry's Markets sell a mix 6 for 8.99. Occasionally I will find really good beers but mostly its year round releases. Although at 8.99 per sometimes its cheaper to mix a 6 of those as opposed to paying for a 6er which may be 10.99 and up. Example was Lagunitas Sucks which was 10.99. Put it in the mix 6 and save 2 bucks.

 

Fairway Market on the Upper West Side of NYC does a create your own 6 pack for $10.99. Most of the stuff they have is local or standards like Lagunitas, Sierra Nevada and Founders. Still, it ends up being a good deal.

 

I used to go to a place in Boston called the 'Urban Grape' that would sell a random 6er, all hand choosen by the beer guy. Wrapped and stapled in a brown bag, you never knew what you were going to get. ALSO ... the beers were always fresh it was not a way of getting rid of almost expired beers.

 

I believe 1 of the places that offers the mix six program around me offers price per beer less 10% of total purchase price. I've used this for beers that my wife and I want to try but don't want to commit to 6 or 12 of. That's a fine deal to me. The other place offers them in pricing structure i.e. specific price points or tiers. This is okay, but at times you can find things where a brewery has come out with a new flavor of the month and the outgoing one is dropped into a lower price point to sell through them. And no this is not "fire sale" beer as in most cases it's still fresh and great product, but that's what the beer landscape has turned into.... Not that "fire sale" is a bad thing. I've had some stellar offerings that I really paid not much for. A case of Harpoon Leviathan IPA for 12.99 comes immediately to mind!

 

I utilize the mix a six shelf to be able to try new beers that I have not had. Unfortunately, a lot of mix shelves are utilized to get rid of expired or near expired beers, or shelf turds. I have found, however, that my local Kroger supermarket has an amazing selection on theirs. It is not unheard of to find newer releases, Ten Fidy, Great Green Flash stuff and others on it. Most other places mix shelves suck..

 

So I love the concept but what ive found is a lot of stores will put their beers that are past sell by dates in this area so I don't put in bottles without dates on them. As long as your conscious of this its a great way to try new beers. My usual strategy is to try 3-4 new beers and 2-3 old favorites I know are good so if the new beers suck I have backups.

 

I rarely buy 6 or 12 packs. I almost always buy singles. I am pleased that some of the larger grocery stores in my area are offering this option but for the most part they tend to beers I have previously had.

 

I would love to use this more. But, if I could find more reasonably priced ones I would purchase more. Sometimes it is nice to see what's out there.

 

I was on the other side of a mix 6 shelf and overheard the store owner tell a matron that he used the mix 6 shelf to get rid of old beer. I tend to stick with bombers and six-packs

 

I just get singles. Got a SN pale ale and a two hearted today

 

I usually end up buying six packs of everything because the mark-up on singles is so ridiculous. I would love to have access to a 1/6, 1/4 minded market OR a pick 6 where, for the price of one Higher Math, you can get two, plus four other quality beers. I don't give a rat's ass how old those other four are, I'm getting two Higher Maths for the price of one and other beers that, even if over the hill, will be interesting.

 

I don't understand why more places in other parts of the country don't just let you pull singles from any 4/6 pack in the store. The single bottles and multipacks have different UPC codes, so it's easy as shit to track if you have a functional POS system.

 

Rarely do them because the choices usually aren't that good. I have a couple local places that sell individual singles and have much better choices.

 

Make you are own six-pack in the store. Never did that.

 

I used to at my local when they did $10 flat for a mixasix, and made off with some pretty good mixes. Then they started charging per individual bottle, and it lost any value it may have had. Now even shelf turds average $2/btl. Every now and again I'll put one together if I find a few beers I'm interested in but don't want an entire 6 pack of it and the single bottles aren't outrageously priced.

 

I will do it at the local HEB, they price each beer based on it's relative cost, so can usually get to taste some pretty diverse stuff without over committing. My local Kroger (flat $9.99) usually just puts the cheaper stuff on the shelf, every now and then I will see Tank 7, 90 minute and stuff like that and I will stock up. Guess it depends on who is stocking that shelf