More 500mLs please!

As many of you already know, the brewery opting for 500 mL bottle packaging around here is Wicked Weed. While I understand that the reason they do it is due to their beers containing wild yeast, some being aged on barrels and so on and so forth, I can't help but feel like they're pricing them too high. Some are reasonable, such as Bretticent for $7.95, and some are not, like Malice for $11.75. And those are the prices you pay at the brewery. Once they hit retail, the markup starts to become laughable. I saw Genesis going for $15 at one store. Gimme a break. I saw one BA user on a thread say "Who do they think they are? Russian River?" And I kind of share that sentiment. Yes, they're doing things no other brewery is doing right now, especially in NC, and yes, they're just starting out so they need to build revenue to continue to expand, but honestly their beers are still hit or miss. Serenity was good, not great, so it was only kind of worth the price. Amorous was meh, so it definitely wasn't worth the price. I will say that Taketake is a magnificent beer and one of the lower priced at $8.99, so it was worth every penny in my eyes. But that's the thing: if you expect me to continue to buy your pricey beers, you'd better make sure each one is dynamite for me to drop so much of my hard-earned money on them. I know these statements on their quality are just my subjective opinion and they're still honing their craft and getting the recipes dialed in, but to charge these prices right off the bat is a tad presumptuous. I'm lucky because I live literally ten minutes from the brewery so I can go there and have all their beers on draft which is much more affordable. But all the people in Charlotte and other areas of the state that get WW bottles are going through some serious Russian roulette moments because you know the markup on those is even more ridiculous than at the stores around here. Oh and, as for the 500 mL serving size being more suitable for a night's drinking, if it's super high ABV like 12% I agree. But if it's anywhere under 9%, I'd rather it be in a 22 oz. or 750 mL.

tl;dr 500 mL bottles are only worth it if the beer is of excellent quality. Wicked Weed still hasn't perfected that. @jjansen, If you only want to drink 2/3 of a bomber or 750 mL and save the rest for later, buy some of these:

 

1 750ml is too much for 1 night. really? geez I been known to down 3 or 4 500 and a couple of 750 easy...lol

 

I like the 500 ml because it fills an imperial pint glass nicely.

 

Hinterland does this in four packs. What's wrong with a 12 oz? Or just man up and drink the whole bomber. I don't see a need to fuss about bottle size so much... just drink it

 

Agree 100%. When Wicked Weed first started bottling, I was seeking out the bottles and ended up spending A LOT of money for not a lot of beer. The beer is good, but with every new release they have, I pass on the bottles unless it is about $8 or $9. The only exception is Black Angel, that is my favorite one and don't mind paying more for that.

 

This is exactly what came to mind. I have had their beer in growler format and liked it. A bottle shop around here, that to me, inflates price anyway has been charging upwards of $15 for some of the Wicked Weed 500ml bottles. I decided to try one of their special releases that they collaborated with another local brewery which I like, Fonta Flora, and that beer was like $10.99 for the 500ml. It was not THAT good of a beer. I am sure other stores have it a few bucks cheaper but, I doubt I will be buying anymore of these unless the price lowered into the single digits.

 

You happen to have any sources on that? I've read articles saying as much for wine, but I wonder if the same holds for beer. After all, the time frames for aging wine are (generally) fairly different than for beer. Outside of some key exclusions (say, some lambics and other sours, and maybe just a few stouts, such Expedition Stout), I'd argue most beer, even cellared, really aren't growing in character beyond the, say, five-year mark. Wine is often aged well beyond that. Is the larger format bottle really so advantageous at that point? I ask that theoretically -- I don't know the answer.

As for freshness, again, I'd a) love to see some data (I understand the argument is large format = higher ratio of beer to oxygen in the bottle) and b) we're talking about an even shorter time frame than the cellaring issue. I have a hard time believing Stone Enjoy By @ 1 month old is tasting demonstrably different in a 12oz bottle vs a 22 oz bomber.

They're interesting points you raise, to be sure, but I'm not sure I'm convinced.

 

Well only that the stronger bottle were need for secondary fermentation and so they used thicker wine type bottles that would not break. I had 1000's of 750ml bottles over my years, and I always though they tasted better..

 

If it's a beer I like I want it again (and again and again........). So the 4 pack, 6 pack and case are appropriate for me. Generally, the 4/6 pack is a better value than a single bottle and the case it better still. Plus I like to have the beer on hand, it holds very well in my basement. When I have a beer I usually want a couple, so a single 16.9 ounce leaves me wanting and 2 16.9 ounces are just a tad more than I want. Maybe it's because I grew up drinking 12 ounce beverages.

Now, if it's a beer I haven't had before, I'm not buying a case. Then a single or even a 4 pack is appropriate.

I guess it would fair to say I like beer, it makes me a jolly good fella...........

 

I hate it too. They're not fooling anyone.

 

Give me a quart! I just love the 32oz Sucks format. Two full pints should be a birthright.

 

The 40's are better.

 

11.2 oz just happens to be the conversion from the common EU size for small bottles which is 330ml. The same could be said for a European person looking at a Bomber and going 22oz/650ml; wtf is this? Where is my 100ml?

 

When I have the time I will look up some info for you, but if you have the time, try to find the argument for why Lagunitas decided to do Sucks in the 32oz bottles; aside from the fact they want to have it next to the hood beers...

That is when it was brought to my attention that larger quantities of beer stay fresher/age better. The same goes for kegs versus bottles and the reason why breweries put out Magnums, etc...

 

I agree. There just aren't too many beers I want to drink multiples of. I have my regular go-to seasonals I always pick up: Celebration, Bigfoot, etc. but that's about it. My point is that people who say (correctly) that the price per ounce for bombers is higher than for 6-packs are missing a big part of the equation: usually the price for a bomber is lower than the price for a 6-pack of the same beer. So unless you want 72 ounces of that beer, the bomber is the way to go. Plus, a lot of beers are only available in bombers or 750s, so what else are you going to do?

Another important factor people need to keep in mind is shelf space. A bomber takes up 6.25 square inches of space, whereas a standard 6-pack takes up 37.5 square inches. That's why only the most tried and true beers are available in 6-packs. In the same square footage, you can fit six times as many different beers when they are packaged in bombers as you can with 6-packs. So we couldn't have nearly the amount of variety or diversity of options if beers were only or mostly available in 6-packs. And I don't think any of us wants that.

 

Breweries that put their entire line up, regardless of style in overpriced 500ml, bombers, and 750s piss me off. Maine Beer Co, Prairie Artisan, Jester King are a few that come to mind. These breweries sell single beers for how much I'd expect it to be in a 4 or 6 pack. $10 for a 500ml Prairie Hop, no thanks. $10 for a 750ml La Pateit Prince, never again.

 

Alas! True beauty to be found in a 40 ounce pound. Only if it comes with the complimentary Brown Paper Bag.

 

Was just gonna bring them up. Not sure if they're trying to completely phase out 16 ouncers but I've been seeing a lot more 12 ouncers lately. Their new beers White Cap, White Out and Lunatic are all in 12 ouncers, as is Cherry Wheat.

 

16oz cans 4/6 packs /end tread

 

Jeez I just hate metric units, can't visualize them, personally I drink in increments of 12 oz or I try to so 16 oz would just throw me off.