Price vs. Size vs. Taste vs. Location

So many questions here. For some reason I feel like taking them all on.

Who 'Harpooned' you? I spent about the same to pick up the SN Beer Camp 12 pack today. The way I see it, I earn my money honestly. If you don't like how I spend it. That is your problem. My time is money. Driving around town looking for the absolute best deal to save a few dollars is often simply not worth it for me.

Generally speaking, I tend to only get 32oz growler fills of beers I can't take home any other way. So I'm not really looking for a deal. I'm looking to take home something special.

What you like is irrelevant (speaking generally here. not singling you out), to a bomber that I take home. If I don't like it and its the first time I've tried it, or I'm giving it another chance for a variety of reasons, that's not stupid. If I keep buying bombers I don't like regardless of the price, that would be pretty stupid.

It really depends. Are you someone how drinks the same beer continuously? Or someone how prefers variety.? I've heard all the arguments about what a great deal six packs are. The reality is they are a bad deal for me. Because I like variety and will drink one or two from a six pack and let the rest sit for months. I prefer bombers, 4 packs or variety packs.

Yes, production costs are often higher. Plus supply and demand play a role here.

They are not wasting money, if they are buying something they want and they enjoy.

Again I come back to, what you like is irrelevant, when it comes to someone else spending their honestly earned money.

Sharing what we know about beer with others, to help guide them to make better choices for themselves is what Beer Advocacy is all about from my perspective. Telling people what they should like is the dark side otherwise known as beer snobbery.

Good advice, I will now go back to enjoying the bottle of Poterie that I just opened.

 

I would never criticize a person for how much they spend on beer. Your money, your effort to earn it, your right. I try not to get caught up in what other people like as taste is very subjective.

 

When it comes to money I'm Scottish by descent, heritage and nature. I don't care what it cost so much as what I believe it's worth and I'm convinced if there were more of us of that persuasion the price of craft beer would come down.

 

I don't get this. At a bar/restaurant you have the employee and overhead onto of the product cost and profit margin of a store. So of course you are going to spend way more at a bar. It's apples and oranges.

As for stores, it does annoy me to see wide price discrepancies between bottles/can formats. I tend to be happy if a beer is priced accordingly with it's competitors. I also take price gouging into account (I don't condone it and rarely buy), so it's not always the brewers fault. But when I see something like a 4-pack of Long Trail Space Juice for $17-$18 when I can get Sip, Heady in the same state for much less and beer just as good in NH for much less, it is silly (and I walk away laughing leaving it on the shelf).

 

Agreed. I always prefer 12 ounces to any other format. Price is better and I don't have to worry/plan as much if it's high ABV.

 

Yeah, ABV is another great reason to go with 4- or 6-packs. Bombers pretty much need to be shared unless you're a borderline alcoholic. 750s that are 10+ ABV should be a diagnostic tool in the DSM.

 

So you'd rather have a pint of Fat Tire for $8 at some fancy bar than a four-pack of KBS at home for $20 ($5 per beer)?

 

The exaggeration of the cost of a pint of beer notwithstanding, the answer to this question is, of course, YES.

A big part of the reason why I'm into craft beer is the craft beer culture. Craft beer drinking is a social activity. Yes, the beer is part of it, but the social relationship aspect is huge. I can walk into any craft beer bar or brewery by myself and start talking to people, making new friends, learning new things.

Sitting at home downing a 6 pack by yourself because you figured out that is the cheapest cost per ounce you can get is loserish/borderline alcoholic behavior. I much prefer the socialization of going to the bar or brewery, meeting new people, seeing old friends, and talking about beer, politics, sports, business, life. That's what this culture is about. Yes, I prefer bombers BECAUSE they're meant to be shared. I can spend $10 on a bomber, bring it out, share it, and know that it will be appreciated and reciprocated or I can spend $15 to stay home and guzzle a 6-pack while consoling myself with the fact that while I spent more money on a 6-pack than on a bomber, it's a better price per ounce and I can get more drunk.

 

Of course I can also sit at home guzzling a six pack in a loutish manner while on the internet talking to beer people about beer. Around here the bars are closed on Sunday.

 

True, life is uncertain, what is certain though is I have more beer.

 

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Take it easy there! I don't know why you had to be so aggressive. I guess I touched some nerve or something.

First, I didn't say I was drinking the KBS at home alone. You yourself mentioned sharing bombers. I share bottles all the time with my friends and do bottle shares with new people. You don't have to go to a bar to socialize. And yes, it's cheaper!

Second, I didn't say I was going to drink all four of the KBSs in one sitting to get as drunk as possible. If you looked at my post DIRECTLY ABOVE the post you quoted, I mentioned how dangerous it is to drink 22 ounces or more of high alcohol beers regularly. In fact, it makes my point even more convincing. I could have one pint for $8 OR get that 4-pack of KBS and either A) share it with friends and get other amazing beer in kind B) share it with friends over the course of several bottle shares C) have one at home every week/month and not have to get drunk D) a combination of C and D. Flexibility is a bonus.

Third, of course I am, and pretty much everyone else is, going to have drinks at bars/restaurants where the beer is three times more expensive. I spent $16 on two pints at dinner last night, in fact. I was commenting on the extreme stance taken by beertraveler08 (4 pints at $10 apiece vs. 6 beers for a little over $2 apiece) who seemed to be saying he prefers that no matter what.

Fourth, yes, pints are $6-8 in California. Even shitty beer is expensive and is another reason to think twice about going out drinking.

Fifth, as you alluded to, the purpose of drinking is key. If your goal is to get drunk with a bunch of random people where "anything could happen," then the bar is definitely worth it. If you want to try lots of good beer and you're not making 100k a year, then 6- and 4-packs are better for you. I personally like to have 1 or 2 standard drinks of beer every other night, which is why I am in favor of the latter.

 

Belgians are expensive over here, I only buy the quads and they are $5+ a 12 oz. Luckily we have enough really good saisons brewed here that I don't have to pay the premium imports run for much else than st bernarbus and chimay.

 

The cost of shipping adds a lot to it that's for sure. I have lots of great options under $10 a six pack so I rarely drink anything imported.

 

Of course, neither was I. We could darn near afford a plane ticket to Belgium with the savings over what we have to pay for those brands here.

 

agreed. live and let live. the price whiners are the worst tho.

 

I wish a store around here had a decent mix 6 deal, every place around here charges per the bottle and ends up coming to 20 bucks plus for. No thanks

 

It's a decision we all need to make for ourselves, and one we probably do for every product we buy.

In my case, while I don't like paying $13 for a 750ml of a DDH Trillium DIPA, if I've never had it and want to try it, and that's the only format, then I'll probably end up with one. The real key is the repeat purchases. It works the same with drive time or lines to get Treehouse, which is a better format and price, how often will a customer be willing to deal with the inconvenience? All of this then meets up with the price/quality of whatever is in your local shop. We all have options, but not the same options, nor the same pain points.