The Totally 100% Subjective, "Is it Worth $1+/oz?", Thread

I really don't buy beer that costs $1 per oz anymore but am eagerly awaiting responses from regular contributors who do, not least as a way to separate the (expensive) wheat from the (expensive) chaff on the rare occasion when I DO feel like a splurge. From my limited experience in this market (7 of the beers on @Jasonrm72 's list, both worth it and not) i agree 100% with him...

Great thread concept!

 

Liquid Brain - wasn't it $18 a bottle last year? Pretty good beer, not sure if it's worth the price per ounce based on the 2016 batch.
Royal Oil- even more expensive, but worth it, as a special treat.
Cerebral HBM & VHBM- based on batch 1, absolutely worth it.
Tweak and Uncle Jacobs- Yes indeed.
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Goose Island BCBS- less than $1/oz, and blows the average BA Imperial Stout away
Oskar Blues BATF- less than $1/oz and again, above average beer

 

I've been on the fence for BA Dark Star, so definitely curious to hear what others think...

 

These are all bottled beers we're talking about, right? Just for clarity because I find $1-plus per ounce beers on tap all of the time. And what happened to draft being cheaper than bottles? It goes into a keg... there's not bottle, no label, no cap, no six or four pack or loose divider, and no mother case... none of those extra costs, and it's easier and quicker to fill so less labor is involved... why have draft specialties eclipsed the cost of single bottles?

 

I think a big part of this conversation should revolve around scarcity. If there's a beer I know is overpriced, or just more than I think it should cost, but I'm not sure the next time I'll have the opportunity to buy it...I often roll the dice and just buy it.

I try not to buy beers as they increase hugely in price, but have a bunch of verticals, so get lassoed into it.

I pretty much draw the line at FiftyFifty Vertical Eclipse — never had one worth the price...I'll buy pretty much anything once though just to see if it's worth justification in the future.

Liquid Brain is worth it. I think Dry Dock's pricing is about as reasonable as anyones.

 

I've gotten to the point where I don't even pay attention to prices. After seeing what world class beers cost in Europe, we're getting hosed from normal 'ol Sierra Nevada Pale Ale all the up way to Utopias. Plus, packaged beer pricing tends to be arbitrary. I've been a part of numerous conversations where prices were devised out of thin air. Especially special items.
I just pay whatever they tell me to pay or I don't.

 

This is so true. Its insane how much cheaper world class beer is over there when you compare it to what breweries charge here.

 

ITT: exclusively subjective comments



Love the idea and wondering if my thoughts on the worthiness of the imperial coffee stout release from cerebral this morning had something to do with this thread?

 

ZUM WOHL! .79 euro for a half liter of decent beer in a German grocery store --- .99 euro for a better beer! @ 3,30 euro for a half liter vom fass Beer in Prague - even less. And even in the UK, a proper Imperial pint (none of these 14 ounce filled to the rim "pint glasses" that we use here yielding 10 to 12 ounces) costs only about 5 euros at a pub.

On the other hand we do have a greater selection, and part of that is due to smaller breweries that have higher operating costs. So, a trade-off. The problem here is that some breweries are taking advantage of the situation, and quite a few bars are taking way too much advantage of the situation. I used to think that $8 for a beer at a ballpark was outrageous but now I'm finding $8 "pints" in pubs to be becoming common.

 

I don't focus so much of cost per ounce, my attention is generally towards overall cost of a product. 98% of the time I will give a hard pass to any bottled beer that costs $20 or greater, even 750 ml bottles, but if the mood strikes I won't think twice about spending $10 for a 10 ounce pour at the bar or brewery -- albeit I only do that once for a beer.

 

If you have to wait in line, it ain't worth it.

 

In my head, any bottle that you have to actually wait in line for costs $5-$10 more just for the inconvenience. I'm a big fan of the online releases. Sure, they're not perfect, but it beats waiting in line to maybe get a beer.

 

My tolerance of lines mostly comes down to how convenient (or inconvenient) they are. I'm far more likely to get into a line that doesn't involve waking up early or driving to bumblefuck. That's so 2015. That and they better be for something with no equivalent. A BA stout? There are a million of those and they mostly taste the same. No thanks. A hazy fruited IPA or a spiced quad? You have my attention.

 

Fair market value (FMV) is an estimate of the market value of a property, based on what a knowledgeable, willing, and unpressured buyer would probably pay to a knowledgeable, willing, and unpressured seller in the market.

It is totally subjective, so I think if you're looking for consensus, it's the beers that don't stay on the shelves vs. the shelf turds. If beer is priced appropriately (aside from the 0.1% of hyped BA Stouts) the beer will sell, if not, it won't. That should be your indicator of whether a beer is worth $1/oz.

What have you done with the real Domingo? I thought it was RiL (Reinheitsgebot is Life) for you? J/k.

 

I've always had a soft spot for "candy beers" (I full-on love New Glarus) but I'll take a Franconian lagerbier over all of 'em. The great perk of beer in the US is that we have access to pretty much anything, even if we do willingly pay an arm and a leg.

 

Agree with all of this.