Thoughts on Spencer Trappist Ale?

This should be in the Beer Rating & Review section, not a new thread.

 

I'll buy it only when I stop where I can get it as a single. It's too expensive for what it is. Paying for the trappist label annoys me. I don't care for packaging colors either, it's not too far off from looking like Mike's hard.

 

The consistent review I have heard is: "Pretty good but will never buy it again at that price". Once the initial novelty wears off I can't believe they won't drop prices significantly. Plenty of dopes at my work who think Sam Adams is the pinnacle of craft brewing have been talking about it the past few days though so maybe I am totally wrong.

 

I would imagine if Sam Adams is the pinnacle of craft brewing to someone, then this price will not fly for them long at all. I'd imagine it flying a bit longer with the tickers and traders used to spending a bit more.

 

I can't think of a single example of a brewery lowering their prices. I'm not talking about going from bombers to six packs thus making it cheaper per ounce. People have been talking about Maine Beer Co possibly lowering their prices for a couple years now but it isn't happening and I doubt it will for Spencer either.

 

If Spencer has a decent marketing team and is willing to quickly expand distribution (a la MBC), I doubt they'll have to drop prices. Chimay sells about one third of its annual 170,000hL production here in the US. That's about 47,000bbl, or more than 4x what Spencer anticipates brewing in year 5.

 

Maine Beer Company is reasonably priced around here. $5.99 for a sixteen oz bottle of awesome beer is not a deal killer in my opinion. Spencer seems a bit high though.

 

Maybe they is their business plan: They open distro in a state, all the buzz gets people to buy a bunch of beer, people taste it and go "Yeah that was nice, I probably won't buy it again" and then they move into another state. 49 more to go!

 

Saw it on a big display at a local store today. Inspected the nice looking bottle, noticed the $17.99 pricetag (knew it would be high), put it back & bought something else.

 

I found it quite tasty but never mind that, I especially liked the knowledge that in this ever-changing world I could count on every post about it mentioning the price. Bonus points to those who instinctively mentioned Maine Beer Co. in talking about this new Trappist brew.

 

Would Jesus Do What's Right?

 

Are you complaining about people complaining about the price? I think it's reasonable for people to balk at an $18 price tag for a brand new product from an unknown brewery.

 

I'm as price cautious as the next guy, but I feel like new breweries really can't win. Price their beer high and people bitch. Price their beer low and have to raise the prices at a later point in time and people bitch. It is very , very hard to find that happy medium.

with all that said I will not buy a belgian blond 4 pack for ~18$.

 

Or just price it fairly and people won't moan. NEBCO has had a price increase here and there over the years (or shrunk the size of their cans and kept the same price point), but because their prices have been fair people rarely complain. They seem to have hit that sweet spot of the price spectrum. Although $10 growler fills of FBD is still kind of absurdly awesome.

Other brewers should follow suit. With all the new guys opening up all over New England (seemingly every week!) there are just too many choices. With so many options on the shelves or in the taproom, price is probably a top 3 reason to choose one beer over another. If I'm gonna shell out $18 for a four pack, you bet your butt I'm going with the World Class Coffee Imperial Stout, IIPA, or famed Belgian import over a local Patersbier.

 

Preaching to the choir

 

Off the top of my head, I believe Brooklyn Sorachi Ace saw a significant price drop when they changed it from "special release" to "year round." It's now priced the same as Local 1 and 2, where before it was like $5 more.

 

I picked up a single, and it will be my last one. $5 for a 12oz Trappist ale made in mass...I can get Trappist ales from belgium for the same price.

I like the beer but at $10-$12 a 6 pack.