Weird taproom pricing

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by mattwjones, Nov 12, 2017.

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  1. JouerAvecLeFeu

    JouerAvecLeFeu Pooh-Bah (2,032) Apr 17, 2015 Washington
    Pooh-Bah

    Yeah, I’ve done the math. But their pricing basically says “get your beer and hit the road”. The fact that they serve food just make it odd to me. The fact that they sell the 16 oz can for almost what they sell a pint for is baffling.
     
  2. MikeP64

    MikeP64 Zealot (661) Jan 24, 2015 South Carolina

    Any brewery that won't fill another's growler is just plain stupid...and they just lost my business.
     
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  3. BBThunderbolt

    BBThunderbolt Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,846) Sep 24, 2007 Kiribati
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    We pay it. As long as us consumers hand over the money, breweries have no incentive to make changes. Shrug.
     
  4. bsullivan

    bsullivan Devotee (385) Aug 17, 2017 Connecticut

    There are many states that prohibit from filling another breweries growlers
     
  5. eppCOS

    eppCOS Grand Pooh-Bah (4,570) Jun 27, 2015 Colorado
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    Eh... so interesting brewery policy on growlers, not really taproom pricing issue.
    Try $20 for a 5oz pour of FFF Dark Lord.
    Wait... what?
    Just seen on W. Randolph the other night. No thanks....
     
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  6. threeviews

    threeviews Initiate (0) Apr 18, 2011 Florida

    There is one such "local" brewery to me that makes it cost-prohibitive to fill growlers for any brands that are also available in bottles (or as of late, cans).
    Their reasoning is the following:
    - Filling growlers takes time and ties up both draught lines and taproom personnel.
    - There is a lot of wasted beer when filling growlers.
    - Although the onus is on the growler owner to provide the taproom staff with a clean/sanitized vessel, this is commonly not the case. This particular brewery has found that many times, the growlers incoming are not clean. Therefore, they are reluctant to fill them fill them and have their beer received badly on account of a dirty growler.

    When it comes to brands packaged in "take home" formats (bottles/cans), it seems that breweries would rather sell packaged goods rather than dealing with the (potentially) stinky growler. With the exception of draught-only breweries, those that package would much rather keep their draught pours exclusively for onsite consumption.

    Please share your thoughts with my findings...Cheers!
     
  7. westcoastbeergeek

    westcoastbeergeek Initiate (0) Sep 16, 2015 Canada (BC)

    Funny enough, went to one place (Silver City Brewing) and the beer was around $5-$6 a pint, but a side of fries was about $8 and it was maybe a 1 person serving.
     
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  8. JonnyBeers

    JonnyBeers Savant (1,211) Oct 24, 2012 Canada (BC)

    A lot of this weirdo pricing scheme can be traced back to breweries who have no idea how to run a bar or restaurant, but all of a sudden that's what a lot of these tap rooms are turning into. Growlers are fading fast and furious in popularity up here with the mobile/factory canning companies taking over. Not sure what it's like in every state or province.
     
  9. jesskidden

    jesskidden Grand Pooh-Bah (3,145) Aug 10, 2005 New Jersey
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    "Labor costs" ? For 1- 2 minutes of a bartender's time? Who may even be paid the less-than-minimum "Tipped Employee" rate and depends on customer tips to make up the rest of their income?
     
  10. rozzom

    rozzom Pooh-Bah (2,620) Jan 22, 2011 New York
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I’m more intrigued by the fact your wife had to drug you in order to get family photos done.
     
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  11. BirdsandHops

    BirdsandHops Grand Pooh-Bah (3,061) Apr 14, 2008 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah

    The Mother Earth Brewing in NC has done many things to make their brewery more environmentally friendly at least. :slight_smile:
    http://www.motherearthbrewing.com/mother
     
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  12. jesskidden

    jesskidden Grand Pooh-Bah (3,145) Aug 10, 2005 New Jersey
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    That's a different "Mother Earth" brewery than the one in the OP, which is located north of San Diego CA https://www.motherearthbrewco.com/
     
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  13. BirdsandHops

    BirdsandHops Grand Pooh-Bah (3,061) Apr 14, 2008 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah

    Yeah, I was trying to point out that at least the one in NC was living up to its name. Sorry if I didn't clarify that well.
     
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  14. pat61

    pat61 Initiate (0) Dec 29, 2010 Minnesota

    Brewers tell me that growlers are least expensive, then crowlers, then cans or bombers. Generally when I am sitting at a bar talking with a brewer or whoever is sitting next to me, my ability to do the math is somewhat diminished.
     
  15. TBonz

    TBonz Initiate (0) Nov 14, 2017 North Carolina

    I have been to many breweries that will fill any growler as long as the size is noted on the growler...I've also been to several who will not fill other breweries growlers. In talking with one that only fills their own growlers, they clean (correctly) and fill growlers off of other taps during non-taproom hours so they have a supply and simply exchange growlers vs. filling. I believe they have one of the setups that is supposed to get rid of all the oxygen before the growler is capped. Not suggesting right or wrong, but at least there was some reasoning behind their position.

    I've also seen some that will do both growlers and cans for various beers and some that will do one or the other but not both...roll the dice I guess!
     
  16. LordofWord

    LordofWord Crusader (455) Dec 15, 2014 Oregon

    What's interesting is that the production headquarters is now being moved to the Boise, Idaho, area, too. Whatever the case, the West Coast/Northwest Mother Earth makes pretty excellent beer.
     
  17. McFinniganOfTheFinnigans

    McFinniganOfTheFinnigans Initiate (0) Apr 20, 2017 Maine

    Consider the size of the keg it's pulled from. 1/6, 1/4, or 1/2 barrel. Maybe it's a 30L keg. Plus what style. Hell. It could be a simple IPA, but has 7 hops to it with 700 lbs of fruit and yada yada. But the end result is only 15 barrels.

    Shit. What if it were a barleywine? Some beers take up to six months to brew.

    Also depends on who the brewery bought growlers from and the quantity. A growler is cheaper if they purchased 576 than 144. And what caps they're using. Detail of design of logo. A single growler can go $3 to $10 rather quickly.

    Merchandise + product. Let's say the beer is being poured in a 12oz pour for $9. Then a 32oz pour is $18. You'll be mad, but they're looking to sell their brand in the end. Make a name for themselves to be able to expand. To keep up with demand.

    This is of course if the beer is in high demand for kegs. If it's apart of their core beers that they pkg 24/7 and are on shelves all the time? Of course the beer will be cheaper.
     
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  18. Dan_K

    Dan_K Pooh-Bah (1,980) Nov 8, 2013 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    It's really not that big a deal. For one thing, malt is pretty cheap. It's only a small portion of the total cost to make a beer- maybe 10% at the most. In a packaged beer it accounts for about 8% of the price.

    And the difference in grain bill between a 6% beer and 9% beer isn't a massive difference.
     
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  19. westcoastbeerlvr

    westcoastbeerlvr Grand Pooh-Bah (4,115) Oct 19, 2010 California
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Very different economies of scale.
     
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  20. AngryDutchman

    AngryDutchman Zealot (693) Aug 8, 2015 Pennsylvania

    I'd assume growler fills are fresher beer, so if there's a per-ounce premium, I'd accept that as a valid reason.
    Perhaps the formula varies between the draft and the canned beer. Consider how many variations of Guinness are out there. Again, I'd accept that as a valid reason for differences in pricing.
    Maybe an added portion of the cost of growler fills is due to the pub's attempt to recover fixed and variable costs of the tied-house venue. Also something I'd accept as a valid reason for a higher per-ounce price on the growler fill.
    Or maybe the brewer/publican is just a disagreeable, greedy bastard who deep down hates people and tolerates them enough to operate a taproom, but wants to discourage them getting too comfortable or coming back again and again for fills, and prices accordingly. Not a BA-friendly approach, but perhaps that's the justification.

    Dykstra's Law: "Everybody is somebody else's weirdo."
     
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