Why is Beer So Expensive!?!

I enjoyed that, thanks for sharing.

 

This video should just be a drinking game where you take a sip of beer anytime someone says “$8 pint”.

TL: DR- making your own beer at home is cheaper than buying it at the brewery with their profit markup….

 

Saw this in my subscription feed on YouTube and had a watch earlier. I think they did a pretty well-rounded job on covering why this has happened; they obviously didn't get into the finer details because that's not really what their channel is about and most people who do watch this kind of stuff would just turn off at some point. And it still revolved around making a beer, which is what their channel is about.

 

Pretty entertaining. My takeaways:

1. Good beer costs more to brew than crappy beer.
2. Supply and demand.

And not necessarily in that order. Why else would a pint of macro swill cost $12 at the ballpark or $18 at the airport bar? I wouldn't drink it if it was free. However, I would (and did ) happily pay $20 for a four-ounce pour of KBBS at TG. Beer is "so damn expensive" because people are willing to pay what it costs.

 

Place by me has $2 craft beers Happy Hour.

 

Thanks for posting this. If you think beer is expensive try getting a mixed drink. At the local brew pub $15.00 for a Margarita, an excellent one but costly.

 

Incorrect. But thank you for the thoroughly entertaining thought maze you have created for an explanation.
Your ballpark and airport beer is set at the wallet inspectors cheat you fair price. You bought the ticket. You get to take the ride. Kinda like movie theatre popcorn costing x.xx for what you can make at home for about ¢.65, depending on the kernel and salt you use. Or, about $2-3 if you add bacon, and parmesan in on a medium sized bowl.
If you want to delve further. We have the popcorn.

 

I just can't afford "Good Beer" on a regular basis anymore.
Yeah, I splurge every once and a while, but even buying 6 pks is costly, not to mention ordering quality drafts somewhere out.
That's why I keep a hefty supply of homebrew on tap, to satisfy my urge for a great fresh quality brew. I can drink like a king on a peasant's wages. Plus, I brew them the way I like them, not what someone thinks I might enjoy.
Don't get me wrong, I love to try new & exciting releases just as much as the next beer nerd, but my wallet & wife often prevents me from doing so.
Unfortunately I don't see the costs of beer ingredients & shipping containers/transportation coming down any time in the near future.

 

Entertaining, but I found it an incomplete answer. While it described the range in complexity that can happen in brewing one style over another, I would have found it more informative if they had described how all the overhead costs translate to an added cost to an example 16 oz draft beer. For example: Take an example of total cost of rent+labor (including related payroll taxes, benefits, if any, etc) + insurance, +utilities, +amortized cost of all the equipment,+ cost of the brewing consumables, etc. and divide it all by the typical monthly output in number of equivalent 16 oz. pours. Ya, I know those costs vary from brewer to brewer, but a comprehensive example would be more instructive than them basically just saying "better beer is more expensive because ingredients cost more, and yields are lower".

 

This got me thinking, I’ve visited several breweries that might open at like noon- 2pm timeframe and when I go early there may only be a very small handful of patrons. Things may pick up a lot after 5pm. Wondering if they would get alot mor foot traffic if they offerred drastically reduced rates before 4pm or something. Just enough to make some profit margin but hopefully attracts more people who in turn buy to go beers, food if offered etc.

 

A brewery near us does things like a Tuesday Bingo night every week. They also do some other specials and they sponsor blood drives, etc. instead of just hanging out the shingle that offers beer for sale. I know this will reignite the firestorm of negative comments, but I still say offering flights will entice new drinkers. Flights are not the same as offering a free sample taster or two. Flights are social and can be shared. The brewer needs to decide if he want to sell beer and be inconvenienced by flights, or does he only want to appeal to the seasoned veteran beer drinker. My wife will willingly share a flight but hesitates to get a full 16 oz pour of anything.

 

If you think beer is expensive, try buying anything these days.

 

Glad you enjoyed it.

How long do you think they'd keep ballpark and airport prices at their current levels if no one was paying them? News flash: No one has a gun to your head forcing you to empty your wallet for a beer. If it's worth it to me, I'll pay it. If not, I won't. Supply and demand.

Enjoy your $18 beer and your $15 popcorn.

 

Don’t take this wrong but I think your response for Bingo nights and flight options doesn’t correlate to my thoughts on offering cheap beer during non-peak hours to bring in folks locally looking for a good deal who otherwise might not bother going to the brewery at all. I telework, as many do now-adays, and instead of spending 8-10 hrs a day working at my house, if I could occasionally do a few hrs in afternoon working off my laptop at a brewery tap room, have a beer or 2 and get home under $10 before the evening rush hour/traffic , I would do that option quite frequently. And generally, brewery taprooms have more space to spread out than a cafe/coffee shop to work. Plus people are more socialable at a brewery than a coffee shop, if you actually wanted to escape the telework reclusive/hermit lifestyle and be part of the real world with real people.

 

Actually, it correlates better than you think. At this small craft brewery early weekday nights (Monday/Tues) are dead...until Bingo came along. It packs the place.

 

I agree, and they would clearly have to include a disclaimer that the data were only for illustration of how all considered costs affect one example brewery. However, I personally would like data for one brewery than for no breweries. Data from the brewer's association showing some range of costs would be even more interesting. I suspect it might be very enlightening to show just how much a brick and mortar facility will all the associated hardware and costs of operating a business add to the more simplistic view that a brewer must be making tons of profit because the brewing consumables "only" cost "X"

 

That’s a good way to clean the draft lines each afternoon.

 

Even a bottle of water is a couple of bucks these days. Compared to that, beer is a bargain.