jerrodm
Well-Known Member
OK this goes against my better judgment--it seems like a good way to end up arguing endlessly about things, which is something that I try not to do. But I guess the socratic voice inside me feels like there's a chance to clear up misconceptions about the economics of beer--cost of supplies, cost of beers, etc. etc.
So at the risk of opening several cans of worms, I'm planning to post some thoughts on such important topics as--is the price of beer related to the cost of brewing it, or not?
Are BMCs monopolies? If so, what does that mean about the price of beer in the market?
Why does a pound of Fuggles cost so damn much?!
Should I account for the cost of my equipment (or my time, or anything else) when figuring out whether brewing is "worth it"?
I think there might be at least a couple of people on the forums who would potentially be interested. However, that being said, I'm not going to go through all the work to write this stuff up if no one thinks it's worthwhile, so I'm including a poll here--if you'd like to read about the economics of beer, let me know. Otherwise, this will be my first and last post in this thread.
I'm attaching a rather longish introduction to the microeconomics of demand as applied to beer, which I whipped up this afternoon. I tried as hard as I could to keep it simple and to explain any economic-speak that I did use, hopefully it's intelligible. If anyone has questions, feel free to ask. Also, I'm really not trying to throw my credentials around (I've learned a lot about economics from people who haven't graduated from an econ program), but so that people know where I'm coming from: I taught graduate level microeconomic theory and policy as a student teacher at a major state university for two years, and I'm currently a practicing professional economist, so this is something I know quite a bit about, have taught in the past and enjoy discussing.
OK that was way too long. If anyone's interested let me know; otherwise, may this fade into the ether of the interwebz, never to be seen again!
View attachment Beerconomics.pdf
So at the risk of opening several cans of worms, I'm planning to post some thoughts on such important topics as--is the price of beer related to the cost of brewing it, or not?
Are BMCs monopolies? If so, what does that mean about the price of beer in the market?
Why does a pound of Fuggles cost so damn much?!
Should I account for the cost of my equipment (or my time, or anything else) when figuring out whether brewing is "worth it"?
I think there might be at least a couple of people on the forums who would potentially be interested. However, that being said, I'm not going to go through all the work to write this stuff up if no one thinks it's worthwhile, so I'm including a poll here--if you'd like to read about the economics of beer, let me know. Otherwise, this will be my first and last post in this thread.
I'm attaching a rather longish introduction to the microeconomics of demand as applied to beer, which I whipped up this afternoon. I tried as hard as I could to keep it simple and to explain any economic-speak that I did use, hopefully it's intelligible. If anyone has questions, feel free to ask. Also, I'm really not trying to throw my credentials around (I've learned a lot about economics from people who haven't graduated from an econ program), but so that people know where I'm coming from: I taught graduate level microeconomic theory and policy as a student teacher at a major state university for two years, and I'm currently a practicing professional economist, so this is something I know quite a bit about, have taught in the past and enjoy discussing.
OK that was way too long. If anyone's interested let me know; otherwise, may this fade into the ether of the interwebz, never to be seen again!
View attachment Beerconomics.pdf
