Beer prices going UP

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From everything I've heard, the craft and micro industry are not seeing issues with sales. Maybe those 1.5% who aren't buying from INBEV are buying somewhere else. :D
 
McKBrew said:
Maybe those 1.5% who aren't buying from INBEV are buying somewhere else. :D
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My father stopped drinking Bud when they stopped being an american company. Surprisingly, hes now buying beer from the more local breweries (wachusset, harpoon, red hook, etc).

So, WIN, I guess.
 
I just came on here to post the same story, looks like I was beaten to it.

Either way, i have not bought a BMC product in quite some time. So this makes my homebrewing even more worthwhile...time to crank up production!
 
I wonder if this is backlash from the sale of the company to InBev. Maybe Anheuser should have raised prices a while back. Then they wouldn't have to sell in the first place.

Who knows. The beer companies have to make up for people buying less because of the increase in sin taxes going around too.

Lord knows they can't make the product any cheaper!
 
My prices are going down...

$.65/pound malt
$1/ounce hops
$1/brew yeast

I can brew 5 gallons of 1.055 beer for about $9.50

I dont care if the commercial brewing industry implodes!
 
I talked about the market with Ron Widmer a couple months ago. He says sales at the brewpub are down, food sales are way down, but both keg and supermarket sales are up a lot. Given that the Widmer Gasthaus is in a sparsely populated industrial area, I can see the problem they are having. $20 for 5L of Hefeweizen, not bad.

Mark at GVB says beer sales are up, but most of the growth has been in his new American Light Hybrid. It's savaging their BMC sales.
 
The Pol said:
My prices are going down...

$.65/pound malt
$1/ounce hops
$1/brew yeast

I can brew 5 gallons of 1.055 beer for about $9.50

I dont care if the commercial brewing industry implodes!
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The commercial brewing industry is the only reason you can get malt for $.65/pound and hops for $1/lb.

If the commercial brewing industry implodes, so does the commercial malting industry.
 
david_42 said:
I talked about the market with Ron Widmer a couple months ago. He says sales at the brewpub are down, food sales are way down, but both keg and supermarket sales are up a lot.
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That makes sense. Bad economy, people are more likely to buy a $8 6 pack than a $5 beer.
 
weirdboy said:
A recent post on the AHA website says craft beer sales have actually increased 9% year-over-year for the industry as a whole.

Frankly, I don't care how much Bud costs because I'm not buying it anyway.
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True true, maybe people are just improving thier tastes!
 
The commercial brewing industry is the only reason you can get malt for $.65/pound and hops for $1/lb.
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I'm new to homebrewing, and this is the first thing I thought!

if BMC stops buying hops and malt, then all of a sudden I bet we can't afford it:)
 
I think it is more than a little alarmist to think that any of these guys are going out of business.... cmon.

Also, if commodity prices are up and sales are down, of course you have to raise prices. Your revenue is decreasing but you still have to make payroll and keep the lights on, those costs dont go away. Also, if your raw materials cost more, you have to charge more.

Airlines have tried the "charge less to get market share" game for a long time, even in the face of increasing costs and lower demand... it doesnt work obviously, because all you do is start a race to the bottom where no one wins.

When your costs go up and demand goes down, a price drop would be insult to injury. The only way you can increase revenue IMHO is by offering the customer something that you arent already, something that has value to them that you can attach a margin to. Doing the same thing you have always done in a changing world is akin to economic suicide. Niches dont last forever.

If you are in a business where you only compete because of price, you are screwed, because someone will always do it cheaper, you need an edge, and price is not an edge. This is obvious when looking at craft brew sales.
 
metaltim said:
I'm new to homebrewing, and this is the first thing I thought!

if BMC stops buying hops and malt, then all of a sudden I bet we can't afford it:)
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Only if they stop buying it because nobody is drinking beer. If they stop buying because people are drinking other beer besides BMC, or making it themselves, the malt production stays the same.
 
Before we get all panicky and sht, remember that we are talking about BEER! I have a hunch that the increase in price is going to happen, and that it will probably pale in comparison to the tax increase most places will see as the Gubment tries to balance their budget by increasing taxes on all kind of things.

True, some will cut back, but honestly, drinking beer is a national pastime for many people. May too many to make me worry about the companies going under. They might cut back on expensive advertising, or boost price a few pennies.
 
weirdboy said:
Only if they stop buying it because nobody is drinking beer. If they stop buying because people are drinking other beer besides BMC, or making it themselves, the malt production stays the same.
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Exaclty...

So we are to assume that if BMC sells less, that means that people are just not drinking anymore? I dont see the connection.
 
The Pol said:
Also, if commodity prices are up and sales are down, of course you have to raise prices.
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Right, but are the commodity prices actually going up? Every large business says they are when they raise their prices, but Hops certainly haven't gone up. They're much cheaper than they've been lately. Grain? I don't know.
 
weirdboy said:
Only if they stop buying it because nobody is drinking beer. If they stop buying because people are drinking other beer besides BMC, or making it themselves, the malt production stays the same.
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The only way BMC goes away is if people stop drinking beer.
 
Synovia said:
Right, but are the commodity prices actually going up? Every large business says they are when they raise their prices, but Hops certainly haven't gone up. They're much cheaper than they've been lately. Grain? I don't know.
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Reportedly, they are. I would think that hops are the smallest cost to BMC... I mean do they use them? Grain prices? Yeast? I dunno, but reportedly so.
 
weirdboy said:
Only if they stop buying it because nobody is drinking beer. If they stop buying because people are drinking other beer besides BMC, or making it themselves, the malt production stays the same.
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I don't think anyone is jumping to the conclusion that the largest commercial breweries are going to stop buying malt, but what they have already done is cut support for research into new malt varieties, new hop varieties and even yeast research. We've already seen this happening with the trends at the commercial hop farms - the emphasis on high-AA% varieties has pushed noble hops out of favor, and some varieties are in danger of becoming completely abandoned.
 
Synovia said:
My father stopped drinking Bud when they stopped being an american company. Surprisingly, hes now buying beer from the more local breweries (wachusset, harpoon, red hook, etc).

So, WIN, I guess.
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Did you know that Redhook is partially owned by Anheuser-Busch? Still awesome your dad is drinking craft now.
 
This could be a good thing for craft brewers. A lot of people might try craft beer if the price wasn't much higher than BMC. If the $6 Bud six pack goes to $8... people may be willing to try a $10 craft beer.
 
Well, if brewing ceases to exist... I suppose we can work at our desks instead of browsing HBT all day. Or spend time with our families instead of brewing every weekend.:D

Or, there is basket weaving.
 
mysteryberto said:
Did you know that Redhook is partially owned by Anheuser-Busch? Still awesome your dad is drinking craft now.
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A-B isn't running things, they just handle physical distribution. Redhook still has all their own brewmasters and is definately "running their own show".

I visit the brewery in Woodinville regularly - great place! Their ESB is still a great beer! :D
 
Not to make you guys jealous but we sell to a Malt producer here at work. I've been talking to the guy and he'll sell whatever I need straight from his wharehouse. I can even trade him for some of my seconds inventory.
 

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