Alright, here's a little list of the IPAs that are available in multipacks from my local beer store that doesn't have crazy gouging liquor store prices. I picked the ones that I actually enjoy and would drink (and some mentions from the thread):
http://www.wineaccess.com/file/store/totalwine/beer-totalwine-ranchocucamonga.pdf
Avery IPA (CO): $7.99/6pk
Anderson Valley Racer 5 IPA (CA): $6.99/6pk
Ballast Point Big Eye IPA (CA): $8.99/6pk
Dogfish 60 (DE): $8.99/6pk
Dogfish 90 (DE): $8.49/4pk
Firestone Union Jack IPA (CA): $9.49/6pk
Flying Dog IPA (MD): $7.49/6pk
Flying Dog Double Dog DIPA (MD): $7.99/4pk
Green Flash West Coast IPA: $7.99/4pk
Great Divide Titan IPA (CO): $10.49/6pk
Lagunitas IPA (CA): $7.99/6pk
New Belgium Ranger (CA): $6.99/6pk
Oskar Blues GUBNA Imperial IPA (CO): $14.99/4pk
Sierra Nevada Torpedo (CA): $6.99/6pk
Stone IPA (CA): $7.99/6pk
Stone Ruination IPA (CA): $11.99/6pk
Victory Hop Devil (PA): $7.99/6pk
Victory Hop Wollop (PA): $9.99/6pk
So comparing actual apples to apples (IE: beer prices across the same store, for the same style) Dogfish Head is...midrange. It's not the cheapest beer out there, it's not the most expensive. Also, the difference between the cheapest beers (New Belgium and SN) and the rest is like....$1-2 a 6 pack. For me, I'll pay an extra $2 to get something if I prefer it.
Sounds like some of you guys have Joe Liquor Store Owner who saw DFH on TV and decided to jerk up the prices. Although, at my local store, since the TV show came out, they have ZERO stock of DFH beers. Not a single one of them. So demand looks to have shot up too, possibly beyond current supplies. But the notion that they're somehow overpriced? Silly.
So, my personal summary of this thread:
- Some people have store owners that mark Dogfish WAY up.
- Some people prefer their local IPA to other, national IPAs
- Some people are more than happy with the more mellow and cheap IPAs like SN Torpedo
- Some people don't like higher priced special edition beers as a rule, and DFH makes a lot of them
Dogfish's multipacks are comparably priced to the competition, their special beers are also competitively priced and typically include ingredients that make them more difficult to brew and also more expensive. Yes, the 18% ABV Stout is fairly expensive. Can anyone think of a cheaper 18% ABV stout?
If we're declaring DFH too expensive, we're basically declaring craft beer as a whole too expensive.