Wow what an expensive beer

Last night some friends and I were at a new restaurant opening in town. They had easily the best beer selection in town. Well because they were new, they didn't have half of the beers I ordered, which I understand. So I eventually ordered a Chimay Blue, which I had never had.

Anyhow come time to end the evening, the Chimay was $9! I have never paid so much for a beer at a restaurant. Maybe I am not classy enough for $9 beer but that is ridiculous IMO.

Sorry, just had to rant.

That's a normal price for that beer in a restaurant (assuming the 33 cl size, otherwise it is insanely cheap).

I don't spend a lot of time in South Dakota, but if $9 for a drink is going to bother you, it's better to ask.

I guess it is cause I have never ordered it in a restaurant and a $6 beer is understandable, it really surprised me. I have never paid that much for a beer before.

Side note, the west side of South Dakota doesn't have a high number of craft brews that are distributed here. I guess i am still learning that it does get more expensive for a good brew.

What did you think of the Chimay?

If they served the entire bottle that is about what I would expect as it would put it in the 100% markup area for that beer. But, I understand the frustration. In Seattle we have the Taphouse which has a lot of beers; however, the SOB's have an asterisk on their menu and when you read what it means it says something like, "these beers are rare or high in alcohol and are priced accordingly." Many of the beers are not expensive beers and are far from rare so what they really mean is, "These beers will get you drunk faster so you will order less so we have priced them to make up for potential loss of sales."

The 750 ml bottle is about $15 or $16 at BJs - that's less than two pints.

I thought the Chimay was good, I haven't had a trappist before and I will drink them again. Probably not at $9 a bottle, but as better beers come to town, the more I will have to adjust to paying.

I had Chimay blue on draft served in a Chimay goblet and it was 11$ at some allegedly "upscale" Italian bistro restaurant where I live. All there other taps were crap... I about crapped when i got the bill and my dinner was cheaper than the beer.

i've paid $18 a bottle for Westmalle Triple. But I also stole the goblet it came in!

Chimay blue is $11 a bottle at BevMo (chain liquor store) http://www.bevmo.com/Shop/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=1639 so I'd say $9 at a restaurant is pretty damn good. I'd be impressed with a restaurant that charged less than retail for a beer...

I guess I should have mentioned that is was the 330 mL bottle.

That's about what I've paid for Chimay/Duvel/Lindemans on tap. I've never actually seen the 330ml bottles.

chip82 said:

Last night some friends and I were at a new restaurant opening in town. They had easily the best beer selection in town. Well because they were new, they didn't have half of the beers I ordered, which I understand. So I eventually ordered a Chimay Blue, which I had never had.

Anyhow come time to end the evening, the Chimay was $9! I have never paid so much for a beer at a restaurant. Maybe I am not classy enough for $9 beer but that is ridiculous IMO.

Sorry, just had to rant.

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You gotta be kidding. A rant about paying $9 for a bottle of Chimay in a restaurant? How could you not think it's worth it ?

chip82 said:

I thought the Chimay was good, I haven't had a trappist before and I will drink them again. Probably not at $9 a bottle, but as better beers come to town, the more I will have to adjust to paying.

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I find that I enjoy Belgian beers, but not always, depending upon what I'm looking for or in the mood for. For example, I enjoy Duvel occasionally (in the bottle) at my favorite pub, but wouldn't drink it all the time. Same with Grimbergen and Unibroue. I enjoy them, but it has to be at the right time/place. Not an everyday beer style for me.

I've got a Belgian blonde in the fermenter right now, haven't made a Belgian for a couple of years, I think, so am looking forward to it.

shutupjojo said:

You gotta be kidding. A rant about paying $9 for a bottle of Chimay in a restaurant? How could you not think it's worth it ?

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Well, if someone was looking for a good quality craft beer, but they were out and he ended up with Chimay without specifically looking for an expensive Belgian beer, yes, I understand how someone could be surprised at the price.

This wasn't in Rapid City was it?

If I recall the SWMBO paid around $110 for a case of Chimay Grand Reserve for my birthday last year. This was the smaller 330 ml bottles. I think it was well worth it. As far as restaurants, a few have it around here and I've seen it go as high as $12/bottle.

beerloaf

Yes it was in rapid. Murphy's had a pre opening party last night.

Most beers I get are in the $7-15 mark. I got mad one time when I was charged $22 for a stone runeation

All I can say is don't develop a taste for sours.

HokieBrewer said:

All I can say is don't develop a taste for sours.

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Seriously, most I've ever paid was $11 for a 10 oz ish glass of BFM Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien (Did I get all that right?). Such a tasty beer though.

You guys have it good, a cheap no-name beer on tap here in Iceland can cost as much as 10-11 bucks

I bought a single bottle of Fullers 2010 Vintage Ale out of a liqoure store for 17 dollars the other day. Imagine how much that would cost at a restaurant.

I can understand you feel the need to rant, but can´t say I feel much pain for you all hehe

Pappers_ said:

Well, if someone was looking for a good quality craft beer, but they were out and he ended up with Chimay without specifically looking for an expensive Belgian beer, yes, I understand how someone could be surprised at the price.

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I still don't understand why you would be surprised. It's a restaurant.
A glass of good wine is gonna cost ya. A good beer from Belgium is gonna cost ya. Good food is gonna cost ya. How much have you payed for a beer at a ball game or concert ? $ 9 bucks aint bad unless you don't get out much.

fuhmon said:

I had Chimay blue on draft served in a Chimay goblet and it was 11$ at some allegedly "upscale" Italian bistro restaurant where I live. All there other taps were crap... I about crapped when i got the bill and my dinner was cheaper than the beer.

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Is Chimay blue available on draft? I thought the only trappist beers that ever found their way to kegs were Chimay White and Westmalle Dubbel. That is what BLAM says, at least.

RIT_Warrior said:

Is Chimay blue available on draft? I thought the only trappist beers that ever found their way to kegs were Chimay White and Westmalle Dubbel. That is what BLAM says, at least.

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Wegman's grocery store has red on tap at their bar.

To OP: I was at a RAVE last fri and paid $9 a heineken. Such bull****, it was all illegal anyways.

Gfei said:

Seriously, most I've ever paid was $11 for a 10 oz ish glass of BFM Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien (Did I get all that right?). Such a tasty beer though.

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Lol, go get some some fruit lambic made with schaerbeekse cherries. That is entry level.

firebird400 said:

You guys have it good, a cheap no-name beer on tap here in Iceland can cost as much as 10-11 bucks

I bought a single bottle of Fullers 2010 Vintage Ale out of a liqoure store for 17 dollars the other day. Imagine how much that would cost at a restaurant.

I can understand you feel the need to rant, but can´t say I feel much pain for you all hehe

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A small (8 oz or so) glass of Asahi in Tokyo is about $14. Oddly craft beer is a bit less.

RIT_Warrior said:

Is Chimay blue available on draft? I thought the only trappist beers that ever found their way to kegs were Chimay White and Westmalle Dubbel. That is what BLAM says, at least.

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You are correct. Chimay Blue is not kegged. The White however is readily available in kegs.

chip82 said:

Yes it was in rapid. Murphy's had a pre opening party last night.

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I was hoping it was in Brookings I forget what we were paying for Crow's Peak at the Wild Sage Grill... I think it was 5 for a can but that's not the same as Chimay!

rexbanner said:

Wegman's grocery store has red on tap at their bar.

To OP: I was at a RAVE last fri and paid $9 a heineken. Such bull****, it was all illegal anyways.

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This thread at beeradvocate says that only the white is available on tap:

http://beeradvocate.com/forum/read/2284466

and that even though some places claim to have the red or blue on tap it is just the white that has been mislabeled. Others in the thread claim they have had either the blue or the red on tap....

Brew Like a Monk definitely says that only the white is on tap.

Maybe they changed the policy recently?

Also, the chimay website lists 4 different beers:

Chimay Red
Chimay White
Chimay White on Tap
Chimay Blue

So it specifically calls out the white on tap, but it doesn't mention the red and the blue as being on tap.

Also, what Wegmans has a bar? That is awesome!

$9 for Chimay is a good deal here in New York. Shoot, that Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien costs $24 for a small bottle at whole foods.

Regarding trappist beer on tap, I've had La Trappe Dubbel on tap (best dubbel I've ever had).

I paid $23 for a 750ml bottle Chimay Red at Morton's one time. They didn't have any other beer, what was I to do?

$9 for a Chimay is about what I see. I probably wouldn't pay it but I don't think it's an unfair price.

rexbanner said:

To OP: I was at a RAVE last fri and paid $9 a heineken. Such bull****, it was all illegal anyways.

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I usually go with water from the faucet

:rockin:

Well I guess I don't feel as bad about paying $9. I suppose I will have to buy it and drink it at home and "settle" for buying Odell.

I guess you've never heard of / have any Taco Mac's. Go there and see how much a good beer costs...

Ghostly said:

$9 for Chimay is a good deal here in New York. Shoot, that Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien costs $24 for a small bottle at whole foods.

Regarding trappist beer on tap, I've had La Trappe Dubbel on tap (best dubbel I've ever had).

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You are correct! I think the reason that BLAM claimed that only Chimay White and Westmalle Dubbel were on tap was that La Trappe wasn't an official Trappist product when he wrote that.

I pay about four bucks a bottle. For 750ml. And I get free glasses when I buy three. Or I can buy the six packs of 33cL bottles for around 7 bucks and a free glass. Of course I get Cantillons for 4 euros from the source too. And 3F, De Cam, etc. I'm so going to miss Europe when I move back to the states.

rexbanner said:

Wegman's grocery store has red on tap at their bar.

To OP: I was at a RAVE last fri and paid $9 a heineken. Such bull****, it was all illegal anyways.

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your wegman's has draft in DC??? you sir, suck.