How Much Will You Pay For Beer?

[KillerIguana]

One of my favorite beers is Stone's Ruination. I went to grab a 6 pack the other day, until I noticed the price was almost $19.00. I think that was the first time I put a beer back on the shelve because of the price. I understand what's involved in producing these high end beers, but I can buy SN Celebration for about $12.00 a 6 pack, so that seemed a bit outrageous.

I'm just curious as to how much Ruination is going for in other parts of the country?
And, what's the most you paid for a 6 pack of domestic craft beer?

 

[Gear101]

Most I have paid was 30usd for a 4 pack, my date thought I was crazy. I also paid 13usd for one 120 Dog.

 

[wailingguitar]

The most I paid for a domestic craft beer was probably $10... I got Bigfoot for $8.99 the last time I bought it.

The most I have paid for any beer?

Thomas Hardy was about $7 for an 8oz bottle, and that was a long time ago.

In the late 80s Samuel Smith's was about $17 for a 6 in Michigan... I bought a few of those when I could afford it. I loved it then, but haven't had one of their beers in probably 15 years, so I can't comment as to whether or not I would think much of it now.

 

[firebirdude]

The most I ever paid for any beer? $11 for one 12oz Miller at a concert this past weekend. I said, "How much?!" Then chuckled, paid the lady and didn't drink for the rest of the night.

 

[Aschecte]

Depends ..... For a everyday maybe up to $14 for a good lambic or triple I have spent up to $260 for a bottle of Utopias ( a huge waste ), more common up ti $40 for a limited release.

 

[Fastmetal]

I paid $18 for a 20oz draft of Stone IPA in Vegas last week.

 

[badbrew]

I wanted to buy a 6 pack of dead guy ale at vons the other day but put it back because it was like $12. So I'd say $10 is my limit on 6 packs in the store. Trader Joes has 22 oz arrogant bastards for $4. That's pretty much my beer buying limit these days when I'm not at a bar.

 

[Airborneguy]

^ Hands down the most expensive beers have been at sporting events and concerts for me also. But assuming that the OP is asking about off-the-shelf beers, for me it really depends. I generally don't grab the most expensive beers on any sort of regular basis, but I will occasionally check out some special releases or bombers that can get up there. Honestly, my trades with Bottlebomber has been the most expensive if you count shipping.

 

[Gear101]

I have spent up to $260 for a bottle of Utopias ( a huge waste )

Really, I have seen it around but never wanted to try it, now I amm glad, heard it taste like brandy, which I don't like.

 

[badbrew]

I paid $18 for a 20oz draft of Stone IPA in Vegas last week.

Hope it was in a nightclub at the top of the rio overlooking the strip.:fro:

 

[Cromwell]

I haven't bought it, but some people do...

http://www.internetwines.com/rws28347.html

 

[hungry4hops]

Bought a case of victory dark intrigue for 195.00! The most i have ever paid for beer and Worth it!

 

[Aschecte]

Really, I have seen it around but never wanted to try it, now I amm glad, heard it taste like brandy, which I don't like.

Absolutely tastes like brandy !!! It's a sipping type of beer, it is very strong but IMHO not worth the price nor is it really enjoyable to me as a beer drinker. The bottle in the other hand is awesome.

 

[two_hearted]

$23 for a bomber or barrel aged Rasputin. I might drink it on my birthday at the end of the month.

 

[BradleyBrew]

I paid $18 for a 20oz draft of Stone IPA in Vegas last week.

Dude, I would have handed that back to them. Wow!

 

[Lgaddy44]

Finally found a local store with some Jolly Pumpkin, last weekend. I wasn't quite expecting the $14 (La Roja) and $18 (Madrugada Obscura) prices, but I still couldn't resist buyin a couple of each. Better than the $10 a glass I've been paying at the local pub.

 

[ntalkers]

$50 for a bottle of 3 Floyds Dark Lord de Muerte @ Dark Lord Day 2011. Still haven't drank it.

 

[BrewKnurd]

Hope it was in a nightclub at the top of the rio overlooking the strip.:fro:

I once paid 27 dollars for a crown and seven and a gin and tonic in that club.

More to the topic, I think a fifteen dollar bottle of jolly pumpkin is the most I've paid in a store. In a bar, I think a 17 dollar bottle of de struesse is the highest I've paid for something for me. I did buy a friend a bottle of sink the bismark at a local bar for his birthday. That clocked in at 140.

Oh, I guess my priciest store purchase was actually a 3-liter bottle of double bastard.

 

[voltin]

I recently paid $100 (shipping makes up $20 of that) for a case of Heratic from Beerjobber. That's probably the most I have spent on beer, but I am getting a fair amount for the money.

 

[Jayhem]

You guys are nuts. The most I would pay for a good craft brew is about $10 for a 6-pack. Anything above that is just ridiculous....just like a $300 bottle of wine does not taste 10 times better than a $30 bottle, same applies to beers.

I started brewing because I like certain tastes that are only available in overly expensive microbrews...and I can brew it for the cost of a case of Miller Lite.

 

[Tinga]

I think most of the money goes into the hedonic value of the beer. I mean it probably really only cost the brewery a couple bucks to make a bomber but the fact that the beer is limited and made in an adventurous spirit makes it worth more to some people. It's really just how much you value the other stuff on top of the beer..... Yeah I'm a marketing guy.

But there is a brew pub near me that made a small batch of framboise and a 750 of it was $25. I felt bad about that though. that was too expensive. It was delicious though. The bottle was 94 of 204 or so. So I think that is pretty neat.

 

[BrewKnurd]

You guys are nuts. The most I would pay for a good craft brew is about $10 for a 6-pack. Anything above that is just ridiculous....just like a $300 bottle of wine does not taste 10 times better than a $30 bottle, same applies to beers.

Sometimes its not about pure economics.

I have significant memories of the experience involved in some of the more amazing beers I've had. I do not have any such memories of $8 six packs. I'm not knocking moderately priced beer, its wonderful that it exists and perfect for every day drinking. But it's typically not a special experience. I have absolutely zero objection to paying extra for a special experience now and again.

 

[Desertups]

I've just recently bought a case of Rogue's Dirtoir Black Lager that my wife loves. That was probably around $60. Still have a bottle of Utopias that I haven't opened. But what I normally spend on beer at the store is roughly $8.99 for a six pack. This is your SN torpedo or their Rye which I really like right now, Stone's IPA, etc. I did buy some Dogfish Head 120 for $10 a 12 oz bottle, but that was only because I hadn't had the chance to try any yet. Most of the higher priced stuff, I'll try once at least, but usually don't go out of my way to get more. My standard purchase: 22 oz bottle of Arrogant Bastard. Love that stuff!

 

[SirBrewsAlot]

I will never buy a 6 pack when you can get a whole case for not much more.

 

[Fastmetal]

Dude, I would have handed that back to them. Wow!

That's Vegas. The day before I paid $20 for a fruity drink at Margaritaville (it was 8am I needed my fruit juice). It had 8 shots of rum in it. I felt worse for my buddy who paid $9 for a 12oz bottle of Coors Light. We did drink 8 hours for free at the blackjack tables downtown and both cashed out with a lot more than we started with so it's all good.

 

[ArcaneXor]

I spend $7 for a snifter of beer at the beers bars around town almost every weekend, and don't have a problem paying well beyond $20 a bottle for a special experience - things like the Mikkeler Nelson Sauvin Brut, some of the Cantillon beers (for which I'd pay much more than $20), etc.
For "regular" bottled beers, I am pretty cheap. There are perfectly good pale ales, IPAs, Weizens, etc. for under $12 a sixpack. No reason to spend twice that.

 

[KillerIguana]

My standard purchase: 22 oz bottle of Arrogant Bastard. Love that stuff!

Me too! What's a 22 oz. bottle cost in your neck of the woods?

 

[urbanmyth]

Duchesse is about $16 a four pack around here. That is the most I have spent, I think.

 

[Jayhem]

Sometimes its not about pure economics.

I have significant memories of the experience involved in some of the more amazing beers I've had. I do not have any such memories of $8 six packs. I'm not knocking moderately priced beer, its wonderful that it exists and perfect for every day drinking. But it's typically not a special experience. I have absolutely zero objection to paying extra for a special experience now and again.

I understand where you are coming from with this.

I remember the dining experiences most in very expensive restaurants. Was the food really that much better? Not really. But the presentation/atmosphere and the fact that you made special effort to dress up made it memorable. I think in a similar way a special or limited beer would provide a lasting memory because it's simply not the "normal".

 

[Bmorebrew]

The most I'll pay? Probably the $14 a sixpack for Nugget Nectar - and I'll only end up getting one or two of em. I don't have a major problem paying $10 a sixer. It's pretty normal to pay $5 or so for a draft pint, and I would consider a nice sixer better than two drafts. Not a whole lot better, but still worth it depending on the beer.

 

[David8464]

Most I've spent is about $17 for a 4 pack of St. Bernardus Tripel which was well worth it and I'd do it again if my local store would ever restock them. They have kind of a rotating inventory, so it's good in that I get to try new stuff every week, but bad when I find one I really like and they don't carry it anymore.

 

[Whippy]

My standard is no more than $15 USD for 6 or $10 USD for 4. I admit to having spent $10 or $12 on a 22oz from time to time if it is something special.

 

[weirdboy]

You guys are nuts. The most I would pay for a good craft brew is about $10 for a 6-pack. Anything above that is just ridiculous....just like a $300 bottle of wine does not taste 10 times better than a $30 bottle, same applies to beers.

Good luck finding a lot of 6 packs that meet your criteria in LA. Granted, there are some but your options are significantly limited.


My local grocery has 4-packs of DFH 90 minute for $18, which I did buy one time without looking at the price. Never again. I don't even like 90 minute that much, so it was abysmally stupid and I drank one bottle and gave the rest away.


I have also paid $30 per 750ml bottle for Black Tuesday, but there is a healthy aftermarket for those so I buy extra to sell, and that covers the cost of the ones I keep to drink.

 

[Desertups]

Depending on which store I go to, it's between 4 & 5 for a bottle of ABA.

 

[Jayhem]

Good luck finding a lot of 6 packs that meet your criteria in LA. Granted, there are some but your options are significantly limited.

I have cousins in LA. Good luck finding ANYTHING affordable in LA. There are 2 microbrewers around here I drink a lot of (Star Hill & Old Dominion) that are very good microbrews for the price and they usually run about $16-$18 for a 12-case which is the same price as Sam Adams and most higher end imports.

 

[pm5k00]

$12 for a sixer is my max, $7 for a bomber.... anything that cost more ill just buy a single 12oz bottle from central market (fancy grocery store around here) and if I like it ill look up a clone recipe.

 

[bottlebomber]

^ Honestly, my trades with Bottlebomber has been the most expensive if you count shipping.

Word. I'd pay a 20 bill for a six pack of Porkslap though. It's my favorite beer of the lot, excluding the Pearl Jam beer that I can't speak for yet.

I am guilty of spending up to $25 for a 750ml, or $14 for a 4 pack... But my limit? Dammit I don't know of there is one. I won't buy Utopias so I guess there is one somewhere. But before that who knows. I did recently spend 6 hours of my weekend to get some Pliny the Younger. What's the price tag on that? A couple hundred dollars?

 

[CPFITNESS]

I paid $18 for a 20oz draft of Stone IPA in Vegas last week.

you need to gamble more

 

[CPFITNESS]

I once paid 27 dollars for a crown and seven and a gin and tonic in that club.

More to the topic, I think a fifteen dollar bottle of jolly pumpkin is the most I've paid in a store. In a bar, I think a 17 dollar bottle of de struesse is the highest I've paid for something for me. I did buy a friend a bottle of sink the bismark at a local bar for his birthday. That clocked in at 140.

Oh, I guess my priciest store purchase was actually a 3-liter bottle of double bastard.

$13 is standard mixed drink price at any NYC bar that isn't a dive bar.

Most i've spent on beer, hmm. My local craft shop has a few random 22oz bottles that have gone up to about $20 for some of the dogfish head brews like the Bitches Brew, and the Howl at the moon or whatever it's called. Everything is expensive in manhattan so even a 6 pack of Sam Adams is $15 in many places and it's hard to find a lot of good craft beer in stores here. Since I know if I go out to a bar I'd be paying $6-8 for a pint I generally wouldn't have an issue with paying $20 for a 6 pack though this is one of the reasons I got into homebrewing. saves me a lot of money.

 

[downtown3641]

I have cousins in LA. Good luck finding ANYTHING affordable in LA. There are 2 microbrewers around here I drink a lot of (Star Hill & Old Dominion) that are very good microbrews for the price and they usually run about $16-$18 for a 12-case which is the same price as Sam Adams and most higher end imports.

It's worth pointing out that ABInBev purchased a stake in Old Dominion and moved operations to Delaware a few years ago. They're not a local brewery anymore. However, Lost Rhino purchased the space in Loudon Co. and are cranking out some good beers. There are also some other great Virginia breweries.

To answer the original question, I've shelled out $20+ for limited release four packs and 750ml bottles. Im generally spending between $8 and $11 for regular release six-packs. I'm also more than happy to spend between $8 and $15 to fill growlers at breweries to bypass the distribution system.