Beer prices - yikes

[OldWorld]

Sculpin is cheap compared to MIkeller. How about 18 bucks for a single twelve ounce bottle. I absolutely refuse to drink Mikeller beer. I don't care if it is good. I'm not paying for it.

Sculpin is alright but I'd never buy one again. It's just another good beer among many.

How about Russian River sour beer? They used to be in 750ML bottles for the same price...

Sadly the artificial scarcity game is making much of craft beer less of a good value than it used to be.

 

[Calichusetts]

We do realize that stores and distributors make up the bulk of pricing right?

 

[b-boy]

I think I pay about $16 for Sculpin in NY. It's easily the most expensive 6-pack I buy. I don't buy it very often. One of the local places breaks out 6-packs and sells individual bottles. I've been going that route lately.

Did you ever go back and retrieve that beer? I would. That's like leaving a wallet full of money at someone's house.

 

[Baja_Brewer]

I had a Sculpin earlier today. It was good but not $13-16/6 good. Then I went and purchased a 16oz Maple Breakfast Stout 4-pack for $12. Also good. I'd probably pay it again.

I think the $6+ bomber is the best market for breweries to be in. I don't hold it against them, but I also don't pay for it that often.

I'm comfortable with the $12-$15 growler range, more if its good or high gravity.

 

[b-boy]

Not after my uKeg128 Christmas gift finally gets here in July! :rockin:

That looks like something you'd see a SteamPunk aficionado walking around with. Pretty cool looking.

 

[Baja_Brewer]

Not after my uKeg128 Christmas gift finally gets here in July! :rockin:

I just heard of this a few days ago. Are they going to make the 128oz with a larger CO2 cartridge so it can do a full gallon? They admit on the site that the 8 gram cartridge is good for maintaining serving pressure in one (64oz) growler- so what's the deal for a larger one?

 

[wtaylor3]

Bell's hopslam is $19/sixer and $62/ case. The day it was released I watch a guy carry out 7 cases. Must be nice I thought. I've got to try one of the clone recipes I see around.

Lots of places sell craft beer by the bottle so I typically build my own 6 pk. New Holland's dragon milk stout isnt cheap either $4/12 oz bottle

 

[brick_haus]

I just bought two 12 packs of Pliny The Elder (($126 plus tax/crv). and one BOTTLE each of Russian River's sour beers ($13 + each).
My local Costco has Sculpin bombers at $6.09 right now.

 

[brewprint]

I just bought two 12 packs of Pliny The Elder (($126 plus tax/crv). and one BOTTLE each of Russian River's sour beers ($13 + each).
My local Costco has Sculpin bombers at $6.09 right now.

My lord I would not buy a case of beer for $126. There is no way. That sculpin is cheap but I despise costco.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Bell's hopslam is $19/sixer and $62/ case.

Holy wow. I've never seen it for sale in the store, so I have nothing to compare it to. But there is a bar in SW MI that had Hopslam last April for $6/pint. Two things odd about that: He had Hopslam in April. It was $6/pint. I had...a few...

 

[wtaylor3]

I'm also in SW Michigan and I would love to find hopslam in April... I bought the hopslam at the bells general store which is my lhbs. They said to another customer that they had 15 cases that morning when they opened and they were all gone in a half hour.

As far as distributor mark up bells general store had the special double.cream stout for 10.52 megabev had it for 15....

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

I'm also in SW Michigan and I would love to find hopslam in April...

As far as distributor mark up bells general store had the special double.cream stout for 10.52 megabev had it for 15....

Check out 221 Main in SJ. That's where I found it last year, and the owner is a real good guy. I'm hoping to check them out over the next couple weeks to see if they still have some on tap.

Regarding markup: my understanding in Chicago is that the Distributers get ~30% of sales (not sure how it relates to other locales). Making beer and selling beer isn't the business to be in. Distributing the freakin' beer is.

 

[rmyurick]

Yeah, the Sculpin is great, but usually I can find something good in the $8-9 dollar range, like a Sweetwater or Deschutes. Did pay $16 for a bomber of Deschutes XXVI Porter. It was good, but I probably enjoy their stout just as much.

 

[edroberts]

This is one of the reasons I am stoked that I've started brewing. Even if I brew an expensive extract kit that costs me 50 bucks I still come out ahead if I'm paying a minimum of 11 or 12 bucks for a six pack of something decent. I figure that's twice the cost of brewing an IPA that I like. The fact that I actually enjoy brewing it is just icing on the cake. Save money, drinking good original beers, and have fun doing it!

This makes sense in a way... but I drink a heck of a lot more beer now that I homebrew than I did before. So it can be a wash.

 

[Calichusetts]

Stores tack on another 30% at least. I've seen prices on a 4-pack of bigfoot go from $9 to $16 around my parts

Bars triple the price of the beer. Some go as high as five-times what they paid for it

 

[kev211]

Its kinda sad our geography plays into the price too. I understand why it does, its just a bummer. I can get a case of sculpin for about 35 bucks. Yet, some of the smaller east coast breweries are 12 bucks for a non-special edition 22 ipa

 

[Pyg]

The beer I buy most often cost:
SN $16.99 /12 ($17.59 after bottle deposit)
Saranac $14.99 /12 ($15.59)
Browns $9.99 /6 ($10.29)

My last batch of pale ale,
Kit-$42 and gave me 50 12 oz bottles =$.84 a bottle
SN $17.59 for 12= $1.46 a bottle

Mine $42.00 for 50
SN $73.00 for 50

So it is cheaper to make my own beer, especially when my last kit came to $23 after a bunch of coupons.
However I like to mix up my beer purchases, to try different things, but craft beer is pricey at my local beer shop. Of course my local beer shop stocks alot of craft beer that many other places dont.
So sometimes I just have to grab a 12 of Saranac for $14 or Sam Adams for the same price.
Especially when I am having people over. $30 for 24 beers that will be gone in a night is pricey.

So I started home brewing because I can made a decent drinkable beer and not have to break the bank!

And SWMBO can spend my saved beer $ on things the family needs!

 

[hanuswalrus]

Then there's the scummy liquor stores that sell stuff like Hopslam or Zombie by the single 12 oz bottle. One store was selling Hopslam by the bottle, $5 per bottle, limit 2. Another guy, when I was dumb enough to buy 3 Floyds anywhere besides the brewery, was charging $3 a bottle (Zombie Dust or Gumballhead), with a limit of 3 bottles each. Doesn't sound legal to me.

 

[Pyg]

Then there's the scummy liquor stores that sell stuff like Hopslam or Zombie by the single 12 oz bottle. One store was selling Hopslam by the bottle, $5 per bottle, limit 2. Another guy, when I was dumb enough to buy 3 Floyds anywhere besides the brewery, was charging $3 a bottle (Zombie Dust or Gumballhead), with a limit of 3 bottles each. Doesn't sound legal to me.

My beer store does a mix & match 6 pack. The bottles are color coded and range in price
$1.75
$2.25
$2.50

I just cant bring myself to load up on all the $2.50 beers I want to try.
Bells, Sculpin, Smuttynose, Dogfish Head, etc...

Cant help but feel it is a scam!

 

[smcinco]

Sculpin bombers ($6+) are a bit more expensive than Enjoy By bombers ($5.79) here at our local Costco. Apologies to Ballast Pt, but I just can't walk by Enjoy by to get to a more expensive regular IPA. I know hops are the most expensive component in a beer, but I really doubt Sculpin has more hops than Enjoy By. So it's all just hype (not that Enjoy By doesn't have a hype tax, too).

 

[grizzly2378]

Before you complain too much about the cost of Sculpin or Hopslam, just be glad you actually have the option to buy it (then you can complain ). We don't get either of em in South Dakota...or much of anything, really. I feel lucky that we have Odell and Deschutes, which usually run $9-10 for a sixer. And Odell IPA and Fresh Squeezed IPA are both pretty damn good at that price. But, one of the advantages of living in the craft beer boonies is that I was able to wander into the local liquor store (a half hour after they opened) on Black Friday and be the first one to buy Bourbon County Stout. And it was "only" $19 for a 4 pack, cheaper than many other places I heard of.

 

[Pyg]

Stopped in the way home picked up 2 sculpin $3 each
Elysian dust ipa $3 each
Long hammer ipa $1.75
2 SN hoppy lager $1.75 each

I actually accidentaly bought 2 SN,
But I had spent way too much for a 6 of beer I have never had before

 

[brewprint]

Before you complain too much about the cost of Sculpin or Hopslam, just be glad you actually have the option to buy it (then you can complain ). We don't get either of em in South Dakota...or much of anything, really. I feel lucky that we have Odell and Deschutes, which usually run $9-10 for a sixer. And Odell IPA and Fresh Squeezed IPA are both pretty damn good at that price. But, one of the advantages of living in the craft beer boonies is that I was able to wander into the local liquor store (a half hour after they opened) on Black Friday and be the first one to buy Bourbon County Stout. And it was "only" $19 for a 4 pack, cheaper than many other places I heard of.

The fresh squeezed beats hopslam and sculpin imo.

I do enjoy a hopslam though. We get some in the UP on snowmobile and spring fishing trips. It's good but not that good.

 

[beernutz]

I just heard of this a few days ago. Are they going to make the 128oz with a larger CO2 cartridge so it can do a full gallon? They admit on the site that the 8 gram cartridge is good for maintaining serving pressure in one (64oz) growler- so what's the deal for a larger one?

They, growlerwerks, are offering both a 64 and a 128 oz size. I asked my wife to get the 128 as a Christmas gift and she made the gofundme.com contribution for the amount needed to get that one. They were originally supposed to ship in May but delays have pushed back the shipping of the 128 oz model to July. I really have no idea what to expect but the pictures of the prototypes do look pretty cool. The 128 does use a larger CO2 charger, 16 gram I think, than the 64.

 

[worlddivides]

Interesting seeing all the different prices of Ballast Point Sculpin. I've only bought a six pack of it once and it was $15. I thought it was pretty damn good, but just not something I was going to buy anytime soon at $15 a six-pack.

I do buy craft beer pretty often, though, and I usually think the prices are reasonable. Especially since I went to a bar with one of my friends a week ago and it was $7 for a Guinness and $8 for a Lagunita's IPA. I was thinking "$8 for a Lagunita's IPA? I could buy a six-pack for a dollar more!"

 

[mgregg]

After reading this thread I searched online and found a local beer store that had some Sculpin in stock in upstate NY. I went out and bought a 6 pack for 14.99.

I was pretty disappointed.

The beer was good, but it definitely wasn't a world class IPA.

In defense of Sculpin, I'm pretty sure it wasn't very fresh. I know what that can do to a great IPA. A couple years ago when Ithica brewing flower power was extremely hard to find and sold out in hours when it became available it was my all time favorite IPA. Since they have drastically increased their production of Flower Power it still tastes good, but it has definitely lost something. I think that this is because it is now easy to get it tends to sit on the shelf longer than it used to and this causes some of the aromatics and hoppy goodness to dissipate.

I definitely will not pay $15 for sculpin again unless i'm positive it's a fresh batch. Just like I no longer pay $13 for Flower Power unless it's fresh.

 

[brewprint]

After reading this thread I searched online and found a local beer store that had some Sculpin in stock in upstate NY. I went out and bought a 6 pack for 14.99.

I was pretty disappointed.

The beer was good, but it definitely wasn't a world class IPA.

In defense of Sculpin, I'm pretty sure it wasn't very fresh. I know what that can do to a great IPA. A couple years ago when Ithica brewing flower power was extremely hard to find and sold out in hours when it became available it was my all time favorite IPA. Since they have drastically increased their production of Flower Power it still tastes good, but it has definitely lost something. I think that this is because it is now easy to get it tends to sit on the shelf longer than it used to and this causes some of the aromatics and hoppy goodness to dissipate.

I definitely will not pay $15 for sculpin again unless i'm positive it's a fresh batch. Just like I no longer pay $13 for Flower Power unless it's fresh.

You probably got it fresh. I believe it literally just hit the shelves at the time of this post. I just drank one I bought a couple weeks ago and it's still good. Not a world class ipa as you say though. My ipas are better but I would like to clone it.