Expensive Rogue Beer

[crlova2]

Sorry it's confusing. I just copied and pasted the comments from youtube associated with that video. The comments were between and random viewer and "RougeHQ" screen name that I am assuming is someone in their PR department. It will make a lot more sense if you watch the video on the youtube site and read the comments as they are on under the vid on youtube. Anyways you are probably right about the reason the prices are high but I feel like they could sell more beer at a slightly lower price and still make more money. Of course they probably have smarter people than me that have thought that through.

 

[alecoholic]

I'm drinking a spot on chocolate stout clone, after visiting the brewery, fermented with recultured rogue yeast that I just brewed. It's excellent, I **** in my pants while I drink it, but I wouldn't pay what Rogue charges to buy it.

 

[HItransplant]

Sorry it's confusing. I just copied and pasted the comments from youtube associated with that video. The comments were between and random viewer and "RougeHQ" screen name that I am assuming is someone in their PR department. It will make a lot more sense if you watch the video on the youtube site and read the comments as they are on under the vid on youtube. Anyways you are probably right about the reason the prices are high but I feel like they could sell more beer at a slightly lower price and still make more money. Of course they probably have smarter people than me that have thought that through.

ahhh its a twitter thing.. no wonder I was confused. Thanks for clarifying, I thought I might finally be losing it.

 

[redalert]

Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale $14.99 a six pack! I don't care how good the beer is (and it's pretty good). Even if I was a millionaire it's hard to justify paying that much for a six pack of beer.

 

[vinyl_key]

Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale $14.99 a six pack! I don't care how good the beer is (and it's pretty good). Even if I was a millionaire it's hard to justify paying that much for a six pack of beer.

Ends up being the same price/beer as a $10 4-pack, which are pretty common.

Also, to put it in perspective, it comes to $2.50/beer. One can expect to pay $5/beer when going out to a bar or brewpub.

 

[devilishprune]

Yeah it's ridiculous. Six packs of Stone beers cost like 15-16 dollars here. At a local beer store I managed to get 2 bottles of oaked arrogant bastard for 3 dollars total, which was awesome and the only way I would be able to try it.

 

[jfr1111]

You guys should get into wine or, better yet, whiskey, it would be cheaper... not But it's true that sometimes, it's hard to justify paying X for an item when a comparable one costs half as much and will do the same damn thing (ie. taste good). Our local microbrewery has an Imperial Stout at 4.50$ a 500ml bottle (16.95 a four pack). It's good, but give me McAuslen Saint-Ambroise Oatmeal Stout any day of the week at 8$ a sixer. Much more balanced and tasty to me.

And I'm still paying "millionnaire prices" compared to some of you guys it seems

 

[Gldnst8warrior]

You get what you pay for and I have never been disappointed when buying anything Rouge makes. Just recently I picked up a sixpac of Dry Hopped St. Rogue Red. Not only was it great to drink but it inspired me to try my hand at dry hopping myself. Great Beer and inspiration is worth a couple extra bucks IMHO. So I skip the soda or extra guacamole on my burrito next week meh...

 

[motobrewer]

check that, dead guy $11.99 here.

a 4 pack of ayinger celebrator is $10. and dat sh*t's from germany.

 

[deflagratio]

I win. $15 dollars for a 4 pack of just about anything. $18.00 for a sixpack of Hobgoblin.

 

[Hellfish76]

This thread just reminds me to be grateful for living in Portland. My sympathies to those who have to pay over $10 for craft beer...

 

[curlyfat]

I didn't read this whole thread, so I apologize if I missed a similar vein earlier on.

When I first had Dead Guy (10?? years ago?) I remember it was one of the lesser expensive craft six packs (I remember paying $6.something). Yesterday, at the beer store, I saw a sixer of Dead Guy, was about to grab it, and noticed it was $10.50! Deschutes, New Belgium, Odell's, etc., all go for about $8-$9. When did Dead Guy become the "pricey" brew? I ended up buying a bomber of Double Dead Guy for the same price which, by the way, was stellar and a new experience for me.

 

[kanzimonson]

I recently decided I will pay any amount for beer... whatever a brewery decides their beer is worth, I will buy it at least once. Some beers will not make it back on the "to buy" list.

All of this stems from the fact that I'm willing to pay $5 for a pint at a restaurant, or $10 for a glass of wine. In fact, I compare a lot of purchases in my life to buying alcohol at a restaurant... and it usually makes me cave in and buy stuff

 

[david58]

after reading more of this thread, Ive come up with a better answer...
The real reason why ROGUE beer costs what it does.. plain and simple:

because enough people are willing to pay that much for their beer.

Bingo!

I don't fault them at all for the price, and pay it occasionally. And they are my favorite out-of-town eatery/brewery: great view of the bay, great beer, and more than adequate food (good but not quite great).

Kudos, too, to marketing...if you can get folks to pay it......

 

[cenla]

It depends on where you live, too...

yep. it's hard to find any craft brews in central louisiana. I picked up a dusty 6er of Rogue's mocha porter for my b-day a month ago and dropped around $12.

The store didn't have much else. I still regret the purchase. I didn't like the beer and can't say if it was because the 6 was ancient or because I just don't like that beer.

Anyway, consider yourself lucky if you have a ready supply of fresh craft beers nearby. Some of us don't.

 

[King MF Midas]

a lot of you complaining about the price fail to realize that profits need to be made not only by Rouge but the distributor and the store that sells it to you (plus tax).When i went to the dogfish head brewery i got a ton of 750ml bottles of limited edition beers for $7 a piece because i know when i go to the store the same beer cost $10-$12 a bottle. Cases of shelter pale ale where only $23.

for only a few dollars more you can have world class beer. something that you can't do with wine or much else for that matter.

 

[Gtrman13]

I've always wanted to try the double dead guy also, but I've never even seen it in a store. That's why I'm brewing my own right now!

 

[motobrewer]

a lot of you complaining about the price fail to realize that profits need to be made not only by Rouge but the distributor and the store that sells it to you (plus tax).When i went to the dogfish head brewery i got a ton of 750ml bottles of limited edition beers for $7 a piece because i know when i go to the store the same beer cost $10-$12 a bottle. Cases of shelter pale ale where only $23.

for only a few dollars more you can have world class beer. something that you can't do with wine or much else for that matter.

i think everyone is making relative comparisons.

nobody is saying "rouge is $12 but so is sierra nevada and bmc"...

 

[Kpetersen]

Rogue beer is overpriced. It's that simple. It is undeniably good beer, and 10 a 6 isn't that bad. That is what I (living in Illinois) pay for most craft 6's, between 10-12. the problem is rogue is probably 14 a 6 and it isn't any better than bell's, founder's, or a lot of the other craft brews that don't charge ridiculous prices for all their beers.

 

[JNye]

I've never repeat bought it. I have bought it, off the single's rack, and it was good. It was not good enough to buy again(comparitively). I think that is the common thread here. People will buy the more expensive beer once. When they realize they can get just as good cheaper, they do. Maybe Dead Guy's image/marketing is soo good it gets all of us(as noobies) at least once, on alot of their brews. Not how I would want to run my business, we'll see if it works out for em, it has been.

BTW anyone notice Great Lakes has turned to 4 packs....noooo....i hope this isn't a common thread.

 

[Newbeerguy]

I've never repeat bought it. I have bought it, off the single's rack, and it was good. It was not good enough to buy again(comparitively). I think that is the common thread here. People will buy the more expensive beer once. When they realize they can get just as good cheaper, they do. Maybe Dead Guy's image/marketing is soo good it gets all of us(as noobies) at least once, on alot of their brews. Not how I would want to run my business, we'll see if it works out for em, it has been.

BTW anyone notice Great Lakes has turned to 4 packs....noooo....i hope this isn't a common thread.

Great Lakes has always had the 4 packs. They sell their "bigger" beers in 4 packs. Blackout Stout (RIS) and Nosferatu (Imperial Amber Ale) are 2 of my favs.

 

[HItransplant]

I recently decided I will pay any amount for beer... whatever a brewery decides their beer is worth, I will buy it at least once. Some beers will not make it back on the "to buy" list.

All of this stems from the fact that I'm willing to pay $5 for a pint at a restaurant, or $10 for a glass of wine. In fact, I compare a lot of purchases in my life to buying alcohol at a restaurant... and it usually makes me cave in and buy stuff

so true.. its crazy what a big "night out" tab can run up to.. hard to complain about the $3/gal after dropping 2 bills on drinks.

 

[iaefebs]

I go out to bowl 1 night a week. The bowling alley charges $3.25 for a 12oz BMC and people buy them..... I go to a restaurant and they charge... whatever... $5.00 for a 16 -20 oz BMC that is not even filled to the rim so it's more like 14 or 18oz or less with a sickly looking pale yellow swill.... and people buy them. (Shudder here).... nothing looks worse in a glass than a BMC... drink it out of a can or brown bottle. Anyway I won't do it. Give me a water and when I get home I will drink a homebrew or on occasion a Rouge or whatever else I have around. If you don't want to pay the price don't buy it. The same with the crap in restaurant's.

 

[crlova2]

Off topic sort of:

A new liquor store just opened near me that has 7 taps for growler fills. There are a couple other places in town that do growler fills that I know of but this liquor store is by far the cheapest and I am wondering if they just don't know what they are doing because it is so cheap. For example, they had stone IPA and kostrizer black lager for $5.99 for a half gallons growler fill. The other place in town (a restaurant/bar) sells the same size growler of those beers for $14.99! What is the typical growler cost you all?

 

[Boy]

This is from the owner of Pelican brewing in OR talking about distributing and their price. Good article.

"...Jack Joyce has done with Rogue. He’s always had this philosophy that ‘We’ve got really good beer and it’s worth paying for. We’re going to charge a price that we feel is fair."

http://brewpublic.com/brewpubs/darronwelch/

 

[JByer323]

Am I the only person who regularly drops $12-$18 on a six (sometimes even a four) pack?

I got into homebrewing so I could make quality beers for less.

 

[fenderbass]

OK, Good points from all. I pay anywhere from 6 to 8 bucks for a six pack of the good stuff here in Oregon, and 3 to 5 bucks for 22 oz bottles, and it's well worth it. I paid 7 for the 22 oz. Rogue Shakespere Stout yesterday and I was not disappointed at all. Real good stuff.
So when I have the extra money I'll get the Rogue, otherwise I'll go with the Deschutes, Full Sail, Bridgeport and the others. And I'll drink my own as well.

 

[fenderbass]

One last thing - There is a brewery here called Ninkasi and they are becoming my favorite. Reasonably priced, big, bold hoppy beers. They are only available in 22 oz, but I read that they are going to start doing 6'ers. Anyways, they are awesome. If you can find it, try it. Their Winter seasonal just came out, Sleigher, and it is great. And 3.99 for a 22 oz bottle.
It is great having so many great beers right here in our own backyard. I live in the heart of wine country, but the beer gets distributed out my way. Thank God.

 

[olllllo]

for only a few dollars more you can have world class beer. something that you can't do with wine or much else for that matter.

+1

I'll add that nothing in this world is overpriced for very long. Eventually it's the right price or it's no longer on the market.

 

[bovineblitz]

I haven't bought a rogue beer in probably 2 years. Everything is too expensive in MA, and Rogue is doubly so.