I think it's important to realize that we wouldn't consider $10 per six-pack or $8 for a 750ml expensive for beer if it weren't compared to BMC for $4. That's like saying that a single handcrafted chocolate truffle at a local chocolatier isn't worth $1.50 because I can get a whole Hershey's bar for $ .59. Even if I didn't like that particular item, it doesn't mean that it's over-priced. I just won't buy it again.
Likewise, as we can see from this thread, what you consider swill others consider divine. I personally don't like Pilsner Urquell very much. From my tastings, Victory's Prima Pils is far superior. Does that mean that Pilsner Urquell is over-priced or over-hyped? No. As far as the retail world goes, the brewery can't determine what the final price will be. They sell it to a distributor (unless it's self-distributed, of course), the distributor marks it up how ever much they please and they sell it to the retailer who marks it up again. The brewery can only guess what the price to the consumer will be.
We also need to quit blaming the brewery for how much bars and restaurants charge for their beer. That's the bar and restaurant's doing. Everybody knows that the $45 bottle of wine at a restaurant could be bought in a liquor store for $15. Likewise, Shiner Bock at $6 per six-pack (at least here in Dallas) translates to $4 a bottle at a bar. The beer itself isn't over-priced, the restaurant/bar's markup is too high.
Anyway, like I was saying...
Stella Artois is way over-hyped and over-priced!
I will stick to my guns and refuse to pay over $4 for a brew unless there is some other form of "entertainment" to make me stick around to enjoy ! I rarely will buy export brews as I am surrounded by great micro-breweries and there are very few of them that I have tried that I liked (the exports not the micro's). Most are skunked and I really don't care for them. 
