Price gouging... Hopslam is not Heady Topper!

[aprichman]

I can barely bring myself to spend $10 on a 6-pack although I did just drop $100 on 8 500mL bottles and regularly buy 4-packs of 16oz cans of a local IIPA for $13

 

[slym2none]

$20 for a 6 pack in Australia would be dirt cheap, I forked out $35 this weekend to try a sixer of Stone IPA. They wanted $45 for a growler of ruination. You lucky bastards.

Guess I'd be a "tee-totaller" if I lived Down Under... yikes, man!!!

 

[urg8rb8]

Guys, this would be a great time for another supply/demand economics debate. I love those!

Everything is based on supply and demand. As long as people are willing to pay the crazy prices, those price will continue to be crazy.

 

[Bobby_M]

Disclaimer. Pet peeve. This is not price gouging. It's just opportunistic pricing in a free market. Gouging is more applicable to goods that are necessities for which there is no alternatives/competition due to emergency supply problems. An example would be $10 a gallon gas during a hurricane because you're the only station that has power to run the pumps.

You don't need beer. Even if you did you don't need IPA. Even if you did, there are 1000 other versions to choose from.

 

[govner1]

So after giving up on trying to score Hopslam this year, I accidentally stumbled upon it today. I had to do a double take as the retailer wanted $45 for a 12-pack or $86 for a case. Good lord!



I just did some Googling, and Heady doesn't even retail for that much per case. I love craft beer, but I can't bring myself to drop that kind of cash on something that doesn't have world-class status.



On a side note, if you are really jonesing for Hopslam, I now know where to get some



Rant over.

This is one reason I brew my own!
I avg well under $40 for 6 gal AG.

 

[LostHopper]

Nothing new.
In the 60's Coors was commanding outrageous prices outside their 8 or 9 state distribution area. Of course gouging was $5 per case, not by Coors but beer bootleggers.

Anyone see Smokey and the Bandit? Illegal truck load of Coors to Mississippi.

 

[urg8rb8]

Disclaimer. Pet peeve. This is not price gouging. It's just opportunistic pricing in a free market. Gouging is more applicable to goods that are necessities for which there is no alternatives/competition due to emergency supply problems. An example would be $10 a gallon gas during a hurricane because you're the only station that has power to run the pumps.

You don't need beer. Even if you did you don't need IPA. Even if you did, there are 1000 other versions to choose from.

I'm not against price gouging either.

 

[bobeer]

I haven't seen it here yet but I remember a couple years ago it went for 24 bucks a 6er. I had never had it before then so I bought one and was underwhelmed. 10% IPAs are no good imo. Stone's enjoy by series is the same way. Too much alcohol drunk with too little aging. I think 8% is the way to go... If it were cheaper I'd try it every year because it obviously changes from year to year, with some years being better than others, but I'd rather spend that money on ingredients to brew 5 gallons of something that's similar.
I have my own version of hopslam I brew this time of year called Honey Brew Brew. It's an 8% IPA with honey and it's quite good!

 

[MVKTR2]

Price gouging is actually healthy for the an economy and extremely important for proper distribution of resources during emergency situations. I'm guessing the reason the OP 'found' Hopslam at those prices is because it was still avialable ... because of those prices.

https://mises.org/library/price-gouging-saves-lives-hurricane
http://www.npr.org/2012/11/02/164157335/some-economists-think-price-gouging-is-good

If you don't like the price ... don't pay it! When enough people don't pay it, the price will be adjusted down or the product eliminated or most likely another vendor will enter the market at a lower price point. Very basic economic principles.

 

[MVKTR2]

Everything is based on supply and demand. As long as people are willing to pay the crazy prices, those price will continue to be crazy.

In a free market, yes. However american markets are heavily managed, centrally planned, and regulated resting closer to closed markets than free on a sliding scale. When it comes to beer, pricing in our market is based off of regulatory costs as much as anything.

 

[ittybittykittycommittee]

I got a growler of it recently, and I was hella shocked when they threw out a $25 price tag! I feel like you should inform people prior to pouring a growler at that price.

 

[k1ngl1ves]

Heady isn't anything too special either. Limited distribution doesn't make a beer top notch. I can't believe what some people want in trade for Heady. I thought it was underwhelming, and the epitome of "over hyped".

Would I like to have it again? Sure. Would I pay through the nose? No. No way.

 

[urg8rb8]

In a free market, yes. However american markets are heavily managed, centrally planned, and regulated resting closer to closed markets than free on a sliding scale. When it comes to beer, pricing in our market is based off of regulatory costs as much as anything.

I know that's the problem: too much government control and planning. I am even ok with price gouging of resources during natural disasters.

 

[gometz]

Heady isn't anything too special either. Limited distribution doesn't make a beer top notch. I can't believe what some people want in trade for Heady. I thought it was underwhelming, and the epitome of "over hyped".

Would I like to have it again? Sure. Would I pay through the nose? No. No way.

My brother sent me 3 cans from NY last year (as well as some Tranmitter beers; I sent him a few Texas beers and homebrews as a trade). I liked it, but it definitely is an "over hype" situation. Great beer, but not life altering must find great. I would put it on par with Lone Pint Yellow Rose or even Karbach Hop Delusion here in Texas.

I really shy away from the hype beers, doesn't hurt that most are impossible to find in Texas (or just don't show up here). Everyone I know personally that gets one of the hype beers tells me they were pretty good, but not great.