Stone to layoff employees

[bbohanon]

Actually I'm not drinking the Goose Island IPA, but I noticed the price as I was looking around for what was on sale. Ended up getting a case of Goose Island Summertime Kolsch for $23.99, and have drunk some of that, so I guess I am an Industrial beer drinking sellout to low price Bastard.
I agree we aren't seeing a price war yet, but if ABInbev can gain market share (and shelf space) with more reasonable prices, AND new brands continue to enter the market at the $10.95 price point, we could EVENTUALLY see some real price competition. Local ads in Today's food section has Sam Adams for $14.95/12 pack and some similar prices.
No, a real price war probably won't occur anytime soon, but if it ever does, there could be multiple big name bankrupt breweries.

Call me cheap, but if a price war comes, I would welcome it to some degree..I am seeing way too many craft breweries selling mediocre craft beer at far more than premium pricing and that really makes things worse for those small breweries that are making really great beer that I actually WOULD pay premium bucks for (provided I can get it fresh enough to actually enjoy).

I am also seeing bigger craft breweries getting more mediocre with their brews (which I am betting is them getting cheaper on the ingredients or process) but the price point staying the same or in most cases going higher (I.E. - Stone/SAdams). That same 12'er you quoted here was $13.99 NOT on sale last year ($11.99 on sale), but it now $16.99 regular price and $17.99 for the seasonal case (pumpkin/octoberfest).

I guess I am just a cheap beer snob when it comes to this type of deal, but of late here, its getting to be a problem...too much crappy craft for too high of a price.

This has not been mentioned either but some of this pricing blame I have to but on the beer distributors/wholesalers that AB/InBev/Etc. own or monopolize..I know some the local brewers at some of the smaller craft breweries here and the distribution chain is crooked as hell and does NOT favor the craft breweries in NC..NOT AT ALL.
The beer distributors/wholesalers are alot like a mini-mafia when it comes to the craft industry (Google the Self-Distribution Cap for NC which I think is still at 25,000 barrels before you have to turn your beer over to a wholesale/distributor to get to the masses which they take a HUGE cut of the $$$).

 

[madscientist451]

Bbohanon got it right. I like the phrase "cheap beer snob". But if it wasn't for the high prices, home brewing wouldn't be worth doing, If I could get Ballast Point Sculpin for $3.99 a six pack, why would I even try to brew any?
I've gotten a little tired of stopping into new breweries and paying $5-7 a glass for beer that I can make better at home, So I'm done with that.
As long as the masses are happy shelling out $12 a six pack at the store and $6+ for a pint at a bar, prices aren't going to change, Unless INBev wants to put the screws to the smaller producers.
Hopefully, there isn't much room for price increases.
Even if there is another recession (which looks more and more likely)
alcohol isn't affected. So I'll keep hunting for bargains and brewing at home.

 

[mlafnitzegger]

I really liked Stone but this past half of year their store inventory is over 8 weeks old and the hop flavor gets really bad. If they cam mange their distribution better to make sure they are selling only fresh beer they would be my choice of beer. Unfortunately that is very difficult to enforce at the reseller level.

Old hoppy beer on shelf really sucks.

 

[Gerry_P]

Call me cheap, but if a price war comes, I would welcome it to some degree..I am seeing way too many craft breweries selling mediocre craft beer at far more than premium pricing and that really makes things worse for those small breweries that are making really great beer that I actually WOULD pay premium bucks for (provided I can get it fresh enough to actually enjoy).

I am also seeing bigger craft breweries getting more mediocre with their brews (which I am betting is them getting cheaper on the ingredients or process) but the price point staying the same or in most cases going higher (I.E. - Stone/SAdams). That same 12'er you quoted here was $13.99 NOT on sale last year ($11.99 on sale), but it now $16.99 regular price and $17.99 for the seasonal case (pumpkin/octoberfest).

I guess I am just a cheap beer snob when it comes to this type of deal, but of late here, its getting to be a problem...too much crappy craft for too high of a price

So I'll keep hunting for bargains and brewing at home.

There's a new brewery here that started selling a blonde and an IPA this past spring, and they're going for $10/six pack. They aren't bad, but nothing spectacular compared to a number of local and non-local beers that typically sell for 8-10. I like to buy local when it's practical, but I feel like some of the new guys are charging too much and are relying on the fact that they're local to sell beer at that price. Hell, they have Lagunitas IPA for 10 bucks at the gas station down the street and they aren't the cheapest.

Likewise if I go to Winn-Dixie and they have New Belgium Rampant IPA on sale for $8, I'm certainly not buying an inferior product for $10 just to buy local. Nobody's lighting cigars with 100 dollar bills around here and I try to save a couple bucks when I can.

Speaking of which....this whole thing reminds me of the big cigar boom of the 90s. Lots of mediocre to poor products were being sold at a premium. All the new companies springing up everywhere resulted in increased demand for tobacco, growers couldn't keep up, and prices skyrocketed. Supposedly there's a hop shortage now, so we'll see how that pans out.

 

[christyle]

There's a new brewery here that started selling a blonde and an IPA this past spring, and they're going for $10/six pack. They aren't bad, but nothing spectacular compared to a number of local and non-local beers that typically sell for 8-10. I like to buy local when it's practical, but I feel like some of the new guys are charging too much and are relying on the fact that they're local to sell beer at that price. Hell, they have Lagunitas IPA for 10 bucks at the gas station down the street and they aren't the cheapest.

Likewise if I go to Winn-Dixie and they have New Belgium Rampant IPA on sale for $8, I'm certainly not buying an inferior product for $10 just to buy local. Nobody's lighting cigars with 100 dollar bills around here and I try to save a couple bucks when I can.

I hate that as well. Even in the craft dense area I live in, they're trying to sell their average IPA bombers for like $8-10 each... The only sixers they sell are their bland and boring stuff to me. My original thoughts were that it's just a more labor-intensive process for a local brewery to bottle and distribute on a small scale, so their prices are high, but when you're selling a bomber for 8-10 in your tasting room, unless it's a solid imperial something or other, that's far too much when I can get more widely distributed options for half of that at any liquor store. I only really support my local breweries in their taprooms or on draft locally, where the costs are the same as other options.

 

[bbohanon]

I really liked Stone but this past half of year their store inventory is over 8 weeks old and the hop flavor gets really bad. If they cam mange their distribution better to make sure they are selling only fresh beer they would be my choice of beer. Unfortunately that is very difficult to enforce at the reseller level.

Old hoppy beer on shelf really sucks.

Funny you mention this..the local news actually has a newscaster who is also a beer aficionado who did a special on stale craft beer here in the local high end bottle shops..
He found that alot of the high end bottle shops had a slew of expired beer that was still for sale at retail pricing and some retailers also like to put bottles on display in the storefront which means they were sitting in the direct sunlight coming in the store and they skunked up before they were consumed.

Certainly not the breweries fault but still..not good for their image when the reseller handles their product poorly and the folks who dont know better get a skunked or expired beer and toss the craft brewery under the bus for something that was not their fault.

I am also in the group of you that prefer making my own beer as I have a set of recipes I have dialed in over the years that I know are better than anything else I can get in the store or in 99% of the local breweries and its much cheaper (and more fun) to make and serve.

 

[ultravista]

Maybe someone will spill-the-beans and reveal the Arrogant Bastard recipe.