I visited some family in OR this summer, went to a home brew shop outside of Portland, and could not believe how much lower their prices were (not to mention their selection) then in Tennessee. I get that they should be lower because of how much more volume the move in addition to the amount of ingredients already being shipped into and produced in that area, but they're prices are about half of what they are in Nashville...and I'm about ready to move there. Are there other factors?
Why are prices so much lower in some areas?
- Thread starter chimind
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ElyIrishBrew
Well-Known Member
I dunno what the deal is. I picked up the Brewer's Best 2-bucket kit at a whole foods co-op 150 miles from my house for $60. Not on sale, either. The identical kit runs well over $100 online, and that kit also sells for $115 at a whole foods co-op about 50 miles from my house.
Mongrel
Well-Known Member
Oregon is a great place to live, but visit Portland in the winter before you decide to move out here.
Supply/demand. I'd imagine they have a much larger supply of brewing ingredients in areas with a lot of brewers. The stores probably move WAY more product in Oregon than they do in Tennessee, so they can afford to make less of a profit per unit because they're moving more units.
Also, I'd imagine home brew shops are much more common in Oregon therefore competition would bring prices down as well.
Also, I'd imagine home brew shops are much more common in Oregon therefore competition would bring prices down as well.
FATC1TY
Well-Known Member
TN isn't exactly a hotbed of homebrew... Ironically most of the south isn't a huge place for brewing.. Granted there are some AMAZING breweries down here, but as a whole, homebrew, and craft beer aren't imbedded in the culture just yet like they are in other places...
Go find prices on corn and copper... I bet around our parts they are cheaper and you'll find more distillers and whatnot than you'd find in the PNW.
Go find prices on corn and copper... I bet around our parts they are cheaper and you'll find more distillers and whatnot than you'd find in the PNW.
If you are talking about All Seasons or Lil Olde Winemaker, you are getting robbed blind at both shops. I'll never step foot in the Winemaker place ever again after the owner told me he didn't stock US05 because 'no one ever buys it'. I'll rarely use All Seasons, but its way more expensive that shopping with Rebel Brewer.
mb82
Well-Known Member
It really depends on the shop. I have a LHBS about 10 mins from my apartment. Hate going there, prices are not high but not where they should be, and I don't see many people going through there so I can't be sure of ingredient freshness. My parents live in Richmond Va, and I go see them regularly. The LHBS in Chester is my shop. Prices are reasonable to less then what I'd pay online and there are always people in there whenever I stop by even mid day so I know they are moving some ingredients. This 1.5 hours apart and a world of difference. I also get treated better in Richmond I feel. I am really picky on how a shop treats me, treat me bad and I won't deal with you.
That's a big one! Taxes are very high here, especially the "sin taxes" on beer, cigarettes, liquor, and gas. So a six pack here costs far more than a six-pack in Texas, as an example.
We don't have any brew shops, so I can't compare, but when I spent $350 at Northern Brewer in Minneapolis, the sales tax was a big part of the sale as well.
Yooper, are you sure?
http://taxfoundation.org/sites/taxfoundation.org/files/UserFiles/Image/maps/beermap_large_r1.png
Obviously volume helps. We should all brew more.
http://taxfoundation.org/sites/taxfoundation.org/files/UserFiles/Image/maps/beermap_large_r1.png
Obviously volume helps. We should all brew more.
I'm talking about prices before sales tax. They sell 50 lb bags of pale US 2-row for 30 dollars, LME for 1.75 a lb, I'm paying more than double for that after taxes, I did some googling of homebrew shops in different parts of the country and All Seasons price's aren't that high. I'm sure it's because of the volume, I'm just surprised that they can sell things for so much cheaper because of it. I'm pretty sure alcohol taxes don't affect malt and hops.
Yeah, I bought beer in Minneapolis last. Not only state tax (.48?) but also city tax. Ouch.
When I buy beer in TX, it's always cheaper.
The 2 LHBS in Hillsboro, OR (West of Portland ~20 mi) are both less expensive on almost everything than the big online retailers, then not having to pay shipping is icing on the cake. Certain pieces of gear or kegging supplies may be less online though, but shipping obviously has to be factored in. With the exception of occasional bulk hop orders, I get all my ingredients locally. I ordered my kegging supplies online though.
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