Actually, it's what folks are willing to pay that determines a beverages worth.
As more folks balk at paying high prices, the price of the beer will come down, if that is, they wish to sell it.
Supply & demand determine price (along with the pesky government taxes that get in the way).
Not really. People can say I am not going to pay that much for a Mercedes. Then they just don't get one. Rolex doesn't say "Damn, have you seen Timex sales figures? We better lower our price drastically. The people have spoken."
Wine is priced at what the vinyard wants to price it at not what people say its worth. They will always find enough people to buy it for what they want to charge.
Breweries are plagued with low priced beer on the market so people think they shouldn't pay for quality.
The theory of supply and demand doesn't work for everything no matter how much you want it to.
A 2 liter bottle of Coke at the grocery store sells for $1.59. The bottle costs Coke more than the soda. Are people not going to buy it when they find out how much profit there is? Are they going to start trying to make their own Coke? No, they are going to pay it. It doesn't matter that the house brand of soda is 99 cents. People pay more because they value that Coke tastes better than Sam's Choice soda.
Forrest
Here is some bottled water for $40 a bottle. People buy it. He decided how much it sells for. It's water. Its $40.
Bling h2o $40+ per 750 ml bottle
Hollywood writer-producer Kevin G. Boyd tapped into the bottled water market with an image approach. His water, Bling h2o, has been spotted in the hands of numerous celebrities and even at awards ceremonies like the Emmys, Grammys, and the MTV Video Music Awards.
The water is bottled in Dandridge, Tennessee, probably the least notable quality of the most expensive bottled water. Boyds approach to the bottled water market is as extreme as the limited edition bottles themselves. They come frosted, corked, and boasting hand-applied Swarovski crystal. Bling H20 boasts that it has won the gold medal at the Berkely Springs International Water Tasting Festival with its nine-step purification process. If you are a water elitist, be prepared to spend $40-60 for a 750ml bottle. If you are buying your expensive bottled water at a club, be prepared to spend more.