Why are Stone beers so expensive?

[Jakeintoledo]

I bought a bottle of Levitation. It wasn't all that. I had a bottle of Ruination, and it was okay. I like hop-forward beers to a point. I'd rather have a Bell's Two-Hearted or Rivertown Double-Down IPA. Or my own stuff.

 

[Jukas]

12oz bottle x 6 bottles = 72ounces? $20.00 / 72 ounces = $.28 an ounce, not .20?

Yup, I hit a 0 by accident and didn't catch it.

 

[Onlooker]

I love reading these threads and the sense that people feel as though they are entitled to buy good beer on the cheap. Come on people, we live in a free market society where supply, demand and operating cost goes into the production of a product.

You beat me to it with your post. And I'm glad some others had the sense to also recognize that the market sets the price (for most things, and I won't go further to avoid getting political!). If you wanna buy it at the price they set, do it. If not, then don't. It's real friggen simple.

That said, I won't pay that kind of money for beer. No way. But if they can find enough others to do so, then I tip my hat to them.

 

[BrewKnurd]

That said, I won't pay that kind of money for beer. No way. But if they can find enough others to do so, then I tip my hat to them.

Its not an issue of if. Clearly they do find enough people to pay it. Including me.

 

[igotsand]

I live 10 miles away from the actual brewery and a 6 pack of ruination is 16.59 at my grocery store...
Now if they had their 10anv ruination in a 6 pack I would glady pay 20 bucks for that...

 

[BakRivrBruen]

I wasn't aware you were privy to Stone's accounting.

What are you talking about? Where in my post do I mention anything regarding their accounting?

You, as an east coaster pay more for a WC beer due to how distributors work, most people consider themselves lucky that they can sample some of the 'hyped' west coast beers. No one is forcing you to pay $3.33 per 12oz bottle of ruination, don't, but I'm willing to be you spend more than that on a pint at the bar and don't consider that gouging.

Just out of curiosity how do you feel about Pliny the Elder, or Green Flash Palate Wrecker or Bells Hopslam?

I understand that we as east coasters pay more for west coast beers SOMETIMES but not for all of the time. A six and a twelve pack of SNPA is the same price as a six and a twelve of Smuttynose pale and actually less than Tuckermans pale around here.

You're right no one is forcing me to buy this beer and if you read my original post, I'm not the one that did. It was my buddy that bought it. I was simply stating that I didn't realize it was that much since I never buy it like I used to. When I have bought it in the past though it was always a bomber not a sixxer. I feel the same way about Pliny, Green Flash and Bells. They are good beers but I don't go out of my way to buy them. Almost everytime I see them they are on a shelf with an inch of dust because they expired last century. Even if I found one fresh I don't get a boner over it nor do I think its the greatest beer ever because ratebeer or beeradvocate says so.

I never meant this thread to be a pissing contest. I was simply just curious as to why a six pack of 12oz ruination would be 20 bucks.

 

[bleme]

The only sixxer of Stone I have seen here is their Stone IPA, $8.99, just like the SN, Deschutes, Anchor and other good beer.

I paid $15 for a 25oz RR/SN Brux. Took me a while to talk SWMBO down from that one but it was the first 'wild' beer I've ever seen on the shelf here....

 

[Hanglow]

I paid the equivalent of $6.20 here for a 12oz bottle of ruination It was rather nice, but I wouldn't pay that much again.

I am tight as well though

 

[ifearnothing0]

Please tell me 6.20 for a 12oz bottle is a typo !?!? .. Man that blows ! ... Ruination in no way, shape ,or form good enough to pay 36 buck for 6 beer ... Somebody is gettin cornholed on that deal

 

[Jukas]

Please tell me 6.20 for a 12oz bottle is a typo !?!? .. Man that blows ! ... Ruination in no way, shape ,or form good enough to pay 36 buck for 6 beer ... Somebody is gettin cornholed on that deal

Your own assigned value of worth to an object != everyone elses. A free market of non essential, discretionary dollar items dictates value of an object. If enough people didn't feel item A was worth Cost Y or Market Competition was substantial lower, either the price would go down, or that product/company would likely cease to exist.

 

[weirdboy]

Please tell me 6.20 for a 12oz bottle is a typo !?!? .. Man that blows ! ... Ruination in no way, shape ,or form good enough to pay 36 buck for 6 beer ... Somebody is gettin cornholed on that deal

To be fair ANY beer in the UK is roughly twice as expensive as in the US.

 

[verbhertz]

Your own assigned value of worth to an object != everyone elses. A free market of non essential, discretionary dollar items dictates value of an object. If enough people didn't feel item A was worth Cost Y or Market Competition was substantial lower, either the price would go down, or that product/company would likely cease to exist.

While what you say is true, expensive is a relative term and I agree with it!

 

[ktblunden]

$19.99 / 6 = $3.33 , not $2.66. Also, SN Hoptimum compared to Ruination is not apples to apples, hoptimum is a special release beer, its not year round

I'm comparing the price of Hoptimum here to the price of Ruination here. It makes no sense to compare the price of Sierra Nevada in California to the price of Stone on the east coast. Here Hoptimum goes for $10 per 4 pack and Ruination goes for $16 per 6 pack.

Also, I'm not the one who decided to compare the price of a pale ale to the price of a DIPA. Seeing as how Hoptimum is the only DIPA SN puts out I simply compared like to like.

 

[ktblunden]

What are you talking about? Where in my post do I mention anything regarding their accounting?

You were the one insistent that Stone is making a ton of profit by gouging their customers. Therefore you must know exactly what their accounting balance looks like. The cost of a different brewery's beers has absolutely no relation to how much profit another brewery is making.

 

[BillBeer247]

the reason ruination is probably expensive is because stone wants their normal IPA to be priced comparable to other IPAs($10 a 6pack, give or take a buck or two) but they cant have ruination priced the same otherwise it would outsell their regular ipa to much

 

[bottlebomber]

Your own assigned value of worth to an object != everyone elses. A free market of non essential, discretionary dollar items dictates value of an object. If enough people didn't feel item A was worth Cost Y or Market Competition was substantial lower, either the price would go down, or that product/company would likely cease to exist.

True. People spent an average of 5 hours waiting in line for Pliny the Younger this year. If I add the value of my time, I spent $190 dollars on the short pint. Nobody made me do it, I was not gouged.

 

[BobBailey]

How is it that I am under estimating the amount of hops? I know exactly what it takes to make dipa's and I know how much hops cost. I can brew this beer with the cost of hops roughly being 27-29 cents per bottle and that's buying hops by the ounce not in bulk. Add the 2-row and crystal and that's still a damn cheap beer to make. But as long as people continue to buy overpriced beer then they will continue to sell overpriced beer.

As a former businessman, I feel the need to point out that businesses, especially in California where Stone is located, have the cost of doing business factored into their pricing which are above and beyond the cost of ingredients. These costs include property cost or rent factor, utilities, equipment cost and maintenance, labor, taxes and regulatory fees just to name a few.

Stone produces exceptional products and can command a higher price for them. When the price is such that people no longer buy the product it will then be too high. I like Stone products and feel that I'm getting my moneys worth when I buy them. If you do not feel they are worth the price, you simply don't buy them. That's the way free market economics works.

Happy Brewing,

Bob

 

[Hanglow]

To be fair ANY beer in the UK is roughly twice as expensive as in the US.

Yeah most beers are a bit expensive, one reason why I got into this homebrewing lark

I just got that one bottle of Ruination from a shop online who import a lot of beers, out of interest really. You can get SN Torpedo from large supermarkets here for about $3.30 equivalent

 

[Calichusetts]

Its a free market...ruination is $18 a 6er at my stores...Fireston Walker Union Jack is $11...guess which one I regularly buy? If that is the lowest Stone can sell if for or the distributor charges, then I'm out. I'm also pretty sure Stone is crying reading this right now knowing they lost out on the 20 6ers a year I would buy.

I don't need a hop/grain bill breakdown to determine what I buy. I'll buy whatever tastes good at a reasonable price. If something comes along cheaper and tastes great...I'll buy it

 

[DPBISME]

Well, they are in California... and everything is expensive there.... realestate, taxes, energy, and labor.

Those costs need to be passed on to someone.

I know I ran a Steel Fabrication plant in San Francisco, the only way the company was able to stay in business is because the owner hired folks that spoke no English; this kept hios labor costs down.

I mean if you are going to start a new manufacturing company that uses people instead of machines you need to do it where the average cost of a house is not $400,000.

 

[Jukas]

True. People spent an average of 5 hours waiting in line for Pliny the Younger this year. If I add the value of my time, I spent $190 dollars on the short pint. Nobody made me do it, I was not gouged.

I missed Younger this year, telling your wife you want to go wait 5hrs in line to have a beer when you have a 12mo old gets you dirty looks

 

[bleme]

I missed Younger this year, telling your wife you want to go wait 5hrs in line to have a beer when you have a 12mo old gets you dirty looks

Take the kid with you?

 

[bottlebomber]

I missed Younger this year, telling your wife you want to go wait 5hrs in line to have a beer when you have a 12mo old gets you dirty looks

It's the first and last time I'll do it. I mostly just did it for research purposes - I brewed a clone recipe right after and pretty much nailed it. It's just too long to wait for a beer. I tend to avoid things that are overly hyped as a rule. By the time I had spent all day waiting I was too tired to have more than one beer

 

[rwinzing]

I would say because peole are willing to pay that much for it. They have a name that many "beer snobs" are willing to spend almost anything for right now. In a few years they will not be one of the hot breweries and the price will come down.

Why because someone has the disposable income to buy beer you deem not worth it a snob? Forcing your ideals on someone and putting them down for not enjoying the same beer you do is a snob. I don't think "Stone" is one of the hot breweries. I think they have a large foot print so a lot of people can get them but Stone, DFH are usually the one's who are most often bashed.

Finally the brewery does not set the price disturbiton and retail sets the price. Why was CBS being sold for $50.00 a bottle? Not becuase of Founders but because that is what the market bears out. In my area stone is resonable and not over priced.

 

[ktblunden]

I missed Younger this year, telling your wife you want to go wait 5hrs in line to have a beer when you have a 12mo old gets you dirty looks

We went this year and we'll probably make the trip next year and bring the 7mo old with us. It's more than just the single beer for me, it's the experience. Next year we'll also be meeting up with friends from Oregon and hitting some of the other breweries in the area as well.

 

[BakRivrBruen]

You were the one insistent that Stone is making a ton of profit by gouging their customers. Therefore you must know exactly what their accounting balance looks like. The cost of a different brewery's beers has absolutely no relation to how much profit another brewery is making.

Apparently you seem to know so much so do you know exactly what their bank account looks like and how their accounting works?

 

[Jukas]

We went this year and we'll probably make the trip next year and bring the 7mo old with us. It's more than just the single beer for me, it's the experience. Next year we'll also be meeting up with friends from Oregon and hitting some of the other breweries in the area as well.

At 6-7mo old I probably would have brought my son. The difference in rambunctious level between 9mo and 12mo for him was amazing, but I have a very high energy kid. If I can get at least 1 friend to go with me I'll likely go next year for the experience, I'm not likely to stand in a 5hr line solo so I gotta talk a couple buddies into joining.

 

[Jukas]

Apparently you seem to know so much so do you know exactly what their bank account looks like and how their accounting works?

Employing the "you don't know their accounting so I'm not wrong" tactic doesn't really work. Here's an idea, call the brewery and find out what they sell sixers of ruination for at their taproom. That will give you a good metric for what the brewery thinks they're worth.

Keep in mind the distributor usually gets them significantly cheaper than that (unless it's an area they self distribute). Heck depending on the region/market/vendor/etc store x and store y likely have very different costs for that same six pack of beer, even if they're 1mile apart due to things like volume and contract agreements with distributors.

For example here, Russian River sells bottles of Pliny at the pub for $5. Bottle Barn sells the same bottle of Pliny for $3.79. Whole Foods sells the same bottle of Pliny for $4.79. All three locations are within 5 miles of each other. Without knowing factors outside of our control, we can only blindly guess at to which of the three vendors is making the highest profit.

 

[neosapien]

Has anyone really been far even as decided to use to want to do look more like?

 

[BrewKnurd]

Has anyone really been far even as decided to use to want to do look more like?

What?