| Blogs - My Two Shillings |
You’ve got to be kidding me, ya brutes. Who in their right mind would pay $5.50 for a 7 ounce bottle of beer?
Who indeed? Evidently ol’ Johnny Jack feels that paying an exorbitant amount of money is worth it, so he can get his grubby paws on a bottle that’s not even 60% the size of a standard beer. I don’t know about you, my fellow brutes, but to me the idea of doing that knackers my brain.
I stopped in to ye olde home brewing shop today, a place of business that also sells craft beer. A nice thing about the store is that they sell singles, so you don’t have to buy a six pack when there’s a chance you won’t like it. (The bad thing is that they’re not very willing to take constructive criticism, so an apology to one of my fellow brutes, but I needed sanitizer so I could brew tonight and it was the most convenient place to go.) Getting back to the story, I figured since I’m there anyway, I might as well peruse the brews to see if anything stood out.
A seven ounce bottle of Rogue Imperial Red caught my eye, not because I’d been looking for it, but because it seemed so tiny and out of place. A runt of a piggy amidst a litter of craft brew wart hogs.
Now I’ve had Rogue many a’ time, and have even tried a couple of the Imperial series. Rogue makes a damn fine beer for the most part. I did not care for the imperials that I tried, though. Not because they weren’t good, but because they were only decent, yet cost nigh on twenty dollars for a bomber. For twenty dollars, I can buy 120 ounces of one of my favorite brews, Three Floyds Alpha King, out of Indiana. Hells, I can buy nearly 50 ounces of Belhaven Scottish Stout, that most delectable of black nectars that caused Goibhniu himself to give up the craft.
In fact it was the Rogue imperial series that turned me off of overpriced bombers and overpriced imperial beers. It was the first higher gravity beer to make it on the shelves here in Morgantown so I rushed out and grabbed a couple of them. Worst… beer… purchase… ever. Not only did it set me back several quid, but as mentioned, they weren’t all that great. So from that point on, I said to myself, “Self, next time you see an expensive beer you’ve never tried, remind yourself of this: how many bottles of wonderful, but easily found and inexpensive, beer can you buy for this same price?” If the answer was only in the one-two range, I’d still buy it. In the three-four range it would depend on the style, brewer, and what I’d heard from friends about it (not what I’d read on-line). If it was in the five-six range, it had to be something I’ve actively sought out for some time. Above the six pack range? Don’t count on it, Johnny Jack.
I get the enthusiasm for big beers. Really I do. Barleywine and its cousins are quite possibly my favorite family of beers. Give me a wonderful Wee Heavy any day of the week. I even get that they cost a bit more than the standard beers. But to pay the huge prices that some brewers want to charge? Unless it happens to also cure mortality, forget it.
It’s quite simply too easy to find excellent beers at sensible prices. Today, for example, I walked out of the store with a Saranac Imperial IPA and a Harpoon Crystal Wheat. Nearly three times the amount of beer for a dollar less than had I picked up an Imperial Red, and I have no doubt I will enjoy them all the more for the savings, since I would’ve enjoyed them equally on taste.
So, Johnny Jack, if you want to spend your hard earned money on overpriced beer simply because it’s another to add to your list, go ahead. If you just really enjoy buying something that says imperial on it because you’re compelled to, well it’s your money, and I won’t stand in your way. Hells, if you just want to impress family and friends with your awesome beer knowledge, feel free (by the way, they called and they’re tired of you constantly correcting them on beer topics). While you’re doing that, though, me and the brutes will be paying half as much for twice the beer and enjoying it every bit as much. But it takes all kinds, right?
Also to this point, it really bothers me when some people complain about a $10 22oz bottle of beer, but would never spend less than $15 for a bottle of wine.
Lastly, although I haven't seen the 7oz bottles anywhere yet, I would bet you money they are not as expensive elsewhere as they are at SI
Couldn't find anything to disparage in your post, Travis (we disagree about sometimes spending more on the beer, but that's a personal opinion)... but I especially agree with the last two points. Wine-only snobs are even worse than beer snobs in my experience, in general and in bashing beer.
I agree with Travis and Charles. You are going to pay the price for quality. It's very similiar to wine. The Rogue XS series is good...not good enough to justify a $20 price tag in some eateries, but still great beer. The solution? Don't buy it. The ceramic bottle does increase the price, and I can usually get a get a similar style from Great Lakes here, for a lot less, and do so. Problem solved. The XS series is slowly making it's way out of most places I frequent and stores I shop because of this. It's a setback in what everyone wants to see in WV, but we have options now to weed out those that are overpriced. I still buy it on occassion because it is the best available at some locations. If you think beer snobery is bad, buy what you like. If you think it is worse than wine, than you need to get out of wv some more. I don't wish to come off as harsh on that, but it is true. I think micro brewing is far more complex than wine (my opinion), but if you follow both, there is no snob like a wine snob.
At the same time, I regularly buy Rochefort for around 5.50 per bottle. Why? Because it's damn good (as well as some other Trappist brews) and there is no subsitute. Same goes for an 8.50 price tag for a bomber of Rogue Chocalate Stout (a bargin in my book) at Pies and Pints. It's worth it to me, and I will continue to do so. The sad fact ifs, if you are on a limited budget and can't afford to drink or brew a beer you would otherwise look down on, this is the wrong hobby for you. It's not a rich man's game by any means, but it is a luxuary any way you look at it.
http://www.craftbeerrestaurant.com
Although we all enjoy hanging out and just enjoying a beer, we need to push to get the same respect for beer as there is for wine. A major battleground for gaining this respect is going to be at the dinner table and in order to convince the public that beer deserves a place at their dinner table at home, we must first convince restaurants that beer deserves a place on their menu.
Does this mean that I am personally looking forward to paying upwards of $20 for a bomber at a nice restaurant? Not so much. I don't have the funds to spend like that all the time, but at the same time, I don't eat at places that would have such prices too often anyway, so once in a while would not be too bad.
For craft beer to make a move into better restaurants, it probably needs to be more expensive in order to be sold. As long as it is inexpensive, it gets less respect. I agree that may seem silly, but it's a reality, not just in beer but in wine, televisions, and automobiles, etc. In better restaurants where most all 750 mls of wine sell for north of $30, it's hard for restaurant management to get excited over selling a 22 0z. bottle of beer for $10. But if that bottle of beer retails in package stores for $18, and a restaurant can sell it for $25, now that beer becomes a much more attractive sale — much more comparable to selling a bottle wine. Expensive craft beers may well be the catalyst that changes the way beer is sold in fine dining restaurants.
Remember, you can buy plenty of wine for under $10 a bottle at Krogers. But this is not the wine they sell at better restaurants. Wine's price diversification is one of it's market strengths. The market bids up the price of premium, limited-production wines, and it's good for the wine industry. Still, most wine sold is the popular-priced variety, just as it is in the beer world. But it is the high end wines that create the category's buzz and momentum.
A couple of weeks ago I made several visits to Russian River Brewing Company, and it was great to be able to drink their beers at happy hour prices. I paid $3.25 a glass for their Belgian-style, barrel-aged specialties and for pints of Pliny at the brewery restaurant. Yet at the local liquor store, 750 ml bottles of Russian River Supplication were going for $19 plus tax. Other high-end specialties from other California breweries were commanding similar prices. Premium craft bombers were in the $8 to $10 range.
I'm glad that we have a choice to get inexpensive, yet good craft beer at brewpubs and for under $10 for a sixer at carryouts. I'm also glad that the top end of craft beers are commanding $20 retail for a 750 or bomber. The craft beer industry needs this price diversification. It's a good thing.
I wanted to try it. I really wanted to try it. But it was bottle only... so I coughed up the $16.99. Would I buy again at that price? No. But it was very good, and made great conversation fodder around the table.
I wanted to try it. I really wanted to try it. But it was bottle only... so I coughed up the $16.99. Would I buy again at that price? No. But it was very good, and made great conversation fodder around the table.
Also to this point, it really bothers me when some people complain about a $10 22oz bottle of beer, but would never spend less than $15 for a bottle of wine.
Lastly, although I haven't seen the 7oz bottles anywhere yet, I would bet you money they are not as expensive elsewhere as they are at SI
Couldn't find anything to disparage in your post, Travis (we disagree about sometimes spending more on the beer, but that's a personal opinion)... but I especially agree with the last two points. Wine-only snobs are even worse than beer snobs in my experience, in general and in bashing beer.
I wouldn't have too much of an issue paying $10 for a bomber, but $15-$20 is too much.
As far as paying high prices for beer, well, if I have the cash and it is something that either I have never had but am intrigued by, or something I have had and really enjoyed, then I will spend the money.
There is most certainly overpriced beer, but that can't be judged by price alone. You must consider the quality of the brew before you can determine if it is fairly priced. This same principle applies to everything from bread to toothpaste to wine, to steak.
I can go to Texas Road House and buy a steak the will taste good and won't be too expensive, but more than likely it comes from a factory farm and has been feed hormones and corn and god knows what else. Or I can go to Richwood Grill and pay a little more, but get a much better quality steak. It is all in what you are looking for.
Personally I love beer. All kinds of beer. And I will never know if I like something or not unless I try it. So for that reason IF I CAN AFFORD IT at the time, I won't let price make my decision. It may end up being my favorite beer ever.
Also to this point, it really bothers me when some people complain about a $10 22oz bottle of beer, but would never spend less than $15 for a bottle of wine.
Lastly, although I haven't seen the 7oz bottles anywhere yet, I would bet you money they are not as expensive elsewhere as they are at SI
...but I didn't think they were bad.
Completely agree, they are not bad.
I just didn't think they were anywhere near worth their cost is all.
Last Updated (Thursday, 20 May 2010 21:33)