Beer prices

[toweringpine]

It is great that there are so many fantastic beer options available to us. There seems to be a steady climb in pricing that far outpaces the standard rate of inflation. I was just reading about the upcoming fall release and see only one beer for under $4 ( and even that is only by a nickel ). Not too many years ago the LCBO mentioned preferred price points in their submission guidelines. Cans for under $2.50 and $11 for six packs. This seems to be gone now.

The upcoming event at Volo is priced very high as well. The thread on Session had a few comments that it was priced out of some people's budgets too, even TFOB is pretty pricy.

Every time I go to the grocery store I realize that all food products have gone up but I think it is different with beer. I think the craft boom has made brewers realize the market can bear a higher price so they re taking advantage of it.

I hope someone realizes that there are plenty of 9% barrel aged whatever's on the shelves but very few flavorful session brews that are priced at a level that people can afford to enjoy a session of them.

[Baulz]

There's not many 6 packs left under $13, it seems most have gone up a dollar recently.

[iguenard]

Making quality craft beer in small batches costs more than "brewing" Coors Light.

What youre seeing is availability of higher priced, higher quality products that you didnt see before.

Beers like Drie Fonteinen Gueuze is expensive, and you'll understand when you visit the brewery across the ocean

I think its a good sign, just as long as products that used to exist at 2$ a bottle dont rise to 4$ a bottle for the exact same product... which could happen given the price in fuel, transportation costs increasing due to oil prices, and the overall hops shortage.

[Belgian]

1) beer prices have been getting retarded, especially since bars here also have to add markup over retail AND tax AND tip. Super ghey, Ontario!!

2) some products have been the same price forever so upward movement is inevitable. For those products. Not all.

3) drinking less is healthy. You can probably retire years sooner just from curtailing your store buys and going fewer times to bars and restaurants. Why not set a budget limit? Drink less, and drink better.

[toweringpine]

1) beer prices have been getting retarded, especially since bars here also have to add markup over retail AND tax AND tip. Super ghey, Ontario!!

2) some products have been the same price forever so upward movement is inevitable. For those products. Not all.

3) drinking less is healthy. You can probably retire years sooner just from curtailing your store buys and going fewer times to bars and restaurants. Why not set a budget limit? Drink less, and drink better.

I guess I was just reading the Fall Release page and when I saw only one new beer at $3.95 and everything else considerably higher it made me think about the postings Greg used to put up that outlined the details the LCBO was looking for in submissions for the various beer releases. They used to mention what prices would be preferred and I wonder if they still do. Greg hasn't posted that info for a few years and I have no idea how to find it myself. If they still have a preferred price level I imagine they are focussed on high end products rather than under a certain amount like they used to be.

There is no question that rising prices have led me to think twice about going out to bars and restaurants, attending events and what / how much to purchase at the LCBO. Perhaps there is some merit to the system used in the UK where beers are taxed at different levels based on the alcohol amounts. Maybe we could get some more affordable low ABV beers that are good for a everyday beer on the shelves rather than great looking and tasting $10 bottles that now must be considered a treat for weekends or special occasions.

[Cass]

It's a bit vague but they do have a price range for their beer releases.

http://www.doingbusinesswithlcbo.com/tr ... 0FINAL.pdf

[markaberrant]

1) beer prices have been getting retarded, especially since bars here also have to add markup over retail AND tax AND tip. Super ghey, Ontario!!

2) some products have been the same price forever so upward movement is inevitable. For those products. Not all.

3) drinking less is healthy. You can probably retire years sooner just from curtailing your store buys and going fewer times to bars and restaurants. Why not set a budget limit? Drink less, and drink better.

I'm finding this discussion very timely with my own self realization.

I am a homebrewer, and most would say I am a pretty good one, so I am able to satisfy a lot of my beer cravings through my own creations.

Most of my commercial beer purchases for the last 5 years have been high end beers that can benefit from aging (ie; I am in no rush to drink them, as I plenty of fresh homebrew on hand).

This has been working relatively well for me, but is becoming a challenge for a few reasons:
1. Most of the commercial beers I prefer to purchase are only available as 650s, and are high alcohol. I have little interest drinking these by myself, so I put them away for tasting events. I am an anti-hoarder, and do not like seeing my cellar and beer fridge overstuffed with beers that I don't have time to drink.
2. 650s have become proportionally more expensive than the traditional 6 pack of 12oz bottles.
3. Many of these beers are lame and not worth the money spent.

I have hosted a few tastings over the last year where all the beer was supplied by me. I am more than happy to share beer with good people, and I made it clear no one was to bring beers because I had lots already. I'm not trying to sound like a cheap bastard, and my friends are very generous as well, but when I looked back the next day and counted up the dollar value of the beers, these are becoming VERY expensive nights for me.

At the same time, I have delved into the world of barrel aged spirits over the last 6 months, particularly rum, canadian rye, and bourbon. I freakin love the stuff, and prices for the most part are incredibly reasonable. Over the last week, I have been pondering the quality and cost/serving of these spirits to the beers I have been buying, and the spirits are about half the price. It is a nobrainer as to which product I am going to spend my money on.

I am not turning my back on beer. I am still very active in the homebrewing, beer judging and beer education scene. When traveling, I will continue to buy commercial beer and frequent pubs and breweries, but the take home purchases will be much smaller, and I have already set some targets in terms of price/serving I am willing to spend.

I feel a little odd about the whole thing. A lot of what has happened in the beer industry over the last few years has been a major turnoff, in particular the constant bombardment of half assed, over priced limited releases... it has pushed me to the point where I have found something else to spend my money on and get better value.

[Belgian]

something else to spend my money on and get better value.

Wine. Large pretentious bottles and 'lame overpriced special release' beers are making many wines a terrific value by comparison.

Plus it's a nice break from the usual.

[markaberrant]

something else to spend my money on and get better value.

Wine. Large pretentious bottles and 'lame overpriced special release' beers are making many wines a terrific value by comparison.

Plus it's a nice break from the usual.

I've tried getting into wines off and on over the years, it just seems like a pain in the ass to wade your way through the myriad of wineries and price ranges (I am sure I would feel the same if I was trying to get into craft beers today). I quickly end up getting frustrated wasting my money on what ends up being used for marinades. I've come across some ok stuff in the $10-20 range that I don't mind drinking now and again, but it aint blowing my socks off, and I would rather just drink a good beer.

I've come across 1 wine that actually blew me away, but don't recall the name anymore. This was back in 2008 and the bottle was $25, which for a beer guy back then was outrageous. I never really went beyond that price point either, because I felt there was absolutely no way that any of them were going to become a regular purchase at that price.

So yeah, screw wine. That being said, I'm still waiting for the day that a wine savy friend will come along and show me the way.

Not to completely derail the thread, but drinking spirits is a totally different experience, and it has taken me quite awhile to get the hang of it, but I find it fascinating. I think the biggest turnoff for most people is the idea of sippin a room temp liquid over the course of an hour.

[Craig]

Getting into wine is at least as damaging to your wallet as getting into beer. Sure, it's possible to keep to cheaper bottles and pick out good value, but if you really get into it you're still going to want to try the premium stuff more and more often. It's like how most beer geeks eventually want to go try the Westy 12, except the Westy 12 is much more expensive.

[Tapsucker]

I have a friend who, for the ten years or so I have known, I had never seen him drink a beer. He just didn't like the stuff and hadn't had one since college over 25 years ago.

About a year ago, he hesitantly (out of courtesy, really) tried some of my homebrew and discovered beer to be different than what he recalled. He started spending quite a bit of time and money at the LCBO on craft beer ever since.

He normally gravitates to higher end whisky, probably in the $60+ range per bottle. He mentioned to me that spending anywhere up to that for a case of good beer was a bargain in his mind. Basically he sees the craft in both products and respects the cost of production, niche marketing, distribution etc.

I guess it's all a matter of perspective.

On a related note, I'm often pleased to find great prices on pints in some bars in Toronto. Now that a couple of divier bars have taken a chance on better beer, I've found $5-$6 pints of Hoptical and even Boneshaker around town. Even 20oz pints!

West-enders should check out the Bar With No Name. I think it's Tuesdays or Wednesdays when they have some great prices on excellent taps. And there are reasonable prices to be found on good selection at Thirsty & Miserable, The Only, and I'm sure plenty more.

[cratez]

Same topic with the exact same thread title came up five months ago. What I said then still applies, but I wanted to address some of the OP's points.

The first is that I don't see how any of us can expect six packs of artisan beers with high quality ingredients to be $11 or less when that's what Coors Light and other mass-produced garbage sells for at The Beer Store. If swill costs $1.83 per beer in Ontario (and due to our minimum price rule and lack of retail competition, that's no doubt higher than it should be), then I'm happy to pay $13.50 for a fresh sixer of Mad Tom.

Beyond that there's still a few good micros selling for near-macro prices (like Naughty Neighbour), plenty of worthwhile cans under $3 (Fish Eye is the latest that comes to mind), bombers in the $5-7 range, and high gravity dinner bottles under $10, all of which are fair prices IMO.

If you think a beer or event is overpriced, don't support it. Also consider stocking up when crossing the border. This past March I grabbed two cases of Founders All Day IPA in Michigan for ~$80, or $1.67 per beer. Didn't pay any duty and it lasted me for most of the spring (though I drank other stuff too).

I agree that we're seeing spendier bottles on store shelves and a couple events that just aren't worth the cost, but my reaction is always to ignore both, and never rule out going stateside for cheap, world class beer hauls. Best way to send a message to any business that may be trying to gouge people is to actively reject what they're selling while supporting the breweries, bars, and events that provide quality and value to their customers.

On a related note, I'm often pleased to find great prices on pints in some bars in Toronto. Now that a couple of divier bars have taken a chance on better beer, I've found $5-$6 pints of Hoptical and even Boneshaker around town. Even 20oz pints!

West-enders should check out the Bar With No Name. I think it's Tuesdays or Wednesdays when they have some great prices on excellent taps. And there are reasonable prices to be found on good selection at Thirsty & Miserable, The Only, and I'm sure plenty more.

Great advice, and we've discussed some other happy hour deals worth their name, particularly at Bryden's, Bar Hop, and WVRST.

[Craig]

Macro beer prices shouldn't be compared like that, they're artificially high. A better comparison is buck a beer prices, if you want to say that craft beer has higher costs. Macros have the costs of buck a beer, but can charge a lot more, probably because of their extensive marketing.

[Bytowner]

Beers like Kichessipi and Naughty Neighbour are getting a good deal more of my cash lately. I stopped getting excited about limited releases awhile ago and am relishing my new focus on multi-packs of beer I actually enjoy drinking, along with pricier archetypes like Saison Dupont and some of the hefes. It's liberating.

[cratez]

Macro beer prices shouldn't be compared like that, they're artificially high. A better comparison is buck a beer prices, if you want to say that craft beer has higher costs. Macros have the costs of buck a beer, but can charge a lot more, probably because of their extensive marketing.

There's no such thing as buck-a-beer anymore as the new legal minimum is $29.35 per case, or $1.22 per beer. But to use your comparison, Naughty Neighbour at $2.04 per bottle is definitely good value and no doubt "worth" $0.82 more per bottle than the sewage selling at the floor price. Likewise for Southern Tier IPA at $2.18/bottle or $0.96 more/bottle than the legal minimum brands. Point is there's plenty of affordable craft to be had even in Ontario's archaic, uncompetitive liquor system.