Tyranny of the "craft" beer

[Qhrumphf]

Are people that aren't beer geeks really going to shell out 20 for a bottle? I think not.

Some of these prices people are posting are just silly. It appears people are just going to the wrong vendor...
I remember seeing negra modelo for 13 a six in a trendy Manhattan neighborhood but I then walked a few blocks and got it for 9 at my local bodega...

So glad I've moved away and moved on...

Certainly depends on where you shop. Depending on what I want, I'll get it from the local supermarket where the prices tend to be the best, or I'll have to go to a place with a stupidly ridiculous markup because what I'm looking for is only available at places with a stupidly huge markup.

I know that in many parts of the city, DC beer prices exceed NYC prices. Cheaper on my side of the river, or across the river in some parts of the Maryland burbs. But sometimes I'll venture into DC since its more or less "legal to sell grey market beer at your bar" laws allow you to get stuff you can't get anywhere else (albeit sometimes pissing off the brewer in the process). I shelled out way too much to taste Pliny the Elder, Supplication, and a handful of other Russian River beers. However, much like shelling out $85 for a sixer of Westvleteren 12, when you factor in travel, or even just shipping for a trade, the cost seems a little more reasonable for something like that.

 

[troy2000]

There was a small brewery in my home town. It monopolised the bar scene and the beer was quite awful. A friend of mine's father worked there, and one day he took us on a tour of the brewery, and finished it off with a tasting at the little bar they had on site. This beer was splendid. It was fresh out of their tanks, where presumably it was conditioned. The difference between it and the product bought through their network was unbelievable.

Way back in the 70's I took a tour of Olympic Brewery - only because I was hitchhiking and the driver insisted. I'd always considered Olympic beer to be horse-p*** in a can. But as you say about your local brewery, the beer on tap at the end of the tour was delicious.

So when I got home, I bought a sixer of it. And you know what? It was horse-p*** in a can...

 

[JohnSand]

In the same vein, an old German (born there) I knew used to drink Miller Genuine. His explanation was that "The schidt sold here as German beer, we would pour on the floor in Bavaria!" My Dad used to point out that beer doesn't travel well.
A slightly different take: I don't like Corona. But it does taste better in Mexico. Maybe it hasn't been skunked up by light yet. Or, maybe anything tastes better sitting on a sun drenched beach in February, watching a parade of fabulous butts go by.

 

[Qhrumphf]

In the same vein, an old German (born there) I knew used to drink Miller Genuine. His explanation was that "The schidt sold here as German beer, we would pour on the floor in Bavaria!" My Dad used to point out that beer doesn't travel well.
A slightly different take: I don't like Corona. But it does taste better in Mexico. Maybe it hasn't been skunked up by light yet. Or, maybe anything tastes better sitting on a sun drenched beach in February, watching a parade of fabulous butts go by.

I remember visiting my grandfather in Tuscon before he died, and sitting outside in the nice comfortable January sun, and Corona being just fantastic even if skunked.

Never been to Mexico, but something about southwest desert makes Corona something special.

 

[pgraham5870]

Depending on where you are, $8 a six will get you quality. In Charleston, the great local IPA's command $12 a six, but the larger breweries that put out great stuff can be sought out in megastores like Total Wine. I am personally convinced that after finding Lagunitas' APA "New Dogtown" (which I think is delicious) at $6.99 a pop, I started cleaning them out twice a week..one day, it was $8.99..lots of good stuff doesn't sell well, just seek it out, see if the ratings jive on BA or RateBeer, and you should have some luck.