The Co$t of American Craft Beer

By scot in Lounge on Thursday, January 28th, 2010

From time to time I bring up the cost of pickling the liver with American craft beer. Compared to the macros, the cost of craft beer is much higher and, in some limited releases, ludicrously high. I recently remembered seeing an add for a macro at about $15.00 for a case and thinking that was high from when I was in college (20 years ago already, age is catching up quickly). Yesterday I purchased a case of Hopslam for $68 after tax. I have paid more than $10 for a bomber which is less than two beers. So how could $15 for a macro case sound expensive?

Yes, better ingredients cost more money as there isn’t the high amount of adjuncts. free run 4.0 v3 femmes Also, the craft brewers don’t have the buying power for their ingredients as they are using no where near the same amount; no bulk discounts. Bottling and distribution of beer is a very labor intensive and monetarily expensive part of brewing. These and other factors force craft brewers to pass these costs onto the consumer. The price of quality over quantity.

I guess you could say it is a hobby of sorts. Anyone that has ever had a hobby can attest to the fact that they do not come cheaply. There are ways to keep costs down within a “normal” hobby: diy, go smaller, buy smaller, buy second hand, etc. Most of these cost reducing methods don’t work in the craft beer world. DIY would be brewing your own and doing away with craft beer completely (I home brew but still enjoy the craft beers, a lot). Go smaller, a beer is a beer, I can’t buy a smaller version of it. Second hand beer sounds like urine to me. Just as my list above could continue, so could I here.

What does it all really mean? Hopslam, as mentioned above, at its case cost, is still less than $3 per 12 ounce serving. Not bad for an outstanding beer that has 10% alcohol and is a limited release. I would pay at least that in a bar for a bottle of macro. An easy decision when looked at in this manner. As for the expensive bombers: limit the number that I buy. Overall, be selective with the beer that I purchase, do my homework online to see the thoughts of others on a particular beer, and, most importantly, stop going to the damn liquor store two or more times a week. Simply put: create a budget as you would on any other facet of your spending self. Enjoy!