Is Beer Too Expensive?

[pbrosnan]

Hi all,

Always good to have a whinge about the price of Austrlalian craft brewed beer so I'll indulge myself. I received an email from the Micro Beer Club telling me that they've got a limited release Mad Abott Dubbel and Tripel for sale. So I was seriously thinking of buying some ... until I saw the price. I think I'm correct in saying that it's 87 bucks for 2 six packs, one Dubbel and one Tripel. That's $7.25 per 330ml stubbie. And that's without the postage cost. I could buy Chimay for a bit more. I just can't see how they could survive selling beer at that price. And if that price reflects the cost of production then I don't know why in other places craft beer just doesn't seem so expensive. I expect the excise here is higher but then I presume that's the same for all beer craft brewed or not. Could it be that we are paying a heft "luxury" premium? I mean I'm not a wine drinker but it seems that the price of a decent bottle of plonk is a lot less than for the same quality beer. It's no wonder Dan bloody Murphy is taking over the market.

And the Micro Beer Club need to include a link to their site in the emails. It seems a bit dopey to be sent an email advertising an offer and then you have to go and Google the company to find their website.

 

[Effect]

Hi all,

Always good to have a whinge about the price of Austrlalian craft brewed beer so I'll indulge myself. I received an email from the Micro Beer Club telling me that they've got a limited release Mad Abott Dubbel and Tripel for sale. So I was seriously thinking of buying some ... until I saw the price. I think I'm correct in saying that it's 87 bucks for 2 six packs, one Dubbel and one Tripel. That's $7.25 per 330ml stubbie. And that's without the postage cost. I could buy Chimay for a bit more. I just can't see how they could survive selling beer at that price. And if that price reflects the cost of production then I don't know why in other places craft beer just doesn't seem so expensive. I expect the excise here is higher but then I presume that's the same for all beer craft brewed or not. Could it be that we are paying a heft "luxury" premium? I mean I'm not a wine drinker but it seems that the price of a decent bottle of plonk is a lot less than for the same quality beer. It's no wonder Dan bloody Murphy is taking over the market.

And the Micro Beer Club need to include a link to their site in the emails. It seems a bit dopey to be sent an email advertising an offer and then you have to go and Google the company to find their website.

fair go for craft beer

ever had seen that website mate? It's a bit unfair that hand crafted beer gets slapped with the same exise as the big boys do - especially when the wine industry has a different setup.


Maybe we need to get some mps involved in microbreweries and things could change swiftly.

Cheers
Phil

 

[dgilks]

Yes, our beer is too expensive thanks partly to high excise. However, your wine analogy is wrong. It is fairly widely acknowledged that beer is cheaper than comparable quality wine (except at the cheapest price point). World class beers go for ~$40/bottle (750ml) while world class wines are $100+. That Mad Abbott is probably the beer equivalent of a $50 bottle of wine. In any case, I think you are possibly right to buy the Chimay at those prices but ~$7 seems right for limited release, high alcohol micros.

 

[hazard]

Hi all,

Always good to have a whinge about the price of Austrlalian craft brewed beer so I'll indulge myself. I received an email from the Micro Beer Club telling me that they've got a limited release Mad Abott Dubbel and Tripel for sale. So I was seriously thinking of buying some ... until I saw the price. I think I'm correct in saying that it's 87 bucks for 2 six packs, one Dubbel and one Tripel. That's $7.25 per 330ml stubbie. And that's without the postage cost. I could buy Chimay for a bit more. I just can't see how they could survive selling beer at that price. And if that price reflects the cost of production then I don't know why in other places craft beer just doesn't seem so expensive. I expect the excise here is higher but then I presume that's the same for all beer craft brewed or not. Could it be that we are paying a heft "luxury" premium? I mean I'm not a wine drinker but it seems that the price of a decent bottle of plonk is a lot less than for the same quality beer. It's no wonder Dan bloody Murphy is taking over the market.

And the Micro Beer Club need to include a link to their site in the emails. It seems a bit dopey to be sent an email advertising an offer and then you have to go and Google the company to find their website.

I don't think that the micro beer club is helping matters. I signed up for 3 months to see what its like. $50 per month becomes $60 when you add postage, for 12 330ml bottles thats about $5 each. Methinks I'll go down to Dan Bloody Murphy and spend $60 per month there. They had Spitfire Ale for $7 last time I was there (500ml) which is much better value than anything the Micro Brew Club sells.

Oh, and there was another post lately which castigated Snowy Mountains and other contract brewers. While i don't have a problem with contract brewers (I love Snowy Mountains Razorback Ale) they are not, by definition, micro brewers and MBC should NOT be including these beers in their monthly packages. Needless to say, I will not renew my contract with MBC.

 

[pbrosnan]

~$7 seems right for limited release, high alcohol micros.

Why does this seem right? Do you mean it's what we are expected to pay or that it represents value for money or that it reflects the costs of production plus a reasonable margin?

 

[dgilks]

Why does this seem right? Do you mean it's what we are expected to pay or that it represents value for money or that it reflects the costs of production plus a reasonable margin?

Value is a relative terms and will vary from person to person. The amount does however seems to reflect the high costs of ingredients, labour, utilities, taxes, etc in Australia and the size of that beer. You simply can't make a 9% Belgian Tripel for the same price as a 4.5% Kolsch. While I would love to see American pricing on alcohol in this country, it simply isn't going to happen when wages are more than $8/hr, business taxes are 30%, excise rates are extremely high, ingredients cost twice as much and shipping costs are also high.

 

[Supra-Jim]

Remember to that the wowsers who run this country are not likely to support any kind of discounting/reductuion in the costs associated with alcohol given the current climate regarding drinking etc.

Cheers SJ

 

[pbrosnan]

Value is a relative terms and will vary from person to person. The amount does however seems to reflect the high costs of ingredients, labour, utilities, taxes, etc in Australia and the size of that beer. You simply can't make a 9% Belgian Tripel for the same price as a 4.5% Kolsch. While I would love to see American pricing on alcohol in this country, it simply isn't going to happen when wages are more than $8/hr, business taxes are 30%, excise rates are extremely high, ingredients cost twice as much and shipping costs are also high.

And yet a could by a box of Chimay (red) from DM for less, and that comes from the EU (not a low wage region) and has a lot further to travel. It is conundrum.

 

[warra48]

You are looking at what is basically a handcrafted specialty batch, brewed alongside their main Wicked Elf lines.

As pointed out, the cost of production, excise, and transport are high.

Given the alcohol level of the dubbels and triples, and their freshness compared to imported products, I'm happy to pay the price asked. I have no plans to brew my own Belgian styles, so for me it's an occasional treat.

I know, I know, I'm a local at Port Mac, but I have no affiliation with the brewery.

 

[Leigh]

That doesn't seem too bad.

If you buy a 6-pack of VB, you're paying about $2.15 a stubbie. Likewise a Crownie would be around $2.70 a stubbie bought in a 6-pack.

And these are both mass produced, low alcohol crabby beers in comparison. Is a 3x price hike really that bad for a quality high alcohol beer?

To compare that to Wine, you can pick up the mass produced wines for around $10 a bottle, and a "decent" bottle for $30-40...

 

[Mantis]

On the Neil Mitchel show down here this morning they are trying to talk up raising alc prices.
This will help stop alc fuled violence so they say, pffft

 

[dgilks]

On the Neil Mitchel show down here this morning they are trying to talk up raising alc prices.
This will help stop alc fuled violence so they say, pffft

I have no problem with that as long as it is a minimum price per standard drink such that it is only the cheap macro produced products that are hit. Everyone knows that craft products aren't the problem.

 

[EK]

It does seem too high for me. I would spend my cash at Dan Murphy's or 1st Choice and get a range of beer for the same price. I haven't seen anything I believe to be good value, or even average value, from the Micro Beer Club.

ever had seen that website mate? It's a bit unfair that hand crafted beer gets slapped with the same exise as the big boys do - especially when the wine industry has a different setup.

I disagree with your statement a bit. It isn't unfair that the craft breweries get slapped with the same exise that the big regional brewers do. If they are making the same product, then the same taxes should apply. However, it is hypocritical of the government to give small wineries get a tax break and small breweries miss out because they don't make wine. The situation needs to be rectified one way or the other. If the government gives a crap about small/medium businesses and competition they would ease up on the craft brewers.

-EK

 

[HoppingMad]

In answer to the OP it depends on the beer.

Plenty of beers out there that you would say are well priced, and regular light beers are even cheaper due to being taxed lower.
But if you want quality craft or import you pay a premium as it is a premium quality product.

I bought three stubbies of American Pale Ales/IPAs the other day and the total came to $26. Ridiculous to spend that amount on 990ml, but I really wanted to try three unique beers that had no widespread distribution in Oz.

Like buying a fine bottle of wine in an expensive restaurant, value is a perception thing, and sometimes spending more on something makes you appreciate it more.

Hopper.

 

[Mr.Moonshine]

I agree that there still needs to be tax on craft brews, but the fact of the matter is that microbreweries face much higher costs in a relative sense when compared to the microbrews. I did a business report on the Australian brewing industry recently and found that the concentration of the top two firms in the market (Fosters and Lion Nathan) was 90.1%. Such a high concentration is well regarded as a barrier to entry for many firms, meaning that our industries are less competitive and socially efficient. In addition to this, large breweries are able to exploit economies of scale which mean that the effect of excise tax is relatively less on their bottom line. Microbreweries don't have that advantage, so the taxes have a much more significant effect on their growth and profitability. Given how Aussie craft brew products are really taking off overseas, it would be for the benefit of everyone if we cut tax on microbrew, but one could conceive that with the macrobreweries having such a dominant share in the market, they're going to lobby/push as much as they can to maintain their marketshare and practical oligopoly on the industry.

Rant over Cheers

Mr.Moonshine

 

[dgilks]

I bought three stubbies of American Pale Ales/IPAs the other day and the total came to $26. Ridiculous to spend that amount on 990ml, but I really wanted to try three unique beers that had no widespread distribution in Oz.

Like buying a fine bottle of wine in an expensive restaurant, value is a perception thing, and sometimes spending more on something makes you appreciate it more.

Hopper.

But the important thing with the wine analogy is, you got 1 litre of world class beer for under $30, how many world class bottles of wine can you get for that? Not many, not many at all.

 

[EK]

I agree that there still needs to be tax on craft brews, but the fact of the matter is that microbreweries face much higher costs in a relative sense when compared to the microbrews. I did a business report on the Australian brewing industry recently and found that the concentration of the top two firms in the market (Fosters and Lion Nathan) was 90.1%. Such a high concentration is well regarded as a barrier to entry for many firms, meaning that our industries are less competitive and socially efficient. In addition to this, large breweries are able to exploit economies of scale which mean that the effect of excise tax is relatively less on their bottom line. Microbreweries don't have that advantage, so the taxes have a much more significant effect on their growth and profitability. Given how Aussie craft brew products are really taking off overseas, it would be for the benefit of everyone if we cut tax on microbrew, but one could conceive that with the macrobreweries having such a dominant share in the market, they're going to lobby/push as much as they can to maintain their marketshare and practical oligopoly on the industry.

Rant over Cheers

Mr.Moonshine

I agree. Again: if the government gave a crap about small/medium business.....

-EK

 

[alowen474]

But the important thing with the wine analogy is, you got 1 litre of world class beer for under $30, how many world class bottles of wine can you get for that? Not many, not many at all.

I don't think you'd find many people drinking a schooner of world class wine?

There is a strong push for a break for small breweries, but I can't see any changes happening under this govt. They may do a report on it though.

 

[dgilks]

I don't think you'd find many people drinking a schooner of world class wine?

That's irrelevant. A serve of world class beer will cost you about $10, a serve of world class wine will cost you $15+.

 

[pbrosnan]

"A serve of world class beer will cost you about $10"
That depends where you buy it. A pint of SNPA in the US will cost no more that $6. Try and get a pint of the equivalent Australian craft brewed for under $9. I don't buy any of this stuff about being happy to pay. I suppose after see beer prices in other countries I feel a bit ripped off. If you take LCPA as an example I reckon between $14-16 is a fair normal price as opposed to the regular $19 plus.