Supporting Independent Breweries

[Liam_snorkel]

Burleigh Brewing's Hefe is more expensive than the German Hefes at Dans.

It's a good Hefe, but with all due respect, it ain't Schofferhoffer. It's $3 more for a sixpack ... for the beer made 5km down the road.

the last time I've grabbed a schoffer from dans it was getting close to its best before date and the yeast tasted 'dead', which was disappointing.

My local bottle-o doesn't stock schofferhoffer, but does have weihenstephaner pints at 3 for $15. HEF 6 packs were by memory $20 ea.

 

[Nick JD]

We all know stuff made in Australia always seems to cost more...

True - Commodores are way more expensive than Mercedes Benz.

 

[dicko]

You'll be right Nick when the chinese start making Schofferhoffer.

It should be cheap enough for you then... :lol:

<_<

 

[hsb]

I bought an EKIM After Battle Pale Ale last week (made up in Kuringai somewhere, bottle says on 300l setup) bottling date was less than a week old, tasted beautiful and fresh, far nicer than any Sierra Nevada product I've had here in Aus. No idea how much it cost, I don't drink enough to care tbh. I never shop at dan murphys or liquor land or any other mass chain beer store if I can. When I have to, I'm often bamboozled by all the 'fake' craft beer options and reticent to buy Australian for this reason. I would always try and support a local brewery and retailer if I can, obvious why init. Like if I I visit a local brewery I don't ask if theyve got schofferhoffer on tap.
I'm up for trying Aussie takes on famous styles, be great to understand more about the actual source, depressing seeing people trying a James Squires to be daring and adventure into beer.

 

[Nick JD]

You'll be right Nick when the chinese start making Schofferhoffer.

It should be cheap enough for you then... :lol:

<_<

Schofferhoffer is cheap already $15.30 for 6, 330ml bottles (equivalent: $23 for 6 x 500ml). Local stuff is $18. Bloody stupid tax laws.

 

[bum]

Schofferhoffer is cheap already $15.30 for 6, 330ml bottles (equivalent: $23 for 6 x 500ml). Local stuff is $18. Bloody stupid tax laws.

Imports pay some excise equivalent fee. You'll have to blame something else?

Mandatory superannuation seems sensible.

 

[dammag]

I went to Dan's on the way home in the hope of buying a couple of Aussie beers to try. I walked out with a Ballast Point IPA and a Tower 10 IPA. I couldn't pass them up. Well in date. $4 a stubbie. Same as most locals. If I am going to pay good money for beer then I want some bang for my buck. $20 a six pack for SNPA was also tempting. I am drinking the Ballast Point IPA at the moment and it is nice without being over the top. There is nothing like an IPA aroma.

I would have bought a bottle of Burleigh Brewings FIG JAM IPA but Dan's don't have it.

I was also going to buy a tallie of Coopers Sparkling Ale but I am a bit over the yeasty thing, was my favourite beer once, before home brew and hops!

Damian.

 

[g-funke]

Slightly off topic, but not really..
Have been in the Blue Mountains all weekend and stopped by Leura Cellars. Wow. Probably the best local and imported range I have seen in NSW.
I picked up a few St Bernardus 12 and some Innis and Gunn oak aged stout (they also had the full Heretic range, Bear Republic and most of the Belgian beers (apart from Cantillon).
Back to topic, they also had a great range of Aussie beers and picked up some Murrays (who IMO are one of the best breweries in Australia) Imperial Stout, as well as some Bridge Road and Grand Ridge Moonshine and Hatlifter.
I always try and pick up a new Aussie craft beer each visit to a bottle-o, and If I find one I like, I'll buy it again.
Anyways, just thought I'd mention it....

 

[Northside Novice]

Q: if i buy an aussie craft beer from a duopoly ( woolies or coles ) , does it help or hinder the aussie craft brewing industry?

 

[dammag]

FWIW the Ballast Point was much better than the Tower 10.

The good news is my wife thought I made them. The bad news is I didn't.

Damian.

 

[black_labb]

Q: if i buy an aussie craft beer from a duopoly ( woolies or coles ) , does it help or hinder the aussie craft brewing industry?

It helps

you are firstly helping the brewer with sales as well as demonstrating to the bottle shops that craft beer sells and is profitable instead of just taking up valueable shelf space.

 

[bignath]

It helps

you are firstly helping the brewer with sales as well as demonstrating to the bottle shops that craft beer sells and is profitable instead of just taking up valueable shelf space.

Just on this, not trying to throw a cat amongst it all, but i'm not sure it's that simple a transaction.

If for example the same bottle was purchased elsewhere, they'd still get the sales ticking over encouraging them to make more of it, but the slightly higher price, i would hope, could mean more actual profit to the manufacturer.

I have a close friend who is an apple farmer, who has had to go into vegetable farming too, to be profitable against the duopoly of coles and woolies.
The way he and his competition get royally ****** over by coles and woolies over price and quality, makes it hard to do business.

I can't help but think that if buying grog from coles or woolies owned bottle shops or pubs, means less actual profit for the brewery who made it because they've taken a hit in their margins to actually get it into a coles or woolies outlet in the first place.

where i live, pretty much all (conservative approximation as i actually believe every outlet) are owned by either coles or woolies.
If i had the opportunity to buy beer at any other outlet in my regional centre of Mt Gambier, i would jump at the chance to give them my patronage.

I would gladly pay an extra dollar a bottle if i KNEW it was going back into the brewery.

Coles and Woolies won't be taking a hit by selling the beer cheaper at their outlets than other ones....it will be the producer being forced to supply at a rate dictated to them by the duopoly.

What really is ****** though (but completely expected) is that people that really like beer are the minority, and an attitude like mine of being happy to pay an extra dollar to go back to the breweries is lost on them.

**** that, i can buy it cheaper here.....etc.. That's the attitude of the average alcohol consumer, which will basically translate into the situation where Coles and Woolies can get away with dictating a supply price because the vast majority of people will always shop based on cost alone.
I shop based on cost, but i'm saying it's not necessarily the deciding factor of where i shop.

 

[Northside Novice]

Q: how many independant aussie craft breweries are on their shelves ? i am no expert but i would guess there is not many , 3% ?

ok thinking about it , the last time i was in uncle dans, 6%

would love to be able to support an aussie craft beer co-op !! online shop even??!!???

 

[black_labb]

Just on this, not trying to throw a cat amongst it all, but i'm not sure it's that simple a transaction.

If for example the same bottle was purchased elsewhere, they'd still get the sales ticking over encouraging them to make more of it, but the slightly higher price, i would hope, could mean more actual profit to the manufacturer.

I have a close friend who is an apple farmer, who has had to go into vegetable farming too, to be profitable against the duopoly of coles and woolies.
The way he and his competition get royally ****** over by coles and woolies over price and quality, makes it hard to do business.

I can't help but think that if buying grog from coles or woolies owned bottle shops or pubs, means less actual profit for the brewery who made it because they've taken a hit in their margins to actually get it into a coles or woolies outlet in the first place.

where i live, pretty much all (conservative approximation as i actually believe every outlet) are owned by either coles or woolies.
If i had the opportunity to buy beer at any other outlet in my regional centre of Mt Gambier, i would jump at the chance to give them my patronage.

I would gladly pay an extra dollar a bottle if i KNEW it was going back into the brewery.

Coles and Woolies won't be taking a hit by selling the beer cheaper at their outlets than other ones....it will be the producer being forced to supply at a rate dictated to them by the duopoly.

What really is ****** though (but completely expected) is that people that really like beer are the minority, and an attitude like mine of being happy to pay an extra dollar to go back to the breweries is lost on them.

**** that, i can buy it cheaper here.....etc.. That's the attitude of the average alcohol consumer, which will basically translate into the situation where Coles and Woolies can get away with dictating a supply price because the vast majority of people will always shop based on cost alone.
I shop based on cost, but i'm saying it's not necessarily the deciding factor of where i shop.

I completely agree and almost described that as well as why it was important to support the independant bottle shops as they are small local businesses but decided against it as it would have been wordy and probably a bit political in some senses. Glad someone did it!

 

[pk.sax]

In qty, yes. In number of different beers, not really. The Aussie ones have more product, less variety while the imports get more variety but less shelf space total. Seems like that at least. Ty the grand ridge moonshine and the stout. 2 very nice beers imo. I'm actually gonna look for something from stone and wood besides the pacific ale (yumm) next time.

What does piss me off about Aussie micros is the shelf crowding from the endeavour and vale ale types. The 'fake' micros.

I remember drinking a gage roads wahoo kolsch, quite nice. Couldn't pin down if it was to style or not, too long between kolschs.

 

[Nick JD]

Mandatory superannuation seems sensible.

Ze Germans sure love to retire wealthy.

 

[Black Devil Dog]

I like the idea, personally whenever I walk into the liquor store I rarely know what I'm going to walk out with.
Some of the loose criteria that I try to work with is, not to buy something that is sitting in a prime position, isn't heavily promoted and I haven't had it before.
It's not too much to grab a stubby or six pack brewed by a micro, if you like it tell your mates, if you don't like it tell the brewery.
If you don't want to do anything, don't.

 

[MHB]

God I love living in Newcastle, two great micros, a bottle shop with over 1,000 beers, both local and imported (growler refill to) and a craft bar in staggering distance with 10 taps and 2 hand-pull beers on the go no crap beer to be seen.
The whole lower Hunter Valley Region only has 350,000 people the rest of Australia has some catching up to do
Maybe this is what it will be like everywhere if we all support craft brewing.
Mark

 

[bigfridge]

craft bar in staggering distance with 10 taps and 2 hand-pull beers on the go no crap beer to be seen.

Yup .... this is the moral of this story thread.

The last mega-laga tap was removed a few years ago - when Potters Kolsch was outselling VB.

Don't drink crap beer ..... learn to tell the difference between good and bad beer favours and let the brewer know if there is a problem.

 

[manticle]

Well I grabbed a hawthorn pale, hawthorn amber and Jamiesons pale.

Only had the pale tonight but was a decent beer. Bit perfumey for my tastes but certainly nice.

Two local (to me) breweries I rate quite highly are mountain goat and Temple Brewing Company, temple especially. Hawthorn is also very local, particularly now I've moved eastward.