Usa Brew Club Member Visiting

[katzke]

Well a member of our brew club is in OZ. Here is a report from him about the local beer. Is he shopping at the wrong place or quoting mini bar prices? He will be there for 3 months so any suggestions may be acted on. Here are his comments.

Not many beers to really talk about here. Although a couple are fairly
tasty, such as the line from Little Creatures. Just to put some things
in perspective, I thought I'd share the price of store bought beer here
in Melbourne, Australia:

Cascade Brewery (Australian Lagers and Ales; Low quality, but better
than Bud/Miller/Coors)
6 pack for $14.99 AUD ($9.83 USD)

Little Creatures (Australian Ales and Lagers; Comparable to Deschutes)
6 pack for $19.99 AUD ($13.11 USD)

Budwieser
6 pack for $24.99 AUD ($16.39 USD)
We're talking $16.39 for BUDWIESER?!

Samuel Adams Boston Lager
6 pack for $27.99 AUD ($18.36 USD)

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
6 pack for $46.95 AUD ($30.80 USD)
Yes, you read that one correctly!

These prices are now that the dollar is so strong against the Australian
dollar, $0.656, as opposed to when I first arrived, when it was $0.843!
Talk about pricey!

 

[quantocks]

Budwieser
6 pack for $24.99 AUD ($16.39 USD)
We're talking $16.39 for BUDWIESER?!

it's so expensive because no one buys that. Only silly Seppo's drink that crap

send your mate to Dan Murphy's or 1st Choice Liquor.

 

[peas_and_corn]

the SNPA seems a little over the top, I'm not sure about Bud or Sam Adams since I have never sought them out, and the first two look about right- it's always better to buy cartons, it's cheaper.

 

[THE DRUNK ARAB]

If he is still in Melbourne send him to Cloudwine:

http://www.cloudwine.com.au/

or Purvis Cellars:

http://www.purviscellars.com.au/

or Acland Street Cellars, 187 Acland Street, Saint Kilda.

I'm sure there are more good bottleshops than that in Melbourne so perhaps the locals can assist.
There are also some very good pubs over there as well.

C&B
TDA

 

[Adamt]

That looks about on par.

Good quality wine is a lot cheaper over here than beer is... the Government supports boutique wineries but not microbreweries - local craft beer is hard to come by as breweries can't come close to matching the megabreweries price range and lure the huge mega-lager market.

 

[petesbrew]

Well a member of our brew club is in OZ. Here is a report from him about the local beer. Is he shopping at the wrong place or quoting mini bar prices? He will be there for 3 months so any suggestions may be acted on. Here are his comments.

Not many beers to really talk about here. Although a couple are fairly
tasty, such as the line from Little Creatures. Just to put some things
in perspective, I thought I'd share the price of store bought beer here
in Melbourne, Australia:

Cascade Brewery (Australian Lagers and Ales; Low quality, but better
than Bud/Miller/Coors)
6 pack for $14.99 AUD ($9.83 USD)

Little Creatures (Australian Ales and Lagers; Comparable to Deschutes)
6 pack for $19.99 AUD ($13.11 USD)

Budwieser
6 pack for $24.99 AUD ($16.39 USD)
We're talking $16.39 for BUDWIESER?!

Samuel Adams Boston Lager
6 pack for $27.99 AUD ($18.36 USD)

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
6 pack for $46.95 AUD ($30.80 USD)
Yes, you read that one correctly!

These prices are now that the dollar is so strong against the Australian
dollar, $0.656, as opposed to when I first arrived, when it was $0.843!
Talk about pricey!

Those prices are pretty much close on.
The usual megaswill stuff goes for around $10-14 a six pack, premium ones like Little creatures & James Squires for $19 a six pack.

Bud, you may get for $39 a case if you could be bothered looking round... I've only had 1 or 2 bud's and there's other beer I'd buy before it.
Sierra Nevada, I bought my first stubbie of it yesterday for $8.... it had better be good!

+1 for what Quantocks said.

Cheers

 

[bconnery]

Well a member of our brew club is in OZ. Here is a report from him about the local beer. Is he shopping at the wrong place or quoting mini bar prices? He will be there for 3 months so any suggestions may be acted on. Here are his comments.

"Not many beers to really talk about here. Although a couple are fairly
tasty, such as the line from Little Creatures. Just to put some things
in perspective, I thought I'd share the price of store bought beer here
in Melbourne, Australia:

Cascade Brewery (Australian Lagers and Ales; Low quality, but better
than Bud/Miller/Coors)
6 pack for $14.99 AUD ($9.83 USD)

Little Creatures (Australian Ales and Lagers; Comparable to Deschutes)
6 pack for $19.99 AUD ($13.11 USD)

Budwieser
6 pack for $24.99 AUD ($16.39 USD)
We're talking $16.39 for BUDWIESER?!

Samuel Adams Boston Lager
6 pack for $27.99 AUD ($18.36 USD)

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
6 pack for $46.95 AUD ($30.80 USD)
Yes, you read that one correctly!

These prices are now that the dollar is so strong against the Australian
dollar, $0.656, as opposed to when I first arrived, when it was $0.843!
Talk about pricey!"

That sounds about standard. Beer is a lot more expensive comparitively here I found...

Imported US beers are always going to be more pricey but the Aus prices look pretty close to usual.

One thing he might find, and be worth noting, is that the bottleshop industry here is heavily dominated by two companies. They hide under different names but they are the same...
BWS - Horrible range, overpriced.
Dan Murphys - Better range, especially of medium to large Aussie breweries. Nicer prices.
Both owned by Woolworths Supermarkets

Liquorland - See BWS.
Vintage Cellars
First Choice - See Dan Murphys, often better on the imports.
Owned by Coles Supermarkets

Better to hunt around and find a good independent bottle store. THere are usually good ones around, depending on where he is.
Cloudwine and Purvis in Melbourne
Sydney - Insert local knowledge here
Brisbane - Nectar in West End
Rest of Australia - Insert local knowledge here

Without knowing where he is it is hard to recommend beers as availability can be quite restricted by locality as our craft brewing industry is still growing but Murrays, Hunter Beer Company, Colonial, Bootleg Brewing, Jamieson, Temple Brewing, Wig and Pen in Canberra (available at the bar only) are just a few I think are worth checking out...

 

[mika]

A carton of Sierra Nevada only cost me ~$50, but can't remember whether it was a carton of 12 or 24, was a couple of months back now.

 

[jonocarroll]

The yanks are just spoiled rotten with all their beer prices. I mean, really - under $2 for a pint (18oz) over a bar!?! Not even the crappiest of beers here are that cheap.

Very sad really. There is a solution though - HOMEBREW. :chug:

 

[petesbrew]

a couple of Sydney ones added.

BWS - Horrible range, overpriced.
Dan Murphys - Better range, especially of medium to large Aussie breweries. Nicer prices.
Both owned by Woolworths Supermarkets

Liquorland - See BWS.
Vintage Cellars
First Choice - See Dan Murphys, often better on the imports.
Owned by Coles Supermarkets

Better to hunt around and find a good independent bottle store. THere are usually good ones around, depending on where he is.
Cloudwine and Purvis in Melbourne
Sydney - www.worldbeers.com.au, @ northmead, and Platinum Cellars @ nth strathfield & bellevue hill.
Brisbane - Nectar in West End
Rest of Australia - Insert local knowledge here

 

[flattop]

TAX :angry:

 

[wabster]

TAX :angry:

Yup Excise at about $40/per litre of alcohol I think, on packaged full strength beer. Someone else can do the maths on the % of a carton of beer.

Think of the savings on excise made by the major megabrewers when they dropped the alc level from 5% to 4.6%

Then add another 10% at point of sale for GST. Tax on tax, great lurk.

While it isn't my major reason for brewing, I sure like doing some legal tax avoidance.

I recall while in the USA being amazed at the cost of megaswill. This week Safeway in Castro Valley CA has 12 cans of Coors, Miller, Bud or Tecate for $7.99. Similarly the more boutique beers areprobably still way cheaper than our factory beers.

Then of course there is Costco for those mega 1.75 litre bottles of vodka gin whisky etc... sigh... which are $11.99 1.75-lt. Vodka, Scotch or Whiskey at Safeway this week as above.

Cheerz Wabster

 

[Trent]

Them prices are pretty much par for the course, sadly. Wait till you pick up something like Grand Ridge's Moonshine, an 8% scotch ale - $AUD130 a 24 pack! Their 11% supershine would work out around $200 a 24 pack - give or take.
You guys really dont know how lucky you are. A 24oz bottle of crap beer is around $4, whereas for a similar price in the states, you can get a bottle of barleywine, IPA, IIPA, or belgian style beers.
Enjoy it while you can, and keep your bloody politicians away from here or they'll start getting some crazy ideas.
You dont say where your mate is hiding, but there are few places on earth that will rival Oregon for beer, so he was in for a let down no matter where he went...
All the best
Trent

 

[deebee]

Not many beers to really talk about here. Although a couple are fairly
tasty, such as the line from Little Creatures. Just to put some things
in perspective, I thought I'd share the price of store bought beer here
in Melbourne, Australia:

Cascade Brewery (Australian Lagers and Ales; Low quality, but better
than Bud/Miller/Coors)
6 pack for $14.99 AUD ($9.83 USD)

Little Creatures (Australian Ales and Lagers; Comparable to Deschutes)
6 pack for $19.99 AUD ($13.11 USD)

Budwieser
6 pack for $24.99 AUD ($16.39 USD)
We're talking $16.39 for BUDWIESER?!

Samuel Adams Boston Lager
6 pack for $27.99 AUD ($18.36 USD)

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
6 pack for $46.95 AUD ($30.80 USD)
Yes, you read that one correctly!

These prices are now that the dollar is so strong against the Australian
dollar, $0.656, as opposed to when I first arrived, when it was $0.843!
Talk about pricey!

Why did he fly to Australia to drink seppo beers and the only Australian beers he tries are Cascade (very mundane choice) or LC (could probably buy at home). Tell him to go to a microbrewery or two? Or go on Ratebeer and look up some decent Australian beers. Sheeesh.

DB

 

[katzke]

Thanks for the info on some places to look.

I am not sure where he is at but the note says Melbourne so I guess that is where he is.

I would like to come and visit some day but a poor working guy can hardly afford the plane ride. Looked a few years ago and it was just under $4000US each seat. Now I find I could not afford to eat or drink if I did get there.

 

[Timmsy]

COOPERS

Or source a home brewer that will share some of his delights

 

[Fents]

COOPERS

Or source a home brewer that will share some of his delights

i was gonna say someone in Melb should hook this bloke up with some real beer. I'd offer but my kegs are dry

 

[Trent]

Thanks for the info on some places to look.

I am not sure where he is at but the note says Melbourne so I guess that is where he is.

I would like to come and visit some day but a poor working guy can hardly afford the plane ride. Looked a few years ago and it was just under $4000US each seat. Now I find I could not afford to eat or drink if I did get there.

CRIKEY!
Four grand for a plane ticket?!? And I thought we were getting screwed here, around $3500 from sydney to vancouver return. My brother in law is coming out to visit us in a few weeks, then heading to New Zealand for another 2 weeks for the grand sum of $CAD1700 (around $US12-1300). Jump in a taxi and head up there and you will still save thousands. Mind you, if you are coming for the beer, rather than beahes, sun, and the sights, you are better off spending the thousands on building yerself a big beer cellar and filling it with all sorts of amazing beers.
There is some fantastic beers in Oz, as mentioned before, but not worth leaving the massive selection in the states just to try. There are, however, plenty of microbreweries around melbourne, from what I have read, so get yer mate to do a bit of searching around. I believe the Victoria Tourist Commision once put out a "beer lovers guide to victoria" kind of thing that had something like 23 different breweries listed in there. Local boys down that way will be able to point him in the right direction anyway.
All the best, now go and enjoy some barleywines after a day on the slopes for us. I heard its been a great season over there, and we dont get much access to barleywines here....
Trent