Shows how little you know about brewing. Malt quality makes a huge difference, particularly in lagers. Hop cost is insubstantial compared to the cost of extensive lagering. Time is one of the biggest costs associated with brewing. That said, a good beer that costs three times what another equally good beer costs is no bargain, unless you get some satisfaction from buying the marketing hype.
Ironically now its you making unsubstantiated assumptions. I’ve been a homebrewer for over 20 years, just not familiar with the financials at commercial scale.
Was there anything novel or next level about them?
$16 for a 500ml bottle. 16.9 ounces. Call that a big glass of a lower ABV beer. Restaurants get typically 5 or 6 pours from a bottle of wine. So, it’s roughly the equivalent in price of an $80 or maybe $96 bottle of wine. I’ve had beers in that price range that were worth it. It’s a good question if a lager can be. I’m open to the possibility.
On the economics - we saw Russian River Brewing play the scarcity game, with long lines of cultists who drove long distances for the rare opportunity to buy a beer that sells out in under an hour. I know people who’ve taken a day off work and driven 80 miles to do that. That’s a lot of costs on the customer side the brewery isn’t getting (though they marketed themselves well with that gimmick). People will pay a lot for an exclusive beer. It better be damn good to keep them coming back, though.
I’m so over chasing beer these days, what’s the last beer to really alter the universe? There are so many local/regional people doing good things there is just no reason Imo to chase the white white anymore. Yeah it might be Slightly unique in some sense, but The costs just don’t add up to the payoff for stuff like this.
It feels like the shark has well and truly been jumped here.
Wes,
I remember a tasting a lager at the winery with wonderful aromatics.
At Fruition Sciences meeting he has poured various beers which were also very good. a stout. Nile Zacherle has also poured a stout that was wonderful.
Would I pay $16 for a 500 ml bottle?? I don’t drink that much beer so I am the wrong person to ask about that. One of my neighbor’s daughters and her hubby spend $25 for 750 ml of beer.
Does that enable a more luxurious, Instagramable pee?
When unemployment is at depression-era levels and a biblical downturn is imminent seems like the perfect time to launch a $100/6-pack beer company… ![[welldone.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/f/fc9709a841aa9379fd892a9cf0b535b05f473b86.gif "[welldone.gif]"){kind=small}
Just like equity index funds.
I see what you did there! 
Btw it’s $90 for 6. I was wondering how $16 per, and $100/6pack made sense
They should call it Bryan Lager.