Bourbon Barrel-Aged The Angel's Share

Post by **brahn** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 1:59 pm

http://www.thebrewsite.com/2008/03/06/p ... rch-15.php

Is anyone planning to head down there to pick some up on the 15th?

BrewMasterBrad · Post by **BrewMasterBrad** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 6:30 pm

I wish it was this Saturday. I will be driving right by there to take my daughter to her volleyball tournament.

spkrtoy · Post by **spkrtoy** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 8:00 pm

Ahh, Pat what is your take on this?

Sell the same product, in 1/2 the size bottle for the same price?

I for one don't hate the brewery for trying to maximize their profit, but I would not buy their products if this continued with all their products..

Shame, Shame on the profit vs product mentality.

Someone, somewhere should heed the "price/vs/quantity" needs to be heeded. $15 for an 11 oz. beer is absoultely stupid. I would not, and don't pay over $3 for that small of a bottle, and even the duchesse de bogourgunen 4 pak does not cost $15 for all 4!

It's my opinion that this is just overcharging and it's not "fair" for all the other very great beers in the category that deserve $10+ per 750ml bottle.

I've balked at Alaskan Smoked Porter the last few years at $6 per 22 oz, but this is crazy pricing that needs to STOP!

bwarbiany · Post by **bwarbiany** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 9:30 pm

Lyn,

If you don't like it, don't buy it. I'm not going to drop $15 on a 11 oz bottle, and it's not because it's not an amazing beer, it's because I see no reason to drop that much money on a beer at all.

But you know what? At that price it's going to sell. That obviously means that someone thinks it's worth $15. You may call them suckers, or you may claim they're simply caught up in the hype, but how can you claim that it's "unfair" to charge a market-clearing price for a good?

maltbarley · Post by **maltbarley** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 10:02 pm

Yep, I won't be buying any at that price but to hear that rant from someone who has a bottle of Utopias doesn't make much sense either.

spkrtoy · Post by **spkrtoy** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 12:44 pm

Tim,
I was not "ranting", just giving my opinion.

The Utopias I bought as an investment, and it's gone up almost 500% and at the time, I had money

maltbarley · Post by **maltbarley** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 4:01 pm

The same could be said for Angels Share and if they sell it all, you could say it's underpriced.

backyard brewer · Post by **backyard brewer** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 9:05 am

I dunno. That doens't seem all that crazy. Hell, I've spent hundreds on single bottles of tequila. Steve bought a bottle of Utopias and not for the investment, we drank it... was it worth $120? Yes; not because it was so magical or anything but at the end of the bottle, no one felt ripped off. It was good and creative. I've blow way more than $15 on far worse things.

Just because one brewer can get more for less doesn't lessen all the other beers that should be over $10 for a 750ml. If they were taking a production run typical ale or lager and marketing it up to something that it wasn't, then I think you'd be on to something.

Like Bwarbiany said, don't buy it.

backyard brewer · Post by **backyard brewer** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 11:48 am

Not worth $11? How about this auction with bidders @ $39 plus shipping. Granted, it's the larger bottle, but let's just say you could only sell the 375ml for half that @ ~$20. You're still nearly doubling your investment.

PMR · Post by **PMR** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 8:21 pm

I think it's up to the brewery to determine what their beer should cost, not what other beers on the market are going for. This is a small release (240 cases?) that is 100% aged in bourbon barrels for around 12 months, so it definitely deserves a premium price for the risk to the brewer as well, as having a great reputation already.

If people are willing to wait in front of the brewery for hours, buy it at $15 a bottle (and probably a case of them, if they are allowed to), and it all sells out in a matter of hours, then I'd say they could charge more if they wanted to.

I bought a case last year for $15 for 750 mL bottles, and wish I had more of this beer. I'd buy 3 or 4 375 mL bottles at $15 a piece, but not a case.

There's always a market for lower cost craft beers, and a much greater demand than these special, high cost, niche market beers. Just because Lost Abbey's special beers are expensive doesn't mean all craft beer is headed this direction. Although, if you want outstanding, special beers, be willing to pay for them. The Lost Abbey is enabling other breweries to make special beers and be profitable by finding a market for these high end beers. The price has probably been too low until now.

By the way, a 375 mL bottle is 12.7 oz.

maltbarley · Post by **maltbarley** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 9:24 pm

Backyard Brewer wrote:Not worth $11? How about this auction with bidders @ $39 plus shipping. Granted, it's the larger bottle, but let's just say you could only sell the 375ml for half that @ ~$20. You're still nearly doubling your investment.

And the auction closed @ $88! There's an investment.

backyard brewer · Post by **backyard brewer** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 9:04 am

Nice insight Pat. I couldn't agree with you more.

Oskaar · Post by **Oskaar** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 2:56 pm

I agree with Pat and I think that people will find their own level of comfort with what they spend for a bottle of anything. It doesn't matter if it's beer, mead, wine, whiskey, etc. Bottom line is that if the beverage maker isn't pressing up against what the market will bear they really aren't performing (in my opinion) a fundamental business function. That is, maximizing profit based on market and price point acceptance by the consumer. To me, regular monitoring of market pricing and placement against niche or style competition is an absolute must if one is to remain competitive. Also, it seems to me that the more revenue a brewer or winemaker is able to derive the more he/she may put back into their process, equipment and creative process to brew even better and more stylistically unique beverages.

My .02

Cheers,

Oskaar

maltbarley · Post by **maltbarley** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 5:59 pm

Oskaar wrote:Also, it seems to me that the more revenue a brewer or winemaker is able to derive the more he/she may put back into their process, equipment and creative process to brew even better and more stylistically unique beverages.

Like Budweiser!

backyard brewer · Post by **backyard brewer** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 6:37 pm

maltbarley wrote:
Oskaar wrote:Also, it seems to me that the more revenue a brewer or winemaker is able to derive the more he/she may put back into their process, equipment and creative process to brew even better and more stylistically unique beverages.
Like Budweiser!

You might be surprised at just how little they make on the economy of scale. I don't know the numbers, but I doubt they are making oil company profits. Looking at their Income Statement might look like huge numbers, but I doubt they are cutting a fat hog. That market is just too competitive.