I don't read this thread as I'm a wino and not a beer guy. But my local Whole Foods has a bar that I like to frequent on Sunday Nights after I drink my way across my city and last night we were joined by some friends of ours who are beer people.
Our friend was talking to the bartender about some special beer that's going to be here on Wednesday and how he has to get here early because they're only going to have 20 boxes and they're never going to reach the shelves in the stores - the only way to get them is to be at the bar on Wednesday before a certain time.
So I asked, "why not just charge $100 a bottle then?" and it was like blasphemy. Why is beer so different? If I want a bottle of Silver Oak, I'm prepared to drop some serious cash, but even the thought of the beer market doing this sent everyone into a tizzy. Instead, you're all going to queue up like idiots for the chance at what is apparently an enjoyable beer instead of reserving yours by pricing out people, like every other good out there. I don't get it. Is the market for craft beers just not mature enough for that yet?
beer is pretty simple. you crush a bunch of grains, throw in some hops, add yeast, and if you want to get extra fancy, you can age it in some fancy wine or whiskey barrels. the ingredients are abundantly available, and while there is some wonderfully crafted recipes out there, there's still plenty of breweries who could replicate what you do, or maybe even do it better, and for cheaper perhaps as well.
so, a brewery isn't going to price themselves out of the market, and a beer store isn't going mark-up too much and turn away customers or make enemies with their distributor. too much competition.
it's not like wine, where vines are old and climate is unpredictable. but i don't know anything about wine, so i'm going to stop there.
