Let
me start by saying I'm an ignoramus. I have to tell you upfront
that I do not know how much it costs the average craft brewery to brew
a six-pack of their standard IPA or a 750ml bottle of their year-round stout. It might cost them $6. Maybe a $1.
I'll be it's neither, but somewhere in between. I know
it's likely a heck of a lot more than it costs SABMiller or one of
the other macro-giants.
But still, beer prices have been on the rise across the board. Are we seeing an endless upward trend in the
average price of 6-pack (or God forbid, downsized 4-pack). I won't call out breweries or beers by name,
but you've surely noticed it yourself. That $7.99 or $8.99
six-pack of craft tastiness you used to eagerly snap up is now $9.99
or $10.99 or even more. Or maybe it's still $8.99, but now it's in a 4-pack.
Quick math says it may only be a buck or two, but that's a 20% increase or more. |
| Chart courtesy Brewer's Association |
This
begs the question, is the cost to brew a quality craft beer
increasing that quickly? I've read that raw material costs are
on the rise. Those costs get passed on from producer to
consumer, and I have no problem with that. Reports show that, while hop acreage increased YOY in 2012, the yield actually decreased (source).
In a similar twist of grain-related fate, the cost of barely has been
on a fairly steady 3-year rise...a 250%+ increase from Summer 2009 to
Summer 2012 (source).
However, despite the seeming squeeze on resources "craft
beer numbers were up: 18% more breweries in the U.S., 15% more beer
produced by volume, a 17% increase in sales, and a whopping rise of
72% in American craft beer exports." - Time
Magazine (3.22.2013). Production has, most certainly,
not gone down as a result.
I
just can't help but feel that maybe some breweries are piggybacking
off their more popular beers, and their high demand, to increase prices
across the portfolio. Maybe it truly is the rising cost of
raw materials combined with increased demand that is pushing craft
beer prices up and up. Could it be that retailers are picking our pockets without the knowledge of breweries or distributors (it does happen)? Perhaps it's a combination of all of
these factors.
And I
know, I know. If I want a craft product, I have to pay craft prices. If
I want a high quality beer, I have to pay higher
prices. If I think it's too expensive I don't have to buy it. I understand how the free market works. But
frankly, I do have to buy it. I can't drink
macro beer anymore...and maybe that's a factor too. They've got
me...right where they want me.
