What beer are we drinking this week, too?

artvandelay48

Redsoxfan wrote: »

Tonight at home, a Wicklow Wolf IPA (from Drinkstore) . Drinkable, but not remarkable. Still, one of better of the new brewery IPAs I have tasted lately. (I exclude the excellent 8 Degrees IPAs as they are not a new brewery.)

On draft in one of my local pubs, a few Franciscan Well Chieftain IPAs. I had tasted before in Frank Ryans and liked it, and I still do. More fruity than hoppy, maybe too much so for a session. But hey, you could balance it with a Rebel Red.

Good times in Maynooth given the limited choice in the past!

How much was the Wicklow Wolf at the drinkstore? I bought some from Kilruddery at the weekend and it was 4e a bottle! Ridiculous price!

n97 mini

artvandelay48 wrote: »

How much was the Wicklow Wolf at the drinkstore? I bought some from Kilruddery at the weekend and it was 4e a bottle! Ridiculous price!

At 4.20 a bottle I left it in McHugh's.

Lovely Bloke

those WW beers are not worth half that.

themountainman

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

those WW beers are not worth half that.

I'll be avoiding those then!

Real Psycrow

I'm currently drinking Wychwood Ginger Beard and I love it. They make great beers out of there.

Ginger Beard currently in Dunnes at 4 for €9 too! I was pleasantly surprised when buying them the other day.

If you can get your hands on Hobgoblin Gold from Wychwood too, its lovely. A friend is mad for it, but its hard to get.

artvandelay48

themountainman wrote: »

I'll be avoiding those then!

The thing that gets me is that they're a new brewery trying to get established, plus they were selling directly to consumers at a market. I would've expected prices to be lower than at an off licence instead of higher. I have come to terms with paying 3e a bottle for decent irish beer, there's no way I'm going to pay 4e a bottle!

Ryath

Real Psycrow wrote: »

I'm currently drinking Wychwood Ginger Beard and I love it. They make great beers out of there.

Ginger Beard currently in Dunnes at 4 for €9 too! I was pleasantly surprised when buying them the other day.

If you can get your hands on Hobgoblin Gold from Wychwood too, its lovely. A friend is mad for it, but its hard to get.

Really like Hobgoblin but wasn't mad about Ginger Beard was bit to sweet for me like drinking a shandy. Needed more ginger I thought. Want to try Kinggoblin but it's pricey. Must try the Christmas one in aldi.

drumswan

n97 mini wrote: »

At 4.20 a bottle I left it in McHugh's.

Crazy, crazy prices. Theres world class beers from Founders etc available in the same places much cheaper, it makes no sense.

Real Psycrow

Ryath wrote: »

Really like Hobgoblin but wasn't mad about Ginger Beard was bit to sweet for me like drinking a shandy. Needed more ginger I thought. Want to try Kinggoblin but it's pricey. Must try the Christmas one in aldi.

If you need more ginger in a ginger beer try Stone's Ginger Joe. Its not cheap if I remember correctly and the bottle is only 330ml, but its very good. Seems to have a stronger ginger taste to me than Ginger Beard does. Worth a go even for one bottle to taste it.

Lovely Bloke

Anyone tried any of the Brehon beers?

They have, strangely, a Blonde, a Red, a IPA and a Stout.

Koptain Liverpool

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

Anyone tried any of the Brehon beers?

They have, strangely, a Blonde, a Red, a IPA and a Stout.

I´ve tried the red and the blonde. They were both ok, nothing special, but then these aren´t my favourite styles. I´ve heard good reports on the IPA and the stout but they are crazily priced in drinkstore at about 4.50. I don´t care if they´re high abv there´s no excuse for those prices. Hopefully they´ll be more reasonably priced in my local pubs.

quadrifoglio verde

Koptain Liverpool wrote: »

I´ve tried the red and the blonde. They were both ok, nothing special, but then these aren´t my favourite styles. I´ve heard good reports on the IPA and the stout but they are crazily priced in drinkstore at about 4.50. I don´t care if they´re high abv there´s no excuse for those prices. Hopefully they´ll be more reasonably priced in my local pubs.

I'm guessing they look at how much of foam and fury is and think, lads knock a few cents off that price and sure it'll fly out the door.
Thing is I know of foam and fury is a cracking good beer, in fact I'd sooner go for it than some good American ipas.

baconsarnie

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

Anyone tried any of the Brehon beers?

They have, strangely, a Blonde, a Red, a IPA and a Stout.

Red is one of the nicer Irish reds. The porter is lovely- 7.7%.

The IPA is more piney than citrusy, but a really nice beer

Worth checking out IMO

Redsoxfan

artvandelay48 wrote:

How much was the Wicklow Wolf at the drinkstore? I bought some from Kilruddery at the weekend and it was 4e a bottle! Ridiculous price!

4.40 and I won't be buying it again at that price.

Redsoxfan

Baldy Conscience wrote:

They have, strangely, a Blonde, a Red, a IPA and a Stout.

Baldy Conscience wrote:

Anyone tried any of the Brehon beers?

Have tried the Blonde and the Red. Liked them both OK, nothing exceptional, but they do taste well made if that makes sense.

Redsoxfan

A lot of the newer Irish beers are priced at a level that doesn't put me off trying them, but will not entice me to buy them again.

artvandelay48

Redsoxfan wrote: »

A lot of athe newer Irish beers are priced at a level that doesn't put me off trying them, but will not entice me to buy them again.

I think the new pricing is based on the fact that they see the burgeoning craft scene as faddish so they are coming in at a higher price point. It doesn't really promote return custom. I am happy to regularly pay 3e a bottle for oharas, trouble brewing etc but that would be my max

BaZmO*

artvandelay48 wrote: »

I think the new pricing is based on the fact that they see the burgeoning craft scene as faddish so they are coming in at a higher price point. It doesn't really promote return custom. I am happy to regularly pay 3e a bottle for oharas, trouble brewing etc but that would be my max

Craft beer drinkers are by nature the most un-loyal of all the beer drinkers.

Rumun

Have to agree with you guys. Prices are crazy way to high even for Ireland.

Hopefully in near future we will be able to get quality product for much more affordable price, if this whole thing go more in mainstream direction prices should go down. Hopefully.

anncoates

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

Anyone tried any of the Brehon beers?

They have, strangely, a Blonde, a Red, a IPA and a Stout.

Tried the porter (Shanco Dubh ) the other week and liked it.

Got in in Deveneys, Dundrum.

Koptain Liverpool

artvandelay48 wrote: »

I think the new pricing is based on the fact that they see the burgeoning craft scene as faddish so they are coming in at a higher price point. It doesn't really promote return custom. I am happy to regularly pay 3e a bottle for oharas, trouble brewing etc but that would be my max

I have to agree that 3 euro a bottle is really the maximum I´m willing to pay for beers on a regular basis. Even at that there is usually an offer of a decent beer available somewhere these days (eg Dunnes, O´Hara´s or Kinsale 4 for 9euro).

I think any craft brewery that can´t make a decent profit by selling bottles of their beer for 3 quid needs to revisit their business plan.

For example: With a new Irish IPA at 4.50 a bottle I´m likely to buy one bottle to try it and if it´s exceptional then maybe a few bottles every few months. Priced at 3 a bottle and decent enough I´d likely buy at least a dozen a month.

BaZmO*

Koptain Liverpool wrote: »

I think any craft brewery that can´t make a decent profit by selling bottles of their beer for 3 quid needs to revisit their business plan.

Why? Do you not think that they've run the numbers?

Koptain Liverpool wrote: »

For example: With a new Irish IPA at 4.50 a bottle I´m likely to buy one bottle to try it and if it´s exceptional then maybe a few bottles every few months. Priced at 3 a bottle and decent enough I´d likely buy at least a dozen a month.

What happens when a new brewer starts up? And then another one? And then another one? Will you still be buying your dozen a month?

slayerking

Anyone try Rascals chocolate ginger porter yet?

Lovely Bloke

slayerking wrote: »

Anyone try Rascals chocolate ginger porter yet?

yeah, had it in The Hole In The Wall the other week, at the tasting night. It's not that different to the Ginger Porter really.

Koptain Liverpool

BaZmO* wrote: »

Why? Do you not think that they've run the numbers?

What happens when a new brewer starts up? And then another one? And then another one? Will you still be buying your dozen a month?

Regrading the numbers I actually think there are more small brewers than you´d think that actually make a mess of it. People can charge what they want for their beer. Start up costs etc are none of my concern. The basic ingredients cost the same for everyone

What I´m saying is that Irish brewers aiming to charge 4euro plus for a bottle are not likely to do well in the long run.

Regarding new brewers: No matter how many new beers enter the market I always give my custom to quality brewers that price their beers reasonably. For the past few years I have consistently stuck with O´Hara´s, Trouble brewing, 8 degrees etc while also trying new products as they emerge. I like the Galway Bay beers but have never bought them in the off licence as they´re too expensive. I am however happy to pay 5 euro for their pints in the pub.

I´d purchase around 12 beers a week for home drinking so yes if a beer is good I´d probably consistently buy a decent amount of bottles each month.

Heroditas

Koptain Liverpool wrote: »

Start up costs etc are none of my concern. The basic ingredients cost the same for everyone

They may not be your concern but they're the brewers' concern and they need to pay back the banks at some point. Bank loans aren't free.
As for basic ingredients costing the same, that's not necessarily the case. Bulk buying or aggregated buying will result in cheaper prices but start-up brewers will be at a disadvantage because quantities are low.

Koptain Liverpool

Heroditas wrote: »

They may not be your concern but they're the brewers' concern and they need to pay back the banks at some point. Bank loans aren't free.
As for basic ingredients costing the same, that's not necessarily the case. Bulk buying or aggregated buying will result in cheaper prices but start-up brewers will be at a disadvantage because quantities are low.

I understand this but my point is that unless their beer is exceptional they are more likely to build up a loyal customer base and therefore become financially viable quicker if they charge a price for the product in line with that of similar products available on the market.

I´m no expert by any means but I would have thought that this is how it would work. If I borrowed money to open a burger joint for example I wouldn´t charge 20euro for a burger on the justification that I have to pay back the bank and the fact that established chains can source ingredients in bulk cheaper than me. I´d focus on providing quality products at a price in line with the market and hope to establish a good customer base.

BaZmO*

Koptain Liverpool wrote: »

I understand this but my point is that unless their beer is exceptional they are more likely to build up a loyal customer base and therefore become financially viable quicker if they charge a price for the product in line with that of similar products available on the market.

I´m no expert by any means but I would have thought that this is how it would work. If I borrowed money to open a burger joint for example I wouldn´t charge 20euro for a burger on the justification that I have to pay back the bank and the fact that established chains can source ingredients in bulk cheaper than me. I´d focus on providing quality products at a price in line with the market and hope to establish a good customer base.

But no one is charging €20 for a beer though.

Koptain Liverpool

BaZmO* wrote: »

But no one is charging €20 for a beer though.

4.50 for a beer in the off licence is 50% more expensive than the average price for which many good beers are available (3)

20 for a burger would be similarly be around 50% dearer than the price for which many good burgers are available

drumswan

There has to be a point when you think that if you are forced to price bottles of mediocre red ales and 'IPAs' at 4 quid plus a bottle that your business model is not viable. Not only do they have to compete with cheaper, much higher quality international craft brewers, but the established Irish craft guys AND the macros, who are all cheaper.