It had to happen sooner or later. Just when I was thinking how wonderful it is that I can get the best beer in the planet for under ten bucks a 750 ml bottle, I find out that the beer snobs have begun their assault. Beware!
Staff at Four High Petergate have added Deus to their drinks menu, ahead of their Beer And Food Matching event tomorrow night. Brewed in Buggenhout, in Belgium, and bottled in the Champagne region of France, the beer has a unique character and taste. At £30 for a 750ml bottle, it is not cheap, but Four High Petergate owner Lewis Hull is confident it will be a big hit with customers. "It's the kind of beer you would probably share between people, to try a different beer available," he said.Well I figure for about £30, with careful and thoughtful shopping, I am usually able to get maybe 14 great 750 ml US micros or 7 Belgian farmhouse wonders. I would think it would be less in the UK, where this scheme was hatched. Beware the beer snob beer. The same beer without the snobbery attached is a fraction of the price.
Comments
Stan Hieronymus - September 26, 2006 10:31 PM
Deus was spotted in Kansas City just the other day for $21. Not cheap, but we are talking about a beer that takes time and labor to produce (it is riddled like Champagne). That makes it about the same price as Lou Pepe Kriek.
Those two are both nice beers, though I wouldn't buy them at that price (Deus isn't to my taste, the Lou Pepe is great at two-thirds of the price).
But there are beers that I think are worth going on 75 cents an ounce (about $20 for a 750) . . . in a store (which means twice that or more in a restaurant). If we don't pay that then they aren't going to be made.
Yes, there is snobbery in some cases. Blame the snobs, not the beers. And remember there are other reasons beers cost more.
A quick aside, whatever shipping advantages beers from Belgium have in the UK are offset by higher duty. That's why we saw the Meantime Porter for less than $8 (a 750) in Milwaukee. That's about the same amount it costs in London (it is brewed in Greenwich).
Prosit - Stan
Smoove D - September 26, 2006 11:54 PM
Ha! That reminds me of an article I read in the Wall Street Journal about five years ago. Apparently, Stell Artois is the equivilant of Bud in Belgium. However, clever marketers repackaged it, tripled the price, and unleashed it on unsuspecting idiot Americans who thought that since it came from Belgium, it must be good.
Temuin - September 27, 2006 8:00 PM
Stella Artois has a substantially different taste than Budweiser, although figuratively you are probably correct - it is Belgium's Budweiser. I've never been able to stomach Bud, but I'll drink a half-sack of Stella in two-point-two!
I've always wondered why Heineken is so expensive. It must have something to do with supply and demand, but you would think that a truly global beer like Heine's would be a lot cheaper.
emmy - September 27, 2006 9:43 PM
I recently had the experience of visiting the Bosteels brewery in Buggenhout. The beer tasted amazing. The Kwak, Tripel Karmeliet & Deus was unlike anything I've tasted in the states. Fresh, on target, crisp, everything was amazing. Same with the Meantime brewery. Why does beer taste so much better at the breweries?
emmy