TOPIC:

[quote:1oya312k]delzep

my previous point was that the average joe isn't going to pay the guts of €6 for a beer therefore Irish craft beer will remain a novelty for most. I thought this website was for promoting craft beer in the hope it will be more widespread?[/quote:1oya312k]
That means [u:1oya312k]this[/u:1oya312k] beer may remain a novelty. There is still Hooker, Carlow and others that manage to sell on draught at lower prices. It is for making it more widespread which currently means available at all.

How are several members of the site making and selling craft beer as their living not making it more widespread?

I'm not having a go at Dungarven Brewing at all here...I think their stout is fantastic and I buy it whenever I'm in Drink. I'm just saying that the average punter is much more likely to risk trying something they haven't had before if the price was considerably lower

Well I think Dungarvans business model is aiming at the bottled market in off licenses where the beer is a more reasonable price and is comparable to other bottled Irish beer.

I personally think they need to try and push kegged beer more as people are more likely to get a pint of reasonably priced beer on tap and then go buy the bottle in the off license.

"Atticus":11rb2h8i wrote:

"bigears":11rb2h8i wrote: The real question is this: Given their relative production costs why is a mass produced beer in the bottle not [u:11rb2h8i]substantially[/u:11rb2h8i] cheaper than a craft beer, and what does that say about the relative value for money?[/quote:11rb2h8i]
I know the point you're making but the advertisement budgets for Macros would be huge money pits.[/quote:11rb2h8i]
Absolutely. Advertising, sponsorship and so on. However I would love to know what the actual production cost of a beer is for a macro brewer compared to a small craft producer. Somehow I doubt that information is easily obtained.

"Saruman":ipmciaxh wrote: I personally think they need to try and push kegged beer more as people are more likely to get a pint of reasonably priced beer on tap and then go buy the bottle in the off license.[/quote:ipmciaxh]

Absolutely- I rarely buy bottles when I'm in the pub and only then when there's something interesting instead of the macro brews on tap.

"bigears":3cbm9igb wrote:

"Atticus":3cbm9igb wrote:

"bigears":3cbm9igb wrote: The real question is this: Given their relative production costs why is a mass produced beer in the bottle not [u:3cbm9igb]substantially[/u:3cbm9igb] cheaper than a craft beer, and what does that say about the relative value for money?[/quote:3cbm9igb]
I know the point you're making but the advertisement budgets for Macros would be huge money pits.[/quote:3cbm9igb]
Absolutely. Advertising, sponsorship and so on. However I would love to know what the actual production cost of a beer is for a macro brewer compared to a small craft producer. Somehow I doubt that information is easily obtained.[/quote:3cbm9igb]

The thing about Macro's is that they follow a Corporation style business model. Basically make the product as cheaply as possible and sell for the maximum that they can, dependant on the particular market. They are answerable to their shareholders, and the only thing they are interested in is profit. The more profitable the business, the more attractive to shareholders and so on, and the more money they have to buy out other businesses in order to increase their market share and to reduce competition.

The actual unit cost will be very low because of their economies of scale, but it's all the in-direct costs and share dividends that add up.

A micro brewer is probably just looking to break even to begin with, and over time, cover their initial capital investment. They may need to charge more to begin with, but as they get comfortable and know their business they should be able to cut costs and expand their output. As someone else mentioned if you compare the actual costs of micro versus macro, I think that you are getting a better deal for your money with the micro product. It isn't always going to be easy to get the average punter interested, but if craft drinkers don't support the micro, there is no hope. I do think average punters are getting more descerning. I have a good few buddies who up until not long ago were drinking anything, like coors or labatts, whatever was cheapest, and now they are drinking wheat beers and ales. I've encouraged them as much as I can, but the beer festivals and BIY type events have also helped enormously, so it is possible to change peoples mind sets but it won't happen overnight.