The Price of Beer

Anderton Prime

Anderton Prime

2,760
Okay. I live in Ontario. When I go to the government owned and operated Beer Store or LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario, which is also somehow what the stores are named as well), I pay a certain amount for beer and coolers. For example:

6-Pack of Rickards White (355ml Bottles) - CAD $12.95 (USD $11.25)
4-Pack of Smirnoff Ice (340ml Bottles) - CAD $9.95 (USD $8.65)
6-Pack of Old Milwaukee (590 Tallboy Cans) - CAD $10.25 (USD $8.85)

The 6-Pack of Old Milwaukee is currently the cheapest tallboy 6-Pack you can buy. A 24 of Budweiser costs CAD $37.50 (USD $32.50). Back some five or so years ago, there was a big campaign to get people beers that cost a buck per bottle. So therefore, it would cost CAD $24.00 plus deposit ( which adds up to CAD $27.00), for a 24 of these beer brands. Problem? They taste like camel urine that's been used to sterilize smelting equipment.

Anyway my point is that I never questioned the proce of beer until I went to the States. Boy do you have it figured out. I used to live off of Red Dog Tallboy 6-Packs for USD $3.50!! There was a bar near the hotel I stayed at while in school that offered pitchers for USD $5.00! Here, the cheapest pitchers you can find are around CAD$15.00 (USD $13.00). I had classmates who would regularly smuggle three or four 24s back home with them each week, because it was almost as cheap as buying one or two 24s here. I can take into account the dollar difference, and the fact that my filthy government has its dirty little hands in everything, including my beer, but twice the price? Outrage!

Your personal beer purchasing experiences / thoughts / anecdotes / opinions go HERE! For instance, how do the prices as listed and compared above make you feel? How to they stack up against what you're used to in your neck of the woods? And even more useful, if you live near Toronto, do YOU know of any places where one can purchase cheap beer that doesn't taste like the shores of Hamilton?
 
You didn't like Laker but approved of 75 cent Red Dog beers? You're a strange individual.

I know how you feel though. At least import beer at the LCBO costs almost the same as domestic, so when I drink beer I can drink the good stuff.

Toronto insider tips - if its past 9 then you can still buy beer at the Amsterdam brewery at the end of Bathurst 'til 11.
 
I vary a lot on what I buy. Sometimes pint bottles of cider (well 600ml, but anyway...) are 3 for, which works out at £3.24 for 3 pints from Tesco. That's about $5 iirc. Packs of beer. I often see 12-pack Stella for about £8/$13. My can is normally Stella or Ruddles County. RC works out at about £1.40 per can.
 
I have no idea what taxes are in your beer price, but I'll just say I'm glad I don't have to drink up there!!!

You'd not believe what beer can be had for around Spring Break time here in Panama City. Cases of Bud and Bud Light (as if!) are under 17 dollars at Wal-Mart. The beach store of Wal-Mart is supposedly one of the world's largest beer retailers!!! (Maybe U.S.'s largest retailers, I can't keep my "I heard . . . " stuff straight.)

But 2 bucks a bottle is almost what I'd expect to pay at a bar!
 
Yeah, that price is ridiculous. I guess that's what happens when the government deals out the beer.
 
I saw that price for a 24 pack of Bud, and I nearly gagged. That's insane! Here, a 6-pack of good beer will set you back $7-8 USD...not too bad. We get rammed by liquor taxes on hard alcohol in Washington, but at least it lasts a while. If I had to pay double for beer, I'd be outraged!
 
Well.. I don't drink anymore, but I do know a bit about the costs...

Two summers back, I was working in New Hampshire during the week, and then back home in Massachusetts on the weekend. NH 30 pack of Bud Light was $17. Here in Mass, the same 30 pack was $21 + the $1.50 for refund later. This meant I was paying $5.50 more for the same stuff depending on the state I was in.

No, figure in that they were both bottled and made in the same plant. In Manchester, New Hampshire and you know that Massachusetts was getting their Tax money out of it.

At the time I was drinking a pretty steady diet of 2 half gallons of Southern Comfort a week. Here in Mass, the cost was $27.99 In NH, the cost was $20.99. Wanna guess where I did my shopping?
 
6-packs generally range from $6-8 in Maryland. I can pick up a 6 pack of Yuengling for $5.99, and it's a decent beer that tastes better than the price indicates. Bud and Miller sell for about the same.

Interestingly, Corona is 8 or 9 bucks, which in my opinion is purely based on the success of their marketing, and not beer quality.
 
Dont get me started how expensive alcohol here is in Australia

They add extra taxes and use the teen binge drinking as an excuse.. apparently if you make it more expensive the teens will some how be unable to afford it and thus cant buy as much and thus no more binge drinking!!! Wow, so then everyone else who ever buys some, has to pay more too!! Awesome logic...

bottle of 750ml Rum here costs about 30 bucks or $24 USD, thats from one of the cheapest places to buy alcohol... dont know what the premix prices are because of the above tax its stupidly high.. and in a club you will pay 8 - 9 dollars for a rum+coke which is about $7 USD for one drink!!

not to mention happy hour doesnt exist anymore due to drinking laws... So the rule is to mix it at home, get drunk THEN go out and only have to pay for a few drinks to "keep you there"
 
Anderton Prime
I can take into account the dollar difference, and the fact that my filthy government has its dirty little hands in everything, including my beer, but twice the price? Outrage!
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I will also add on the fact that hops aren't grown much in Canada (although your barley and malt situation is good), so even local beer must import it, increasing supply cost, and don't forget import taxes. Add on not just an alcohol tax to your imported beer but also an import tax, assuming your importing taxes are similarly in line with your other taxes, compared to the US, and your government is likely double dipping their taxes on nearly all your beer.

The US, having a very large micro-brew community and an insanely large amount of watered-down local brews doesn't have to worry about import taxes to find decent beer, and they can get local hops. So, there is only an import tax that factors in on beer from other countries.

Also, another thing that may play a role in your beer prices recently could be based on where Canadian brewers get their hops. Australian hops is expensive due to their drought conditions causing a very short supply, as well as some American variations. Other hops are having a reduced supply due to corn-ethanol demand making it more profitable for some farms to convert.

TB
Isn't it always cheaper to drink at home?
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Yes, and the harder the liquor, the cheaper it gets.
 
Talking of raising taxes to cut binge drinking. Could you not raise tax when buying over x units in one go?
 
I live in a state that has state-run beer sales, so I have to buy cases. Cheap stuff like Miller and Bud are usually under $20 a case. Your stuff a little higher up in the domestics like Sam Adams and Canadian imports are around $24-$28. Euro imports get up over $30 for the big names.

I had the pleasure of going to a BevMo! when I was in Cali. Most wonderful place I have ever been in. So many varieties of beer and liquor. Big names, known but not major breweries, micro brews, imports from all over. I walked out of there with 4 pint+ bottles for about $10. A Hofbrau Lager, a Baltica Lager from Russia, and a Warsteiner Pilsner at about $2 each, and an Alaskan IPA, which was the most expensive at $4 but also the largest at over a pint and a half. I wanted to try some local brews but didn't want to chance bringing them home on a plane.
 
I normally time my big beer purchases around holidays at the local Meijer, as they normally put the beer I like at a pretty good price. You can usually get a 30-pack of Coors Light (the only non-bottled beer I'll drink) for less than $18. But, I normally spring for the $8-9 packs of Land Shark around this time of year, usually a pretty good price for a good summer beer.

Although, my problem is normally cheap wine versus regular priced beer. Wine tends to hurt less the next day.
 
Sureboss
Talking of raising taxes to cut binge drinking. Could you not raise tax when buying over x units in one go?
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Just because someone buys a poop-load of alcohol all at once doesn't mean they're going to go home and chug it all :odd:.
 
Small_Fryz
Dont get me started how expensive alcohol here is in Australia

They add extra taxes and use the teen binge drinking as an excuse.. apparently if you make it more expensive the teens will some how be unable to afford it and thus cant buy as much and thus no more binge drinking!!! Wow, so then everyone else who ever buys some, has to pay more too!! Awesome logic...

bottle of 750ml Rum here costs about 30 bucks or $24 USD, thats from one of the cheapest places to buy alcohol... dont know what the premix prices are because of the above tax its stupidly high.. and in a club you will pay 8 - 9 dollars for a rum+coke which is about $7 USD for one drink!!

not to mention happy hour doesnt exist anymore due to drinking laws... So the rule is to mix it at home, get drunk THEN go out and only have to pay for a few drinks to "keep you there"
Click to expand...

Sydney is a bit cheaper, but you HAVE to know where to look for the good grog for the best prices. Dan Murphy's is always a winner as it's just a giant warehouse full of alcohol, from Cognac to $2 goon wine and because of the Woolworth's buying power, it's cheaper than nearly everywhere else.
Otherwise, I look for specials when they are around, especially when it comes to the premium beers. Pure Blonde, Crownies, Steinlager Pure, James Squire.....real tasty drops, not the swill we call VB & Tooheys New. :yuck:

The big bonus for me is that my mum actually works for them so I get mine at wholesale/staff prices. :mischievous: Bacardi 151, normally $80....for me, $55. 👍 Plus, samples. :D I've tried atleast 10 drinks that were previously unreleased or are still unreleased here in Australia. :cool:
 
My 24 of Budweiser costs me 28$ from the grocery store, you guys in Ontario are getting shafted much more badly than we do in Qc...
 
0,5 liter of very good Polish beer (like Zywiec, Warka or Tyskie [multiple European awards]) cost around 1$ (one US dollar).

0,5 liter of vodka (Wyborowa, Zubrowka, Smirnoff) cost around 7-10$, Finlandia vodka cost around 12-15$.
 

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