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Inspired by the news of the 12 liters bottles of “Vieille of Bon Secours” sold in London for 700£, we had on last Friday one of the most interesting off-topic discussion of the Italian version of this blog: an a debate on craft beer prices in Italy.

I immediately want to make clear that in these lines you won’t find a solution to the problem, neither an analysis that finally clarify the reason for so elevated prices. For similar conclusions it would be necessary to carry out a serious investigation, since so many times we tried to unravel the skein without getting satisfactory results. It is not what I intend to do with this post. I will just write some remarks to reflect on, inspired me from so many comments read in these days. Hope these would be inspiring for you too, in order to have a useful debate on this fundamental topic.

The leadership of pubs

I believe that almost everyone, in the first months of their love story with craft beers, dreams a different world. A world in which quality products can struggle against or at least nibble slices of market to industrial beers. The assumption is that is hard to turn back for whoever tastes a craft beer: apart some sporadic prejudice,  it is what really happens. But then you have to face reality, characterized by the evident difference of price of the bottles: the industrials at a third, a quarter or also a fifth of the craft ones, relegating the latter to niche products.

The only place where it doesn’t happen is the pub. Whoever with his 5 Euro has the chance to decide whether to drink the usual useless Tennent’s Super or to destine them to a fulfilling Belgian Ale at draught. It’s quite easy to understand – if the customer knows even a little about beer, and if it is not masochist – what the final choice will be. To drink without the wallet influencing our choices it’s fundamental, and therefore it’s essential that the pubs maintain the craft products with similar prices as those of the industrials. And seeing how much it costs a Guinness in the center of Rome in the afternoon (4,5 Euro a small pint), I would say that this should be not that difficult. Considering the important contribution of the pubs in the development of social networks, just like that of the beer itself, then it is easy to understand because I consider the pubs the best place for the spreading of the craft beer culture.

The differences with the other countries are sharp…

Who, traveling to the foreign countries looking for beers, has not remained astonished for the low prices of craft ones? Besides the north Europe, where it is necessary to contract a bank loan for an evening at the pub, there are plenty of cheaper beer countries: Belgium, Germany, England, Ireland, up to the excesses of the Czech Republic. How is it possible that differences are so sharp? Surely the answers could be many: they are countries with a secular beer culture, the raw materials cost less, the laws are less invalidating, the production volumes are bigger. Yet  these explanations appear as a little consolation for such a bitter pill.

…and in Italy too.

Perhaps the most greater prank for the Italian beer-lovers is to get in a home beershop and find out that foreign beers have sensitively lower prices than Italians. How is it possible? These beers are produced in foreign countries, they bear expensive trips and nevertheless do they arrive on the shelves of the shops costing less of a bottle produced at 100 km of distance? We are near to paradox, but that’s the truth. Any explanation won’t succeed in making me happy for this situation.

The problem is in the chain…

As any other product, the beer passes through different hands before arriving in the beershops or in the pubs. They tell us that the price that we have to pay is the consequence of the correct markup of every subject of the chain, however at the end the final cost is perceived as too much greedy for the consumer. We even could keep on believing that is correct, but unfortunately the price issue is a strong restraint for the potentialities of craft beers.

Thinking about the matter of the chain, a doubt has risen to me. What if the links were reduced? The price would be different? Look at the brewpubs: they directly sell beer from   their warehouse to draught, without any intermediary. Do their beers sensitively costs less?

Time will tell…

Just in our dreams! It’s hard for me to believe that the breweries, once increased the production and amortized the initial costs, are prepared to cut the prices of their beers spontaneously. Who would deprive himself of a substantial part of his annual entrances just for the sake of doing it? To reach a vast clientele? This would be an interesting strategy, but from what we have seen in these years, it seems to me that the brewers are more interested in producing and selling niche beers rather than to attack the market with “mass products”.

An aware choice

Well, let’s get some conclusions: the prices are high, reasons are unknown, my bank account is not bottomless. I like to believe that we as consumers  have a powerful tool in the hands: choice. Then if something can be done – while someone tries to give us answers – it is to follow some sensible choices of purchase. The world of the craft beer is a world of niche, in which each of us – let’s admit it – he’s a sort of geek: fascinated from the last weird creation, from an exotic name, from the beer brewed while pike diving from the plant . So many European and American breweries have understood it and ride the wave, often going against their own personal tastes. What do we want to do? To spend millions feeding this absurdity (besides harmful for the international beer culture), or to stop, reflect and choose accordingly?

Do you know what? I don’t feel like spending all my earning to drink good beer and since  I’m aware of this I have realized that exist so many classical masterpieces at really competitive prices. Milestones as Orval, Rochefort, Bitter & Twisted, Rodenbach Grand Cru, some Americans and Belgians at ridicolously low prices. Whenever I go to the beershop I pick those classics, with exceptions every now and then just to gratify  curiosity.

Conclusions

No conclusion, obviously. Only reflections, that someone could perhaps consider rhetorics and useless. Just those of a passioned consumer as many others. Waiting for your impressions…