The Dept. of Useless & Ill-Informed Opinions

When beer prices get out of hand, head to social media

brewyork:

We’ve written lately about beer prices getting out of hand at bars in New York City. With the growing popularity of craft beer in the city, it’s no surprise that some businesspeople might try to take advantage of the boom by driving up prices.

How do we combat this?

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As the guy who tweeted about the Sixpoint/21st Amendment thing, I’ve got a comment or two…

1. Westside are putting themselves at risk here, at least in terms of being a place people shop for beer. Up until a year ago, give or take a couple of months, they were the best option for bottled/canned craft beer in the neighborhood. They were overpriced, but they had the best selection and are open 24/7. Fairway was (and are is) reasonable priced, but their selection was spotty. Pioneer at Columbus & 74th have good selection, but their hours are crap and they’re also overpriced. Now, Fairway have stepped up their game, and there are two Duane Reade’s within a couple of blocks who not only have excellent bottle/can selections, but also do growler fills. And, both DR’s are open 24/7. The free market, if you will, is going to decide not to buy its beer at Westside (at Broadway & 76th anyway) if they don’t bring their prices back in line. For what it’s worth, I was in there last week looking for something (grocery-related, not beer), and noted that they’re still charging $12.50.
2. I’ve always been a big Sixpoint fan. I remember drinking Sweet Action and Hop Obama at Marshall Stack when they were early on. But their social media interaction makes me love them even more. I’d mostly said what I did on Twitter in the hopes of letting 21st Amendment know, as their cans are new, that there are stores in NYC who are going to alienate potential new customers. The Sixpoint thing was an aside, in my mind. But they grabbed hold and I ended up having a nice little back & forth with them via Twitter. Talk about making me feel valued as a Sixpoint drinker…
3. For what it’s worth, Trader Joe’s at Broadway & 72nd also has Sixpoint 4-packs now (including a handful of Diesel), and they’re charging $9.50!