Beer Prices v. Wine Prices

Originally Posted by Darrell

Honestly I think a lot of it is snobbery.

Cheap wine, expensive wine, whatever. I think it's the fact that a bottle of wine is often associated with a higher class beverage, like a nice scotch. If you look at television and movies (I know you're saying to yourself "don't believe everything you see on t.v. dummy Darrell) you will see that wine is always portrayed in the limelight as a beverage for the rich folks, the classy folks, etc.

Beer on the other hand be it Stone, Bear Republic, Rogue, Pabst, Natural Ice, etc. It's portrayed as the blue collar working mans drink. A guy comes home in his grubby clothes and sits down for a beer, to a lot of people beer is just beer, they don't look for the unique flavors that some of us know it has to offer, they just see that dirty guy sitting in his greasy clothes swilling a Budweiser. He's not sitting there in a 3 piece suit with a pocket watch, turning his pinky up.

As I said, a lot of it comes down to snobbery. Society has been led to believe that wine = money and status and beer = dirty working man piss water.

I agree with this post.

Why do people spend $14 on a crap bottle of wine, when they could spend $14 on a great 4pack of craft beer? Well, I do believe snobbery plays a role. Like D said, society sees wine as classy, elegant, while beer not so much. Thats just how it is. People want to have status. But who cares anyway? Also, I believe another answer to your question Vic is simple. Taste and preference. Some people just prefer vino to beer. Just my pennies.

[bscottskangum]

Originally Posted by ChicagoWhiteSox

I believe another answer to your question Vic is simple. Taste and preference. Some people just prefer vino to beer. Just my pennies.

I don't buy the $14 wine I do to be a snob, I buy it cause I want to drink it. Who is to say that I can't buy a bottle of $14 wine, that's what I want and what I'm in the mood for. It's not that I don't appreciate a good beer, I love beer AND wine, but do you think I want the same thing all the time?

I think a nice analog to this question is meat.....why would you buy a cheap steak when you could have good chicken? Because that's what i ^&*#en want!

This whole thread to me comes down to the fact that a) some people are snobs, which people can be snobs if they want, that doesn't mean I ever have to associate with them. Or b) people actually like wine.

Also, can we please stop feeding the troll? If you ignore it, it will not bother you.

[Jbailey]

I do feel that beer gets the nose turned up towards it.

Give me two or three well crafted beers and a couple cigars and some great friends and I'll feel like a king.

I enjoy a good beer myself and like Vic said I don't buy it to get blasted. Every now and again I'll grab a six pack or two and add it to my stock. There is a huge difference between the water beers like miller, pbr, coors etc. and high quality micro brew. You will notice a big difference in taste and flavor.


I'm not a hater of miller, pbr or other pilsner beers. They work well in a huge pot with some onions so soak brats in.

[mosesbotbol]

Originally Posted by Jbailey

I do feel that beer gets the nose turned up towards it.

It certainly does.

Beer is more of an "out of the house" beverage to down with your buddies at the pub.

There are plenty of event beers that are worthy of special praise, but 100's of years of beer culture have cemented its place in alcohol hierarchy.

I had a few beers with a Vegas Robaina custom rolled in my back yard; shorts baseball hat and sun. It was sublime. Would I have enjoyed it as much with Champagne? No way. Would I want to drink beers at more formal setting with a dinner jacket? No at all.

Originally Posted by mosesbotbol

Would I want to drink beers at more formal setting with a dinner jacket? No at all.

See, I am the opposite. After our monthly stated meeting a group of Brothers always go out in our suits to a spot and have drinks. Most of them have Scotch and cocktails. I almost always order beer, typically a nice pint of something off the tap and I am happy as a clam.

I don't feel like drinking beer dressed up is any different than drinking scotch or wine. It's just like cigars, drink what you like and like what you drink.

Of course, that's my .

[bobarian]

With beer, wine and cigars there are varying levels of participation and commitment.

Jug wine, Budweiser, Macanudo cigars appeal to the masses. There is a reason these are all top sellers in their categories. Their flavor may not appeal to the afficionado but they were not designed for that market

Mid-level wines, Premium beer, $5-10 cigars appeal to those who want a bit more from the product than entry level.

High end wines($100 and up), craft beer and premium cigars are directed towards a very limited market. Not knowing the numbers I would guess less than 15% of market share in any of the three categories.

Of course there are wines, beers and cigars that can crossover between market but for the most part they are meant to sell to a certain consumer.

Snobs are found at each level. Snobbery is not class exclusive.

[TheRiddick]

Originally Posted by bobarian

Snobs are found at each level. Snobbery is not class exclusive.

Great post and a great point.

Just to underscore it, are posters on this board who make it a point of saying they "only smoke CCs" snobs? Or do they simply smoke what they like?

Originally Posted by TheRiddick

Great post and a great point.

Just to underscore it, are posters on this board who make it a point of saying they "only smoke CCs" snobs? Or do they simply smoke what they like?

Their are some of both on this board.

[Neuromancer]

It's easy to justify the cost of anything you like, want, and enjoy so I really don't think it's an issue of beer vs. wine class-wise or anything else...sometimes I want a glass of wine, sometimes a beer, and sometime hard liquor...it's whatever you're in the mood for...unless you drink that cheap-a$$ bitter Budweiser (like Marie's sister-in-law who does a 6-pack a day), then it's class ...

[replicant_argent]

my butt itches.
In the usual spots...

[Skywalker]

Mmm Old Stock!!!

I drink it with my pinky up!!!

[T.G]

[ucla695]

Smoke what you like and drink what you like.

Posted via Mobile Device

[stevieray]

what exactly is "world class"? and who gets to decide that ?

[SeanGAR]

Originally Posted by stevieray

what exactly is "world class"? and who gets to decide that ?

World class = best in the world.

I do.

Perhaps I should have said "world class to me", but I thought that was obvious.

I don't buy wine based on Robert Parker recommendations and I don't buy beer based on what reviewers at www.ratebeer.com or www.beeradvocate.com have to say, since my taste in beer and wine is different from all of the above.

I know when I say that I hate Imperial Russian Stout and Belgian Abbey Ales that many beer aficionados will tell me that I'm crazy .. but I really don't care, I drink what I like. Same with wines.

For example, in MY opinion:

World class beer: Weyerbacker Simcoe Ale - 11 bucks a 4 pak.
World class wine: Caymus special select - north of 100.

The PRICE doesn't make these world class, how much I like them does.

[macpappy]

Originally Posted by SeanGAR

World class = best in the world.

The PRICE doesn't make these world class, how much I like them does.

Originally Posted by SeanGAR

14 bucks for a 6 pack of world class beer - you can get a nice bottle of wine for 14 bucks, but it won't be world class.

This post gets it

Originally Posted by ucla695

Smoke what you like and drink what you like.

Posted via Mobile Device

This post doesn't


My question has nothing to do with drinking what you like and liking what you drink, it has to do with why people are so heisitant to pay for great beer, but have no problem with paying far more money for wine.

If people truly enjoy drinking beers like Bud, they should by all means drink them. It just leaves more of the hard to find craft beers for the rest of us,

[TheRiddick]

Vic, I do not agree with your "This post doesn't" POV. Same way you framed the question of "why not..." I can also ask, Why do cigar smokers, in general, have no issue paying $15-20 PER CIGAR (and more in some cases) when they will also tell you that spending that same sum on a bottle of wine is stupid?

Since taste is subjective (and there is no argument on this point, just let me know what you think of cow tongue aspic), why do you simply assume that what is great beer to you simply MUST be great beer for everyone else? Isn't this snobbish and elitist point of view, the point of contention in your original post?

You still didn't answer my question as to what is a great bottle of wine to YOU?

Originally Posted by TheRiddick

Vic, I do not agree with your "This post doesn't" POV. Same way you framed the question of "why not..." I can also ask, Why do cigar smokers, in general, have no issue paying $15-20 PER CIGAR (and more in some cases) when they will also tell you that spending that same sum on a bottle of wine is stupid?

Since taste is subjective (and there is no argument on this point, just let me know what you think of cow tongue aspic), why do you simply assume that what is great beer to you simply MUST be great beer for everyone else? Isn't this snobbish and elitist point of view, the point of contention in your original post?

You still didn't answer my question as to what is a great bottle of wine to YOU?

Greg, I'm not ignoring you, it's just that what is great to me is not the point of my question.

You obviously work in the wine trade, but trust me my question is not some secret plot to replace wine with beer and destroy your industry It's an honest question that i'm curious about.

If you must know, a great wine to me is one I enjoy. Can I find one for $14.00 a bottle? Sure. But IN GENERAL, wine at that price point is a low end wine. Drinkable, okay, but world class? No. Are there diamonds in the rough? Sure, same as with anything else. But the diamonds in the rough are still not comparable to the best wines in the world, are they? If they were, what would possibly justify the prices places like Screaming Eagle charge for their wine? Yet people will not only willingly pay these prices, they'll step on grandma's head to do it.

Flip side of the coin. Beer for $14.00 a sixpack. IN GENERAL that is going to get you some mighty fine beer, probably a beer that is one of the best in the world in it's class. Yet people ***** and moan about it and I find that funny, a little sad, and don't understand it. Are there duds? Sure. But it's the flip side of the equation, the duds are FAR outnumbered by the great beers at that price point. And the duds are rarely truly awful beers, rather it's just that they are priced too high for what they are, they are still much better than most beer out there.

And before the Bud topic comes up again, comparing Bud to craft beer is like comparing Boones Farm to Screaming Eagle. I'm willing to bet that a helluva lot more boones farm is sold every year than Screaming Eagle. Does that make Boones Farm a better wine?

[TheRiddick]

Originally Posted by Resipsa

You obviously work in the wine trade, but trust me my question is not some secret plot to replace wine with beer and destroy your industry

And before the Bud topic comes up again, comparing Bud to craft beer is like comparing Boones Farm to Screaming Eagle. I'm willing to bet that a helluva lot more boones farm is sold every year than Screaming Eagle. Does that make Boones Farm a better wine?

You're kidding, right? Yeah, I am really worried that your questions will "destroy your industry"? My take on your POVs are based on you calling others snobs only because they prefer wine over beer. Like I said, that is Snobbery 101 (expecting and insisting that people like what you like).

Bud was used not to "compare" anything, apples to oranges like you stated, but simply to make it obvious that what is great to you is probably crap to someone else, and visa versa. I could have used Heineken or Beck's or any other beer that you may not consider "world class", the name or production quantity are inconsequential here. What is, though, is asking "Why is this guy buying bagels when I prefer this world class french baggette?" and acting like there should be no disagreement with your taste/spending preferences.

Bud was still a great example, IMO, to show that even when given a CHOICE and (lower) price of competing products, people PREFER to buy Bud, to THEM it is WORLD CLASS.

Thank you for confirming the obvious. Your deliberate omission of stating what constitutes great wine to YOU would probably result in a number of people pointing out it is not great wine to THEM (I am actually willing to bet on this). Exactly the point you refuse to acknowledge and the one, I am sure, you did foresee coming.

Anyway, thanks for pointing out to a number of us just how unrefined and "snobbish" our palates and buying preferences are.

I'll go and pick out a non-Cohiba to smoke on a deck, its nice outside... And while I am at it, pop open an $18 bottle of wine which I do consider great (friend of mine makes it). To edukat and rephine my pallet...