Port Brewing isn’t obligated to provide a defense of why they charge what they charge… but all the extenuating factors you mentioned for North Coast don’t exist in this case for Port Brewing. The beer isn’t rare either by perception or availability/tied to a date and never to be brewed again. It’s a beer available year-round, and one they brew and sell at a much lower price point before barrel-aging. The bottle adding to the enjoyment? Umm…. I’d actually argue that capping it normally in a normal weight bottle would have meant they could have sold it at a lower price yet at a level that would have meant _more_ profit per bottle. The bottle certain;y isn’t commemorating anything.

Taste is subjective, of course, but my hunch would be that fans of Old Viscosity who try Older Viscosity wouldn’t try more than one, especially at that price. It’s ok, but, um, in my opinion, not as enjoyable as the regular version. So what’s going on? My guess is that they guessed they could sell all they produced. Great. The American way, and all that. But why the heavy bottle and cork, and why 12.something oz?

I guess the point of this is, are there instances where you think companies _are_ trying to test the market to see how far it will stretch and doing things to suggest false demand/scarcity in order to maintain a price? Port’s pricing of Older Viscosity leaves me scratching my head. It seems to me to be a trial balloon — will this fly? Can we get other things to fly at this price?

Alan mentions rockstar brewers and while we see some brewers flying around the country promoting their products, I have yet to see the brewing industry create the sort of personal wealth that I see in the wine industry.

On the topic of the bottle, I was actually talking to the packaging people that sell that bottle to North Coast. It really is a special bottle. The weight of the empty bottle was comparable to weight of a standard 750mL bottle. The glass is actually so thick that it proved a chore determining how much beer was left in a bottle (sadly, it was empty). Does this add to the value of the beer? For a beer you might want to keep some time, save for a special occasion, it’s nice to know a bump and tumble won’t cost you the investment.

As others have said, if you don’t like it, don’t buy it.

And if you think $20 for a Rasputin XII is a lot, this debate from May might get you going as well:
http://www.brewedforthought.com/?p=1409
http://www.brewedforthought.com/?p=1411

“Are they worth $400, or even $350, apiece? If you’re Bill Gates or Donald Trump or Arnold Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller, a Danish billionaire, then absolutely, yes. As a person of more modest means, you’ll probably want to stare long and hard into the mirror before you drop such sums on either.”

I argue nobody buys beer like that for the taste, not even someone like Donald Trump. Donald Trump might buy a beer expensive to reassert their status, keep his ego inflated, or to impress a friend or client with how much was paid for the beer.

And yes, sometimes a person of modest income will buy a beer like that for a very special event. And they aren’t paying for the fluid in the bottle, or the cost of the brewer to make it, or even what it tastes like. They are paying for the experience of showing someone else that they paid $400 for a bottle of beer, to showing them how special the moment is. (Or like Kobe, to show how sorry they are.)

“Are they worth $400, or even $350, apiece? If you’re Bill Gates or Donald Trump or Arnold Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller, a Danish billionaire, then absolutely, yes. As a person of more modest means, you’ll probably want to stare long and hard into the mirror before you drop such sums on either.”

Similarly, someone living alone and making $100k probably wouldn’t balk at the idea of a $20 or $30 bottle of beer, where someone with a family and more modest income would. It’s all relative.

I’m not sure what it means but these days the wine market above $20 is referred to as “dead” but brewers are able to ask higher prices.

Stan’s math makes on excellent point that has not been noted. Buying local should mean buying at good value. The 20-25 dollar bottle sold off the brewer’s shipping dock has a problem.