from theweeklybrew
A couple months ago I went out with my family to Pelican Brewery. My cousin was in from Iowa for a softball game, and we thought a day at the beach and lunch at Pelican sounded good. I’ve complained in the past about the prices Pelican charges, but I went in knowing the prices, and telling myself I wouldn’t complain.
On the way out I decided to get a bottle of one of Pelicans seasonals. The only one that sounded interesting to me was “Bridal”. Apparently Bridal was designed for a wedding between two Pelican workers. The problem is I encountered an obstacle that is sadly not uncommon in Oregon. Not one of the ladies at the register knew exactly what Bridal was. The closest any of them got to an explanation was, “it’s French, I think”. Then she told me the story behind it’s design. Worse yet is neither of them bothered to go ask someone and educate themselves.
The others available were some Belgian styles, and a hefe. Having 5 gal of saison at home, and not wanting a hefe or a Belgian (can’t remember exactly what it was) I went against my common sense I bought a bottle for $15. If there’s something I’ve learned it’s that price doesn’t = tasty beer. That lesson would have served me well.
Saturday I was brewing up a batch of beer from some mystery hops a hippy named Echo gave me. While the wort was boiling we thought it would be fun to try some beers, and that bottle of Bridal I’d been saving for a couple months came out. It was a disappointing beer all around. This got me wondering, is it ever justifiable to charge $15 a bottle for beer?