Local breweries & Belgian beer prices
Discussion
My favourite local brewery seems to charge £5 for a 330ml can of beer. No problem if there's a demand however I've also noticed alot of local shops etc charging insane prices for Belgian beer.
Does it go round the world twice on its way over from Belgium? I seem to remember most being 1-3euros whereas here equivalent it's double if not more.
I know the fashion tax n all but still?!?
Does it go round the world twice on its way over from Belgium? I seem to remember most being 1-3euros whereas here equivalent it's double if not more.
I know the fashion tax n all but still?!?
Animal said:
I came back from Brussels last weekend. Beer was regularly €5-8 for 330ml.
I don't know where you find these places in Brussels unless you're talking speciality beers in restaurants.A regular beer in Belgium (Stella) is < 3 EUR for 33cl in bars or restaurants, something like Duvel or Leffe can go towards 5 in restaurants.
But since you're talking cans, € 1 and then it's from a cooler.
Paying more than that for a can of beer is ridiculous.
Sincerely - a Belgian.
Edited by ZesPak on Friday 17th August 12:02
I'm guessing the higher price of Belgian beers must also have something to do with the higher ABV of the 'good stuff', which tends to be anywhere between 6 and 12%. It seems in the UK anything over about 5% seems to get hit harder with duty, which isn't so great for the craft beer scene in this country.
As far as local breweries charging higher prices, this is more down to supermarkets using beer and ale as a loss leader rather than the price of the beer per se? Although 3.50 for 330ml is a bit dear.
As far as local breweries charging higher prices, this is more down to supermarkets using beer and ale as a loss leader rather than the price of the beer per se? Although 3.50 for 330ml is a bit dear.
One of my Belgian wife's favourites is La Chouffe Blond (8%) and that is typically 1.85 euros in the local supermarket in Amsterdam near our apartment. Similar with Tripel Karmeleit. Here in Portugal, they are about 3.99 euros. Looking in the cupboard, we have a fair number of Hoegaarden's, Delirium Tremens', Kriek's, Afligem's and Liefman's too but I tend to prefer the local Sagres and German Erdinger's to the Belgian beers.
Coolbanana said:
One of my Belgian wife's favourites is La Chouffe Blond (8%) and that is typically 1.85 euros in the local supermarket in Amsterdam near our apartment. Similar with Tripel Karmeleit. Here in Portugal, they are about 3.99 euros. Looking in the cupboard, we have a fair number of Hoegaarden's, Delirium Tremens', Kriek's, Afligem's and Liefman's too but I tend to prefer the local Sagres and German Erdinger's to the Belgian beers.
Germans are the best in the category "you're only allowed 3 ingredients" 
Those prices seem about right, here (BE) you'd pay 1,5 for a 33cl bottle of La Chouffe.
I go in a local place that sells all the Belgian stuff plus loads of other global and local craft stuff, tied loads and found a few I like but it is pricey, some of it is pretty grim as well, I tried a couple of Gooseberry Sour type brews, utterly grim. The prices do seem to go up based on ABV, I struggle with anything much more than 6 percent really anyway, there is a sweet spot, 4.5 to about 7 percent and after that is just seems to be about the alcohol payload overwhelming things, I do occasionally like a Duval Trippel or similar.
I keep going back to Stella as a standard Lager, cheap, widely available, not too strong, not too weak and it tastes pretty good, there I said it, someone always tells you its "Full of chemicals" and not as pure as Becks or whatever, basically I think its all b
ks, I find all those standard 5 ish percent lagers taste broadly similar, Stella, Peroni, Becks, Staropramen, Kronenbourg etc, chilled, from a nice glass they all seem pretty much interchangeable and I think Stella tend to have an image problem, have told a lad from work he had Peroni, because that was the only glass they had and he was going on about how nice it was and how Stella is st, he couldnt tell, I can only really tell Budweiser in that class, it tastes a bit weird, San Miguel is in there as well but I find that usually a bit sweet.
I keep going back to Stella as a standard Lager, cheap, widely available, not too strong, not too weak and it tastes pretty good, there I said it, someone always tells you its "Full of chemicals" and not as pure as Becks or whatever, basically I think its all b
ks, I find all those standard 5 ish percent lagers taste broadly similar, Stella, Peroni, Becks, Staropramen, Kronenbourg etc, chilled, from a nice glass they all seem pretty much interchangeable and I think Stella tend to have an image problem, have told a lad from work he had Peroni, because that was the only glass they had and he was going on about how nice it was and how Stella is st, he couldnt tell, I can only really tell Budweiser in that class, it tastes a bit weird, San Miguel is in there as well but I find that usually a bit sweet.Decent selection of Belgian beer here and other craft stuff, way cheaper than you can buy it in the UK, comes within a day of two from the Netherlands. Seems crazy but why not: https://www.beerwulf.com/en-gb#
ZesPak said:
I don't know where you find these places in Brussels unless you're talking speciality beers in restaurants.
A regular beer in Belgium (Stella) is < 3 EUR for 33cl in bars or restaurants, something like Duvel or Leffe can go towards 5 in restaurants.
But since you're talking cans, € 1 and then it's from a cooler.
Paying more than that for a can of beer is ridiculous.
Sincerely - a Belgian.
Went to Delirium, Au Brasseur and L'Imaige Nostre-Dame.A regular beer in Belgium (Stella) is < 3 EUR for 33cl in bars or restaurants, something like Duvel or Leffe can go towards 5 in restaurants.
But since you're talking cans, € 1 and then it's from a cooler.
Paying more than that for a can of beer is ridiculous.
Sincerely - a Belgian.
Edited by ZesPak on Friday 17th August 12:02
I was in Belgium a few weeks ago, prices for the beer there were the similar to here, both in supermarkets and bars/restaurants.
It's just drinking in a pub which is silly money now, I was paying nearly £10 for a pint of beer and a large glass of wine at the weekend, fk that i'll make my own, i'm not surprised so many have gone out of business.
Where we go for a really good curry they aren't licensed, so we take our own homemade drink or something from the supermarket and have a fantastic meal (starter & main) for two for about £30 all in.
It's just drinking in a pub which is silly money now, I was paying nearly £10 for a pint of beer and a large glass of wine at the weekend, f
k that i'll make my own, i'm not surprised so many have gone out of business.Where we go for a really good curry they aren't licensed, so we take our own homemade drink or something from the supermarket and have a fantastic meal (starter & main) for two for about £30 all in.
C0ffin D0dger said:
Decent selection of Belgian beer here and other craft stuff, way cheaper than you can buy it in the UK, comes within a day of two from the Netherlands. Seems crazy but why not: https://www.beerwulf.com/en-gb#
Had a few cases of Duvel and Duvel Triple Hops from them. Duvel is now as cheap from Sainsburys and you don't need to buy a case at a time. Downside seems to be it's getting more popular so often out of stock!Will have to try some of the others on the website!
I do like Duvel, always try and have a few bottles in the fridge, Drinking one now, was the last bottle on the shelf and one guy asked whereabouts it was down the beer aisle. Was clearly disappointed when I said it was the only one.
(OK he could have asked if they had anymore but I couldn't be ar*ed to wait)
Evoluzione said:
I was in Belgium a few weeks ago, prices for the beer there were the similar to here, both in supermarkets and bars/restaurants.
It's just drinking in a pub which is silly money now, I was paying nearly £10 for a pint of beer and a large glass of wine at the weekend
We need to be careful as there are people trying to peg the price of beer in supermarkets and shops to what it is in the pub. It's like this in New Zealand - a box of beers in the shops is crazy expensive and relaxing at home with a few bottles of an evening/weekend starts to be an expensive luxury. On the flip side people spend more time in pubs as a result - if you're going to fork out on a few drinks, might as well be able to enjoy the company of others at the same time. Whereas I think that big price gap is pretty bad for the pub trade here, but I think pub beers are too expensive already... It's just drinking in a pub which is silly money now, I was paying nearly £10 for a pint of beer and a large glass of wine at the weekend
Evoluzione said:
I was in Belgium a few weeks ago, prices for the beer there were the similar to here, both in supermarkets and bars/restaurants.
It's just drinking in a pub which is silly money now, I was paying nearly £10 for a pint of beer and a large glass of wine at the weekend, fk that i'll make my own, i'm not surprised so many have gone out of business.
Where we go for a really good curry they aren't licensed, so we take our own homemade drink or something from the supermarket and have a fantastic meal (starter & main) for two for about £30 all in.
Which supermarket did you go in? I've been in a few chains and the last time I went over I was worried that at customs they'd question really how much was for personal use as I bought so much..It's just drinking in a pub which is silly money now, I was paying nearly £10 for a pint of beer and a large glass of wine at the weekend, f
k that i'll make my own, i'm not surprised so many have gone out of business.Where we go for a really good curry they aren't licensed, so we take our own homemade drink or something from the supermarket and have a fantastic meal (starter & main) for two for about £30 all in.
They were more bothered about what was under a blanket (a bike).
vsonix said:
Evoluzione said:
I was in Belgium a few weeks ago, prices for the beer there were the similar to here, both in supermarkets and bars/restaurants.
It's just drinking in a pub which is silly money now, I was paying nearly £10 for a pint of beer and a large glass of wine at the weekend
We need to be careful as there are people trying to peg the price of beer in supermarkets and shops to what it is in the pub. It's like this in New Zealand - a box of beers in the shops is crazy expensive and relaxing at home with a few bottles of an evening/weekend starts to be an expensive luxury. On the flip side people spend more time in pubs as a result - if you're going to fork out on a few drinks, might as well be able to enjoy the company of others at the same time. Whereas I think that big price gap is pretty bad for the pub trade here, but I think pub beers are too expensive already... It's just drinking in a pub which is silly money now, I was paying nearly £10 for a pint of beer and a large glass of wine at the weekend
I dodn't need to get out of my chair to socialise now though...
Sa Calobra said:
Which supermarket did you go in? I've been in a few chains and the last time I went over I was worried that at customs they'd question really how much was for personal use as I bought so much..
They were more bothered about what was under a blanket (a bike).
As a bloke, one foreign supermarket looks pretty much like another to me, it was a Carrefour maybe? O/H would know....They were more bothered about what was under a blanket (a bike).
We found the best prices were on the ferry, there were genuine savings there.
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