Galway Bay Breweries

jh79 · 11-04-2014 11:54pm

slayerking wrote: »

Dont understand what you mean, how are they in a weird position? City centre pub... The most central craft beer pub of all. I dont know what overheads they have, do you?

What do they charge extortionate prices for? Their food/menu is very good value.

Cocoa, lactose are both pretty cheap to be honest, much cheaper than hops. Fair enough, OFAF prob costs a bit with all those hops - its a great beer but its definitely not 6.50 off licences price expensive. That's just crazy.

The fact that there is a need for a thread about their prices says it all. Need I say more.

Paid 7.15 for OFAF in McCambridges last weekend!

BeerNut · 11-04-2014 11:55pm

jh79 wrote: »

Is sweetmans only available in their Dublin pub?

They're planning to wholesale the Red but the rest will be on-site only, from what I've heard.

slayerking · 11-04-2014 11:58pm

jh79 wrote: »

Paid 7.15 for OFAF in McCambridges last weekend!

WOW

ben.schlomo · 12-04-2014 12:04am

Seaneh wrote: »

I agree and disagree with a lot of things here.
Sweetmans is in a weird position in regards to overheads so they can charge less than Porterhouse or GBB for "house" beers. They are also actually made in house and not produced elsewhere and shipped to the pub (like porterhouse and GBB). They also don't have to worry about margins quite as much as they charge extortionate prices for just about everything else, have their weird ownership thing going on and have a teeeny selection.

And again, the GBB beers which are expensive are the ones which are expensive to make and sale. Stormy port is 5.8%, B@S uses a lot of expensive additions (cocoa, lactose) and OFAF is 8.5% and rammed full of expensive hops, it's not like they are pulling the prices out of their arses, they are making a margin which they feel keeps them competitive and also allows them to further expand without getting into massive debt.

And it's working, so either the people in this thread complaining are wrong, the market is wrong or GBB is wrong and to be honest, I don't think it's the latter two.

What are your thoughts on the pulling of the loyalty card? As a regular drinker in their various pubs im sure you enjoyed the odd free one.

BaZmO* · 12-04-2014 12:06am

From what I've heard (from a reliable source), the reason for the high cost for OFAF was to do with the fact that they brewed it first and then worked out their margin afterwards giving a ridiculous retail price, hence the €6.70 initial cost. After the backlash they brought the price down.

jh79 · 12-04-2014 12:06am

ben.schlomo wrote: »

What are your thoughts on the pulling of the loyalty card? As a regular drinker in their various pubs im sure you enjoyed the odd free one.

When did this happen got my card stamped and a free only a couple of weeks ago in the cottage gal way, is it a case of no new cards and honouring what's out there?

Seaneh · 12-04-2014 12:13am

slayerking wrote: »

Dont understand what you mean, how are they in a weird position? City centre pub... The most central craft beer pub of all. I dont know what overheads they have, do you?

What do they charge extortionate prices for? Their food/menu is very good value.

Cocoa, lactose are both pretty cheap to be honest, much cheaper than hops. Fair enough, OFAF prob costs a bit with all those hops - its a great beer but its definitely not 6.50 off licences price expensive. That's just crazy.

The fact that there is a need for a thread about their prices says it all. Need I say more.

Sweetmans weird position is in relation to their ownership situation, their overheads are not comparable anywhere not being run as a going concern.

Their other beers are very expensive, a pint of heineken or guinness is more expensive than any of the GBB beers and they sell a lot more guinness and heineken than they do their own beers. Their cocktails and spirit and mixer combos are also expensive, again bigger sellers than the house beers.

Cocoa nibs are not cheap, not in the quantities you'd use in commercial brewing, and neither are speciality grains or chocolate.
The beers they can make for less money, they sell for less money. Full Sail and Bay Ale being examples of this. Full Sail is 5.5% abv and selling for €5.10 in Dublin and €4.55 in Galway.

Said I said earlier, stormy port is more expensive now than it was because it is higher in abv (attracting more duty) and the new recipe is just more expensive to make, more hops, more grains, etc. It's not the same beer at all in reality in anything besides the name.

And If you paid €6.50 for a OFAF in an off licence you overpaid by up to a Euro. It is available for €5.70 in most places and I've seen it for €5.50 once or twice. And that price isn't set by GBB, it's set by Noreast who I think were the wrong choice as a distribution agent but I'm sure the owners of GBB picked the deal which was best for them, and seeing as they have had to expand consistently their operations due to demand for bottles since they started selling them, I would think it's kind of hard to question their decisions so far.
Even at €5.70 they are selling a lot of OFAF, which isn't surprising seeing as it's easily the best beer an Irish brewery has produced so far.

Again, this thread isn't evidence of anything, they are the fastest growing operation in the country and are struggling to meet demand, they set a price based on market demand and their costs and by all visible measures that price is not too expensive as they are expanding in terms of both capacity, distribution and physical presence on a regular, extremely impressive basis.

jh79 · 12-04-2014 12:19am

Not sure how the business side works but can GBB set a Max price for the offy sales ? 7.15 is a bit much.

Seaneh · 12-04-2014 12:21am

ben.schlomo wrote: »

What are your thoughts on the pulling of the loyalty card? As a regular drinker in their various pubs im sure you enjoyed the odd free one.

I enjoyed the off complimentary beer for a full card and appreciated it, but they didn't ever have to offer the cards in the first place and are well within their rights to decide to stop offering it.
If they reintroduce it I'd be happy but it really doesn't bother me. Using the card means you are limited in choice, without the card you are more likely to drink/try other beers (well, I am anyway) and their pubs (mostly) have a very good range.
Today on my way home from college I had a glass of Founders All Day IPA (just as good as the bottles) and a bottle of Founders Imperial Stout (fantastic beer). If the loyalty cards were still in place I'd probably have just had a stormy port or a full sail instead, which is no bad thing, but I like variety.

Those two beers cost me a whopping total of €11.50 by the way (€4.50 and €7 respectively), great value considering one of them was a 10.5% imperial stout, especially compared to the likes of the not all that special nordic imports that people on here have no problem waxing lyrical about and paying through the nose for.

Seaneh · 12-04-2014 12:21am

jh79 wrote: »

Not sure how the business side works but can GBB set a Max price for the offy sales ? 7.15 is a bit much.

what was 7.15?

BeerNut · 12-04-2014 12:23am

jh79 wrote: »

can GBB set a Max price for the offy sales ?

Doubt it. Noreast is the distributor, and even they can only recommend. If people buy it at €7.15 then that's the price.

jh79 · 12-04-2014 12:24am

Seaneh wrote: »

what was 7.15?

OFAF in McCambridges 2 weeks ago

Seaneh · 12-04-2014 12:24am

jh79 wrote: »

When did this happen got my card stamped and a free only a couple of weeks ago in the cottage gal way, is it a case of no new cards and honouring what's out there?

Honouring what's there anyway if you have a full card, I know that, but not sure about getting stamps anymore in other bars, if you can I need to dig out one or two cards with a few stamps on them!
I was also told in the Brew Dock that if you had two cards with a combined 10 stamps they would accept that as a full card for a pint/fried chicken wrap, but alas the 2 I have had a combined total of about 5 stamps.
The Cottage might still be running the offer independently or something though?

Seaneh · 12-04-2014 12:26am

jh79 wrote: »

OFAF in McCambridges 2 weeks ago

That would be something to take up with either McCambridges or Noreast, that's outrageous over charging! Like I said, €5.70 is the normal price in most offies.

http://www.drinkstore.ie/Galway-Bay-Brewery-Of-Foam-And-Fury-Double-IPA-500ML-799439089228/

edit:
Looking at the drinkstore link, the multiple buy discount is pretty decent. 5.50 each if you buy 2 and 5.20 each if you by 12 (still a big initial outlay though).

jh79 · 12-04-2014 12:27am

Seaneh wrote: »

That would be something to take up with either McCambridges or Noreast, that's outrageous over charging! Like I said, €5.70 is the normal price in most offies.

http://www.drinkstore.ie/Galway-Bay-Brewery-Of-Foam-And-Fury-Double-IPA-500ML-799439089228/

Only ones in Galway as far as I know .

Seaneh · 12-04-2014 12:32am

BaZmO* wrote: »

From what I've heard (from a reliable source), the reason for the high cost for OFAF was to do with the fact that they brewed it first and then worked out their margin afterwards giving a ridiculous retail price, hence the €6.70 initial cost. After the backlash they brought the price down.

I know the initial 6.70 price was a fault on noreast's end. They had a price list error when the first deliveries were made, they corrected it within a few hours.
So either noreast actually made an error or chanced their arm but GBB haven't changed their price they sell to noreast at all.

Seaneh · 12-04-2014 12:32am

jh79 wrote: »

Only ones in Galway as far as I know .

Get on to O'Briens, they stock some of the beers, if you ask for it enough times they will get it.

Seaneh · 12-04-2014 12:46am

One think I really wish BGG pubs did do was proper growler fills.
They charge the same price for a growler fill as they do per ml in the pub, that's taking the piss more than a little.
Their licence (every bar licence) includes off sales, they have the ability to offer growler fills during off sales hours for considerably cheaper than they have to change for a pint but don't offer the option, and besides being prohibitive price wise is shooting themselves in the foot by closing a possible revenue stream. They should take the example of Sweetmans and Mulligans who both offer growler fills for considerably cheaper than their per pint prices.

Ravelleman · 12-04-2014 1:33am

Seaneh wrote: »

It's €5 for 2/3 of brewdog beers. Reason for the price change is the suppliers (four corners) raised the price. GBB bars were charging €6.80 for 5am and punk, price increase would have put both up by about 50c each per pint so they decided to go with smaller servings instead.

5am Saint can still be had for €6 a pint in at least one other pub in the city centre though.

Seaneh · 12-04-2014 1:37am

Ravelleman wrote: »

5am Saint can still be had for €6 a pint in at least one other pub in the city centre though.

Old stock or just operating on tiny margins.

One pub in Galway (Town House) was selling 5am for 5.50 per pint while punk was 6.30 per pint last summer too, which was weird, maybe 5am is cheaper to buy than punk (I doubt it) or maybe people are being advised to sell it for less?

ben.schlomo · 12-04-2014 8:17am

Seaneh wrote: »

I enjoyed the off complimentary beer for a full card and appreciated it, but they didn't ever have to offer the cards in the first place and are well within their rights to decide to stop offering it.
If they reintroduce it I'd be happy but it really doesn't bother me. Using the card means you are limited in choice, without the card you are more likely to drink/try other beers (well, I am anyway) and their pubs (mostly) have a very good range.
Today on my way home from college I had a glass of Founders All Day IPA (just as good as the bottles) and a bottle of Founders Imperial Stout (fantastic beer). If the loyalty cards were still in place I'd probably have just had a stormy port or a full sail instead, which is no bad thing, but I like variety.

Those two beers cost me a whopping total of €11.50 by the way (€4.50 and €7 respectively), great value considering one of them was a 10.5% imperial stout, especially compared to the likes of the not all that special nordic imports that people on here have no problem waxing lyrical about and paying through the nose for.

Saying they never had to offer it is a silly statement to me, of course they didnt, but while they were growing their business they did offer it and to then pull it for no particular reason and with no obvious explanation is just bad customer service. A quick update on their social media platform or even a sign in the pubs would have been fair enough, they are usually quick to update us on everything else they do online so why not this.

ANXIOUS · 12-04-2014 8:57am

Ravelleman wrote: »

5am Saint can still be had for €6 a pint in at least one other pub in the city centre though.

Can you post or pm me the pub please?

ciaran76 · 12-04-2014 9:03am

As I said in another post I had pints of Punk at €5.50 in The Attic bar in Swords last week.

BaZmO* · 12-04-2014 10:10am

Seaneh wrote: »

I know the initial 6.70 price was a fault on noreast's end. They had a price list error when the first deliveries were made, they corrected it within a few hours.
So either noreast actually made an error or chanced their arm but GBB haven't changed their price they sell to noreast at all.

As I said, I've heard it from a reliable source. I don't buy the "price error" line in the slightest.

Seaneh · 12-04-2014 10:25am

BaZmO* wrote: »

As I said, I've heard it from a reliable source. I don't buy the "price error" line in the slightest.

I've heard it from the the source of the beer and an owner of an off licence.
The owner of the offie told me himself that he'd put the beers our in the afternoon and was called before the end of business that day by the noreast rep who apologised for the error and told him the correct price.

Even if it wasn't an error and someone was chancing their arm, the price wasn't/isn't set by the brewery, it's set by their distributors.

BaZmO* · 12-04-2014 10:32am

Seaneh wrote: »

I've heard it from the the source of the beer and an owner of an off licence.
The owner of the offie told me himself that he'd put the beers our in the afternoon and was called before the end of business that day by the noreast rep who apologised for the error and told him the correct price.

Even if it wasn't an error and someone was chancing their arm, the price wasn't/isn't set by the brewery, it's set by their distributors.

Hey don't shoot the messenger. It's ok for companies to make mistakes, even the mighty GBB.

Ravelleman · 12-04-2014 11:17am

ANXIOUS wrote: »

Can you post or pm me the pub please?

Mulligans of Poolbeg St. Price as of last night.

Seaneh · 12-04-2014 11:18am

BaZmO* wrote: »

Hey don't shoot the messenger. It's ok for companies to make mistakes, even the mighty GBB.

But the mistake wasn't on GBB's part, as I said before they haven't changed their price. The mistake was on made by a 3rd party distributor.

BaZmO* · 12-04-2014 11:19am

Seaneh wrote: »

But the mistake wasn't on GBB's part, as I said before they haven't changed their price. The mistake was on made by a 3rd party distributor.

It's ok Seaneh, I'm not mad at them. Mistakes happen.

Seaneh · 12-04-2014 11:20am

BaZmO* wrote: »

It's ok Seaneh, I'm not mad at them. Mistakes happen.

Good ladeen, Noreast do supply some good beers and decent prices so I let the mistake slide too.

ANXIOUS · 12-04-2014 12:00pm

Ravelleman wrote: »

Mulligans of Poolbeg St. Price as of last night.

Cheers will defo go there this week. I'm been paying €6.70 in the Bernard shaw, mulligans is actually handier as well but never thought of it. Any ideas why that particular beer is expensive?

Seaneh · 12-04-2014 12:29pm

ANXIOUS wrote: »

Cheers will defo go there this week. I'm been paying €6.70 in the Bernard shaw, mulligans is actually handier as well but never thought of it. Any ideas why that particular beer is expensive?

Brewdog beers in general are expensive in keg. Either brewdog or four corners are the cause of that.

matrim · 12-04-2014 12:35pm

ANXIOUS wrote: »

Cheers will defo go there this week. I'm been paying €6.70 in the Bernard shaw, mulligans is actually handier as well but never thought of it. Any ideas why that particular beer is expensive?

Think mulligans serving is 400ml

ANXIOUS · 12-04-2014 12:51pm

matrim wrote: »

Think mulligans serving is 400ml

Ah that's a huge point. I'll look into now.

Seaneh · 12-04-2014 12:58pm

matrim wrote: »

Think mulligans serving is 400ml

Ah there is no way in hell that Mulligans are selling 400ml (370ml is more realistic in those glasses anyway) for €6!

matrim · 12-04-2014 1:42pm

Seaneh wrote: »

Ah there is no way in hell that Mulligans are selling 400ml (370ml is more realistic in those glasses anyway) for €6!

When they originally got the brewdog beers they were selling either 5am or punk in the smaller glasses, I'm not sure which and I'm not sure if they still do as the last few times I was there I was drinking O'Haras

As a side note I know the Longstone around the corner sells Punk and I think it goes for €6.10 a pint, but they don't do any Irish craft beer

Seaneh · 12-04-2014 2:03pm

Cassidy's is 6ish for a pint of punk too, isn't it?

cunnifferous · 12-04-2014 10:01pm

jh79 wrote: »

Paid 7.15 for OFAF in McCambridges last weekend!

€6.95 in Redmonds, much to my annoyance. Dunno how they can justify that considering its €5.70 in drinkstore

jh79 · 15-04-2014 9:53pm

Wonder what they are releasing on Thursday? Seem to be quite excited about it on twitter.

ben.schlomo · 15-04-2014 10:56pm

jh79 wrote: »

Wonder what they are releasing on Thursday? Seem to be quiet excited about it on twitter.

A new price hike?

Seaneh · 15-04-2014 11:36pm

Something special on the pilot taps, being very secretive about it, launching in all bars at the same time on Thursday.

matrim · 15-04-2014 11:39pm

Seaneh wrote: »

Something special on the pilot taps, being very secretive about it, launching in all bars at the same time on Thursday.

Heard a rumour that it was a cask version of Two Hundred Fathoms.

TheHappyChappy · 15-04-2014 11:40pm

Seaneh wrote: »

Something special on the pilot taps, being very secretive about it, launching in all bars at the same time on Thursday.

Not buying into their marketing crap anymore, beyond caring, their pure greed has really turned myself & friends off,,,,,,they can be as secretive as they like not going along like a sheep anymore

TheHappyChappy · 15-04-2014 11:43pm

matrim wrote: »

Heard a rumour that it was a cask version of Two Hundred Fathoms.

Heard a rumour their rubbing their greedy hands with glee with the stupidity of their clientele to keep paying increased prices

Seaneh · 15-04-2014 11:48pm

matrim wrote: »

Heard a rumour that it was a cask version of Two Hundred Fathoms.

I can categorically dismiss this rumour.
No Two Hundred Fathoms was ever casked.

Seaneh · 15-04-2014 11:49pm

TheHappyChappy wrote: »

Heard a rumour their rubbing their greedy hands with glee with the stupidity of their clientele to keep paying increased prices

:rolleyes:

Tom Ghostwood · 15-04-2014 11:54pm

Seaneh wrote: »

I can categorically dismiss this rumour.
No Two Hundred Fathoms was ever kegged.

1000 litre batch & only 900 bottles. You might eat those words

Seaneh · 16-04-2014 12:02am

ben.schlomo wrote: »

A new price hike?

What price hike would that be?

The only things that have changed price in the bars this year were;

1) Stormy Port, explained already, it's a different beer which is now 5.8% abv (as opposed to 4.8% before), and as such attracts more duty and costs more to brew. But sure they should eat the difference because you can't get your head around simple math. And if you're that hard up for .40c per pint you still have Full Sail (5.3% abv) and Bay Ale (4.4% abv) at 5.10 (4.55 in Galway) to cry into.

2) Brewdog beers, explained already, because Four Corners have raised the price of a keg of all brewdog beers by upwards of 15%, as a result GBB are probably going to drop all their brewdog taps.

People moaning about "being ripped off", nobody forces you to drink in their bars, nobody forces you to drink their beers, go somewhere else and drink someone elses beers.

I really do think that there is some weird trait inherent in some people on these boards that anyone who has any modicome of success will be lambasted for their successes, as was previously witnessed by the thread about the sale of Franciscan Well.

As a wise man once said, buy or don't buy, there is no gouge.

Seaneh · 16-04-2014 12:03am

Tom Ghostwood wrote: »

1000 litre batch & only 900 bottles. You might eat those words

I can tell you right now, it was not casked.

All of their casks were recently used for something else anyway, and some of them are still in use for that reason.

Tom Ghostwood · 16-04-2014 12:05am

Seaneh wrote: »

I can categorically dismiss this rumour.
No Two Hundred Fathoms was ever kegged.

Galway Bay Breweries

Comments