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Cheapest place for craft beers

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  • 28-01-2021 8:07pm
    #1
    2lazytogetup
    Registered Users Posts: 828 ✭✭✭


    Where is cheapest generally, supermarkets or off licences or other?

    I'm new to them. I've given up on mass produced beer as I find it's getting worse


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    #2
    BeerNut
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 11,783 Mod ✭✭✭✭BeerNut


    Lidl, I'd say. Plenty of great stuff in their Crafty Brewing Company range, and it's dirt cheap.

    My beer blog | The Twitter | My other beer blog



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    #3
    thegills
    Registered Users Posts: 1,802 ✭✭✭thegills


    SuperValu have some decent 4 for €10 and 3 for €9 offers. You can mix and match too.


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    #4
    L1011
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,724 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    thegills wrote: »
    SuperValu have some decent 4 for €10 and 3 for €9 offers. You can mix and match too.

    Nowhere has those offers anymore, as they were recently made illegal.


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    #5
    Pen Rua
    Registered Users Posts: 1,962 ✭✭✭Pen Rua


    Seconded re Lidl - their Crafty Brewing stuff is great value.

    The same brewery does the "own brand" for Dunnes & Tesco also, so worth picking those up.

    FWIW, I've not been impressed by the own brand stuff out of Aldi, which I think is brewed from Carlow Brewing Company.

    In my experience, shopping around will only save you a couple of cents. Plenty of places doing online shopping (Craft Central, Martin's, Craft Beers delivered...)

    As mentioned, X for €Y deals are illegal. Some places have changed to just reducing the per unit price.


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    #6
    Ivefoundgod
    Registered Users Posts: 2,431 ✭✭✭Ivefoundgod


    Since they got rid of the 4 for €10 offers in the supermarkets I find O' Briens the best value. They are still doing their old 3 for €9/4 for €10 albeit they have just reduced the individual prices of the cans which for me is great because I'd often find I'd 2 from the 3 for €9 and 1 or 2 from the 4 for €10 but you can just pick up what you want now. I have noticed the range in my local O' Briens isn't what it once was though, its more or less the same beers all the time in those offers where as before you would often see some new ones. Now they have all the newer stuff off to the side and price isn't great. A good starting point is Lidl/Aldi, they have a decent enough range and some of them compare well with higher priced alternatives. I'd give the crafty range the upper hand though, some really great beers in there.

    I'm gone off the mass market beers as well and would go with craft generally but it is an expensive hobby IMO and I usually like to keep one of the "nicer" mass produced beers on hand as well (I use the term nicer loosely, I appreciate most are similar but I do prefer Peroni, Estrella or Staropramen to Heineken for example).


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    #7
    BeerNut
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 11,783 Mod ✭✭✭✭BeerNut


    Ivefoundgod wrote: »
    I do prefer Peroni, Estrella or Staropramen to Heineken for example
    That would be an interesting one to do a blind tasting on, and you might save yourself a bit of money: are the lagers which are marketed as "premium" actually better than the more mainstream fare.

    My beer blog | The Twitter | My other beer blog



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    #8
    RasTa
    Closed Accounts Posts: 15,116 ✭✭✭✭RasTa


    Homebrewing would be the cheapest.


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    #9
    Ivefoundgod
    Registered Users Posts: 2,431 ✭✭✭Ivefoundgod


    BeerNut wrote: »
    That would be an interesting one to do a blind tasting on, and you might save yourself a bit of money: are the lagers which are marketed as "premium" actually better than the more mainstream fare.

    To be honest, I doubt that they are much different at all but I found (and I don't want go down the route of Guinness drinkers and cans :D) the imported Peroni/Estrella much nicer than the licensed Moretti brewed in UK. Its almost certainly a placebo thing though and I wouldn't be confident of identifying each of the premium lagers over say Heineken or whatever.


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    #10
    BeerNut
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 11,783 Mod ✭✭✭✭BeerNut


    You don't have to identify them, just pick the best one(s) :) It's great for finding out what you actually think, not what you think you think.

    My beer blog | The Twitter | My other beer blog



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    #11
    Effects
    Registered Users Posts: 9,761 ✭✭✭Effects


    L1011 wrote: »
    Nowhere has those offers anymore, as they were recently made illegal.

    My local has just switched to pricing the 4 for €10 range at €2.50.
    So you get the pricing, but don't have to buy four cans.


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    #12
    2lazytogetup
    Registered Users Posts: 828 ✭✭✭2lazytogetup


    Effects wrote: »
    My local has just switched to pricing the 4 for €10 range at €2.50.
    So you get the pricing, but don't have to buy four cans.

    i wouldnt be bothering going into a local just to buy the one or two beers. so they are confident you will buy 4 beers anyway.


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    #13
    2lazytogetup
    Registered Users Posts: 828 ✭✭✭2lazytogetup


    thanks all,i appreciate the input.

    i couldnt face aldi/lidl, so i just went into o'briens. plan is to sample one beer a night with the missus, hopefully work our way through all every different beer over the next year.

    got a sam smyths chocolate stout. not really craft from my experience of sam smyth pubs in the UK.


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    #14
    L1011
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,724 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    Effects wrote: »
    My local has just switched to pricing the 4 for €10 range at €2.50.
    So you get the pricing, but don't have to buy four cans.

    Common but not universal - a mate has been moaning that his local Supervalu have not adjusted their pricing all, meaning his usual cans are now dearer

    In the places that have adjusted, singles are now cheaper - the entire measure backfiring. Whoever could have thought a badly planned neo-prohibitionist measure might backfire? :pac:


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    #15
    donaghs
    Registered Users Posts: 2,692 ✭✭✭donaghs


    Lidl and Aldi, at the moment anyway, probably best for cheap "craft beer".
    Effects wrote: »
    My local has just switched to pricing the 4 for €10 range at €2.50.
    So you get the pricing, but don't have to buy four cans.

    Hopefully the single can/botttle price drops affects a wide range of craft beer. As much as I like o'hara, porterhouse, mcgrargles, you tended to see a lot of the same names in the 4 for 10 deals.


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    #16
    Seanba
    Registered Users Posts: 5 ✭Seanba


    2lazytogetup wrote: »
    Where is cheapest generally, supermarkets or off licences or other?

    I'm new to them. I've given up on mass produced beer as I find it's getting worse

    With craft beers you get what you pay for. Download UNTAPPD from the app store and see what people are saying about the beers. It'll save you from buying a lot of dishwater!


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    #17
    Macy0161
    Registered Users Posts: 9,274 ✭✭✭Macy0161


    Best bang for your buck is probably the Crafty Range in Lidl. I think the O'Shea's is ok, but definitely not as nice. Lidl have 12 acres in at the moment at a decent price too. Aldi sometimes has Lough Gill in - my local ones have had their "Native" IPA, which I think is decent enough.

    Sharing is a great way of doing it btw. I converted my better half to craft over Lockdown 1 - she joined a few of the festivals and established a few styles she likes. Coming at them as a dyed in the wool bud drinker.
    Seanba wrote: »
    With craft beers you get what you pay for.
    Not sure I agree with that to be honest. Atlantean at €2.50; Leann Follain (if it reverts to) €2.50; Kinnegar core range €3; Trouble Brewing core range €3. Plenty of very good beers at not premium prices.


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    #18
    Seanba
    Registered Users Posts: 5 ✭Seanba


    2lazytogetup wrote: »
    thanks all,i appreciate the input.

    i couldnt face aldi/lidl, so i just went into o'briens. plan is to sample one beer a night with the missus, hopefully work our way through all every different beer over the next year.

    got a sam smyths chocolate stout. not really craft from my experience of sam smyth pubs in the UK.

    Go for the Irish stuff. Anything from Kinnegar, White Hag, 8 degrees are a good start.


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    #19
    Mimon
    Registered Users Posts: 1,474 ✭✭✭Mimon


    L1011 wrote: »
    Nowhere has those offers anymore, as they were recently made illegal.

    Went into a Supervalu yesterday and they have taken away a huge amount of the craft beers. Was hoping that they would have reduced the ones that were previously on the multibuy offers.


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    #20
    Macy0161
    Registered Users Posts: 9,274 ✭✭✭Macy0161


    Tesco have their O'Hara's that were 4 for €10 reduced to €2.50, and the O'Brother that was 3 for €9 reduced to €3. Doesn't look like the McGargles or Trouble Brewing are back at their effective pre-legislation price.


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    #21
    athlone573
    Registered Users Posts: 726 ✭✭✭athlone573


    Just re the minimum pricing, is that really affecting the price of multipacks?

    My local supermarkets are selling single Guinness cans for around 2 euro and the big boxes /small slabs for much less, around 1.50 a can. These would be well known chains like Dunnes and Tescos.

    What's the story there? I'm not put out by it but curious.


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    #22
    L1011
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,724 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    Any multipacks that appear/are cheaper than singles are a different size of can/bottle; or they're breaking the law.

    Applegreen today still had "3 for 9.00" up for McGargles, but all are actually priced 3.00 at the till despite shelf-edge labels showing higher.


    The end result of this has been singles getting cheaper, not multipacks getting dearer. Hooray for neoprohibitionist idiots (for once).


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    #23
    Twee.
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 9,715 Mod ✭✭✭✭Twee.


    I thought it was more about multi-buys than multi-packs? If something is a pre-packed separate product (ie has its own barcode, such as the shrink wrapped slabs of Guinness) it could be priced cheaper than buying the items on their own, but grouping single products together for a deal isn't allowed? Eg buy one get one half price, 3 for €9 cans.


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    #24
    andekwarhola
    Registered Users Posts: 4,638 ✭✭✭andekwarhola


    Surely they'll go after the multi packs next anyway. At least until MUP comes in?

    Noticed in my local major supermarket that the 660ml Peroni - previously a perennial 4 for 10 quid offering would now cost close to 15 quid for 4 to encourage you not to 'binge drink'.

    The Peroni multi pack of 12x 330ml was 15 euro but you get 1.3 litres more beer .:pac:


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    #25
    Macy0161
    Registered Users Posts: 9,274 ✭✭✭Macy0161


    L1011 wrote: »
    Any multipacks that appear/are cheaper than singles are a different size of can/bottle; or they're breaking the law.
    99% sure it's multi-buys not multi packs that are affected. Price of a slab of multinationals beer didn't go up at all.


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    #26
    the beer revolu
    Registered Users Posts: 16,770 ✭✭✭✭the beer revolu


    Macy0161 wrote: »
    99% sure it's multi-buys not multi packs that are affected. Price of a slab of multinationals beer didn't go up at all.

    If the same cans are available to buy singly, then the multi pack cannot be cheaper per can.


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    #27
    CiaranMT
    Registered Users Posts: 4,092 ✭✭✭CiaranMT


    the beer revolu wrote: »
    If the same cans are available to buy singly, then the multi pack cannot be cheaper per can.

    This is what I would have expected as well, but it hasn't. MUP will probably need to be written into law for this to happen. Coming at the end of the year from what I've heard?


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    #28
    L1011
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,724 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    Macy0161 wrote: »
    99% sure it's multi-buys not multi packs that are affected. Price of a slab of multinationals beer didn't go up at all.

    As far as I know, this is just a massive breach of the rules. Presumably the three big boys are waiting to see who blinks first.


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    #29
    the beer revolu
    Registered Users Posts: 16,770 ✭✭✭✭the beer revolu


    CiaranMT wrote: »
    This is what I would have expected as well, but it hasn't. MUP will probably need to be written into law for this to happen. Coming at the end of the year from what I've heard?

    As far as I know, what I stated in the law.
    Implementation might be a different story.


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    #30
    Twee.
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 9,715 Mod ✭✭✭✭Twee.


    Waiting for NI to bring in MUP so they can launch at the same time to discourage cross boarder shopping :rolleyes:


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    #31
    rubadub
    Registered Users Posts: 32,373 ✭✭✭✭rubadub


    Macy0161 wrote: »
    Tesco have their O'Hara's that were 4 for €10 reduced to €2.50, and the O'Brother that was 3 for €9 reduced to €3. Doesn't look like the McGargles or Trouble Brewing are back at their effective pre-legislation price.

    several in tesco have dropped to 2.50

    you can see some here
    https://www.tesco.ie/groceries/product/search/default.aspx?searchBox=craft+beer&originalSearchTerm=freetext


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