Why are bombers such a ripoff compared to sixers, and generally accepted?

6 pack of bud light here is $15.99 bottles and $12.99 cans. A 710 ml can which is 24 oz will cost you $4.

Breweries do it because its a lot less labor to bottle in bombers vs. 6pks. Small breweries don’t have massive labor investments, they do what’s cheapest for them.

Originally posted by beerinmeear

6 pack of bud light here is $15.99 bottles and $12.99 cans. A 710 ml can which is 24 oz will cost you $4.

Bud Light costs $13-16/6-pack in Canada? Homebrewing must be big up there!

Ok, the brewers use the large bottles because it costs them less per ounce... so why are they so goddamn unreasonably priced in comparison to 4-6 packs?

Using an example of the top imperial stouts from my local breweries:

Blackout Stout 4pk ($10-12) = $2.50-3 /12oz
Siberian Night 4pk ($10) = $2.50 /12oz
Expedition Stout 6pk ($16) = $2.66 /12oz

Hoppin Frog Boris Bomber ($9-10) = $5.00-$5.50 /12oz

Other 6pks by Great Lakes and Thirsty Dog might cost $8-10, where their comparable bomber counterpart by Hoppin Frog will be in the $6-8 range. I’m only singling out Hoppin Frog because I remember the prices and see them around a lot, but it’s like this with every brewery comparing bombers to 6pks.


Sooo...why do bombers cost TWICE AS MUCH, when there are HALF as much materials used?

What’s worse is that I heard the head brewer at one of the above breweries "bragging" about his huge profit margins on bombers at a tasting a couple years ago. Otherwise I might cut them some slack because they’re a smaller brewery which might have higher relative costs, but no- no longer will I be a fool.

A brewery that produces bombers only is generally a lower production brewery vs a brewery that produces 6 packs. A bomber or larger format bottle producing brewery like Maine Beer Co. needs to charge more because they arent selling as much product. They generally dont have the money for huge bottle machines or capability to label thousands of cases. In turn their customer is generally a revolving door of craft beer drinkers that are looking to try new things along with local fans. A brewery like Bells sells a huge amount of beer to many established fans of the beer and therefor would not be able to sell all of their product if it was in comparably more expensive bombers because it would alienate there established customer base. Many breweries pull off both lines to appeal to the entire craft beer market. Look at Founders for instance with relatively affordable six packs and very expensive 750s of the backstage beers.

If you just want to drink good beer that you know is good and affordable buy 6 packs. If youre looking to try new and unique things you are forced to buy comparably more expensive bombers. It may be hard to stomach 2 similar products being sold for such different prices, but they are really attempting to market to different groups of people. My earlier example of Maine beer Co may not be able to survive if they sold their Pale Ales in six packs for 10-11 dollars because they simply dont have the capacity to produce enough of the beer in that format to turn a profit. I just typed a lot to say the same things others have said in 2 sentences... oh well.

Originally posted by Reynolds314
A brewery that produces bombers only is generally a lower production brewery vs a brewery that produces 6 packs....They generally dont have the money for huge bottle machines or capability to label thousands of cases.

...not be able to survive if they sold their Pale Ales in six packs for 10-11 dollars because they simply dont have the capacity to produce enough of the beer in that format to turn a profit.

Most bombers or 750s I buy are simply not available in 6-pack or 12-pack format. If they are, then I go for the 6er, unless it’s a beer I suspect I may never drink again, so that’s a minor judgement call there. For any IPA or beer by a solid brewer, I go for the sixer.

Originally posted by jerc

Originally posted by beerinmeear

6 pack of bud light here is $15.99 bottles and $12.99 cans. A 710 ml can which is 24 oz will cost you $4.

Bud Light costs $13-16/6-pack in Canada? Homebrewing must be big up there!

Its mostly taxes. You can get a Canadian made six pack that costs $12+ in Ontario for $6.99 in Buffalo.