The Price of Beer
Greetings,
First of all I hope all of you living in the United States had a happy and healthy Thanksgiving Day. For those of you who do not live in the United States I extend a sincere hope that you can take a moment and raise a toast to the good fortune of friends and family. (As we all know, one should never toast oneself.)
And now I will mount the soap box and begin...The Price of a Beer
Over the last few days I have had a chance to experience what has been known as "sticker shock." The first event involved a visit to one of the places I lunch regularly on Thursdays. The second event was in a beer wholesaler while choosing a bottle of beer produced in Chambly, Quebec.
First of all I must admit that I am usually quite blind when it comes to reading the right hand side of the menu. When I sit down to enjoy a good meal and a good beverage I rarely expect to spend more than thirty dollars for a relatively light meal and not over fifty dollars for a dinner. This includes the food, beverage, tax and tip. (Keep in mind that I live in one of the more expensive cities in the world.) On occasion I can accept a higher tariff for an exceptional experience.
And so, as I mentioned above, this Thursday I was less than thrilled when ordering a pint(UK) of beer that cost me over $7.00(US). I will grant them the leeway in that this beer had in the past been served in its proper glassware (yes it is a Belgian brew) and the contents of that glass was a great deal less than a pint. A day later as I perused the shelf of beers at my local beer distributor and priced the 750ml treasures produced by the folks at Unibroue the same impression of a price ceiling having been lifted was hard to ignore.
I understand market economy in a capitalist society relies on profit. I understand the need to meet overhead, especially in a food service establishment. But now, due to the above two experiences, I find my appreciation of the right hand side of the menu has increased. That was my wife you just heard sighing with great relief. She is most thankful that I chose only one bottle of Edition 2005 instead of two, and that economy can also be practiced at our favorite dining places.
As I searched my files for material to reinforce this new-found sense of economy, I found an old piece I had written when I was editor at Beverage Media. It was an interview with one of New York City's premier wine merchants. William Sokolin had a fine wine shop in Manhattan where he provided service to estates, fine restaurants, wine collectors and walk-in customers. At the end of the interview I asked him about his window displays. As we stood on the sidewalk he pointed out the fine wines to the right and then the display to the left of the front door. The later display was a large selection of both red and white wine. And he told me that (and this was in 1991) none of those wines sold for more than eight dollars. This fine wine merchant then told me something that, at the time surprised me, "Peter, there is no reason at all to spend more than eight dollars on a bottle of wine to enjoy. No reason at all."
Now I know what he was talking about. Now I know that as a consumer I have a responsibility to demand the best but also the responsibility to know that price is only one factor, and high price is not the only measure of quality. From now on I will occasionally treat myself and my friends and family to an expensive beer or wine but for everyday dining I will begin to put a little more effort into my selection of beverage. And I'll bet any one of you that I will be getting an education that I might have been missing when I was not so selective. Anyone care to take me up on that?
That's it for now....
Cheers!
Peter LaFrance
