Foreign beer, domestically brewed, still priced at a premium

LThisJustin on 09/12/2013 - 02:02

I searched the forums to see if this topic had already been discussed but after about 5 pages of results I found nothing so I figured it hasn't been…

I've noticed that some foreign beers (Carlsberg, Stella, Beck's, etc.) are being brewed locally by the likes of CUB or Coopers but the pricing is exactly the same as if they were still being brewed in their country of origin. Surely one of the main advantages of "brewing under license" in the same country as it is being sold is saving money on the logistics of exporting it but none of those savings seem to have trickled down to the consumers.

If you buy a foreign beer it seems you are paying the premium for it being brewed somewhere else by brewers who have brewed it in a specific way, usually for hundreds of years. I'm not a beer snob but Beck's is one brand that I know of which still has both domestically and foreign brewed options and I've compared the two and almost every time I can tell the difference. Not just taste wise but smell (or aroma if you'd prefer) and appearance.

It seems these companies are offering a different (& inferior, in my experience) product and pocketing 100% of the savings made by brewing locally.

I'm interested in to know whether any ozbargainers have noticed this or have any reasonable explanation for this.

General Discussion

Comments

  • jimbobaus on 09/12/2013 - 02:08
    +5

    I know it might seem like i am wasting my time, but i drive an extra 20 minutes so i can ensure when i buy Asahi its Jap brewed not aussie brewed.. there is a massive difference in the taste

    • ThisJustin on 09/12/2013 - 02:14

      No. I agree. I know some people might think it is all in one's mind but I can tell the difference between locally and foreign brewed.

      If you buy a Japanese beer, it should be brewed in Japan. If it isn't, I don't think you should have to pay the premium for it.

      I don't drink a lot of Asian beer. Is a lot of it also brewed here under license?

      • jimbobaus on 09/12/2013 - 02:17
        +2

        I only drink Asahi .. reminds me of when i used to live in Japan (man they drink a lot of beer there lol)
        the majority of what is sold at Dan Murphys etc is brewed by CUB as its a Kirin product.

        I go to this little boutique bottle shop who sells both the local brewed and the imported product.
        what gets me is the local product is maybe $3 a case cheaper… and yet i agree it should be a lot cheaper given the savings made on importation and delivery etc.

        • Richfield on 09/12/2013 - 08:24
          +1

          I thought Asahi was brewed in Thailand, not Australia.

        • jimbobaus on 09/12/2013 - 12:23

          Bottle says brewed in Australia.

        • stumo on 09/12/2013 - 12:33
          +1

          I just got 2x24 proper jap brewed asahi super dry at my local bws for $90. Its quite nice, I never really drank that much of it before now. Its got good sessionability too.

        • Cluster on 09/12/2013 - 13:41

          Kirin is made in Australia but I've yet to encounter Australian Asahi. The bottles are brewed in Thailand and on rare occasion it was possible to buy Japanese Asahi in aluminium bottles.

        • pikapika on 09/12/2013 - 17:48

          Dan's have the big 3L tins at the moment for Asahi and it's from Japan!

          I agree that Asahi from Japan tastes so much better than the stuff brewed in the UK or Thailand.

    • [Deactivated] on 09/12/2013 - 12:56
      +2

      Last weekend I bought Asahi from Woolworths.

      Imported ✓

      Later on I check closely…. Brewed in China!!!

      • ESEMCE on 09/12/2013 - 13:55

        I similarly bought a slab of Suntory… "Japanese Beer" from BWS (Woolies) which tasted so awful that I double checked the country of origin… Brewed in China!

      • diddy50 on 10/12/2013 - 12:22

        yes! this so much! what is happening???

        Although I do drink the Chinese Rice beer - forgot the name but sold in many Asian restaurants and buy from BWS etc. very nice and mild

  • retiredfeline on 09/12/2013 - 02:30
    +1

    I've read a school of thought put forward by a master brewer no less that fresh is better, but this assumes that everything else remains the same. However I'd be interested if double blind tests have been done. Don't underestimate the power of the label on perceptions.

    • DeWalt on 09/12/2013 - 08:16

      I like Coopers Vintage as a beer. I LOVE this beer when it's a few years old. It's smoother and has a richer taste.

      I don't think there's any hard and fast rule :)

      • alandee on 09/12/2013 - 09:15

        mmm, one of my faves too .. however, coopers has the distinct advantage of having a best after date on it's beer, unlike the majority with a best before .. Old non bottle fermented beer can get pretty skanky !

  • spersephone on 09/12/2013 - 07:27

    My husband starts ranting if he buys an imported beer and us then given the domestic version.

    Usually you can confirm it before purchase. You're right though, it stinks.

  • mskeggs on 09/12/2013 - 07:55
    +2

    I agree it is problematic, but I don't know how much of a premium they are getting. Dan Murphy's was selling VB stubbies for $44 a slab the other day when I bought some imported Oettinger.
    Domestic beer prices are disgraceful for the tepid quality.

    • ESEMCE on 09/12/2013 - 13:53

      The locally brewed "import brand" stuff is the same price as the local brand made by the same brewery, how much cheaper do you expect it to be?
      I rarely buy "Australian" beer anymore.. it's cheaper to buy the "Import Brand" (like Nastro Azzuro) or actually imported beer like Oettinger/Hollandia/Oranjeboom

  • 80 on 09/12/2013 - 08:53
    +3

    Totally agree. BUL often tastes nothing like the original, sometimes it is even a different strength. Compare "fully" imported Heineken to the Aussie brewed stuff - it's a different beer. I've ordered it in several places off the "imported beers" section of the menu and they serve non-imported Aussie brewed bottles.

    What's weird is that you can often get the imported stuff cheaper than BUL in bottle shops.

    • andy19363 on 09/12/2013 - 09:04

      Compare "fully" imported Heineken to the Aussie brewed stuff

      Which is the best country to have heineken imported from?

      Heineken organises the company into five territories which are then divided into regional operations. The regions are: Western Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, The Americas, Africa and the Middle East, and Asia Pacific. These territories contain 115 brewing plants in more than 65 countries, brewing local brands in addition to the Heineken brand.
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heineken_International

      Perhaps the Papua New Guinea stuff would be the freshest as it doesn't have far to travel….. or maybe the Nigerian stuff?
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigerian_Breweries

      • indium on 09/12/2013 - 10:39
        +2

        He means the Amsterdam Heineken's. I've never seen it being imported from anywhere else into Australia.

        I can taste the difference and it's usually a few dollars cheaper

    • SteveBuscemi on 10/12/2013 - 15:24
      +2

      I think Peroni Nastro Azurro is the worst offender — the Australian stuff is awful, and unlike Aussie Heineken (which drops the 'Brewed in Holland' from its label), they keep all the prominent Italian text on the bottles and the big 'ITALY' on the carton. It's up there with Guinness for me in the absolutely, 100%, no-placebo-effect markedly inferior category. And yes, it's more expensive.

      It'a also the only one in that Choice test posted below, where the domestic version was decisively inferior to the imported.

      Worse still, Dan Murphy's just stopped carrying the import stuff (pressure from CUB?) — gotta go to Aldi/Grays/Jims Cellars to get it now.

  • Cluster on 09/12/2013 - 13:48

    People say they can tell the difference between locally brewed foreign beer and the genuine product made in its home country. How many of those tests are conducted in a proper double blind fashion, with neither the server (someone else pours the drink and it's then handed to the server) nor drinker are aware which bottle the beers being tested came with? Just glancing at the label and being aware of where the product is from introduces a strong bias.

    Personally I think if a "Japanese" beer is "Japanese" then it should come from Japan and not a brewery located in another country. Otherwise it does not make sense paying the premium price (Cooper's in Adelaide brewing Sapporo bottles and Sapporo cans made in Vietnam, I'm looking at you).

    • super8 on 11/12/2013 - 07:50

      yeah, they need to take the pepsi challenge. I suspect many (not all) would fail it.

  • [Deactivated] on 09/12/2013 - 14:10

    most of the Asahi / sopporo beer is brewed under license in CANADA,

  • andy19363 on 09/12/2013 - 14:25
    +1

    http://www.choice.com.au/reviews-and-tests/food-and-health/f…

    Of the local brews, NSW-produced Grolsch achieved the highest score. Six experts preferred the local brew’s lively full flavour over the import, which they said was “stale” and “hard to love”.

    The Carlsberg and Kronenbourg 1664 local brews also scored better than their imported siblings, although in the case of Carlsberg only just. Panellists commended the local Carlsberg for its solid characteristics and good drinkability, while Australian Kronenbourg was commended for its balanced flavours and ability to display the qualities typical of a European lager.

    Lion’s Heineken scored just ahead of the Dutch version, and there was an overall consensus that the two were the closest match of the day.

    • georgedeka on 09/12/2013 - 18:23
      +1

      Dutch version is so so much better than ours, I was drinking it one day said to a mate Heineken is no where near as good anymore and he pointed out it was now made here.
      Since then I only buy the Cans - they are always imported - aldi also had the imported stuff recently too.

  • [Deactivated] on 09/12/2013 - 15:21

    Can anyone recommend a place in Melbourne (preferably South East unless it's online) which sells imported Japanese beer? Want to relive the spirit of when I used to live in Tokyo ^^

    • indium on 09/12/2013 - 15:31
      +1

      http://www.oldrichmondcellars.com/

      located in richmond, not sure about prices but have a good range

      • jimbobaus on 09/12/2013 - 15:35
        +2

        Bottle shop on corner of Union Road and Canterbury Road in Surrey Hills is where I go :) they stock both local versions and imported versions.
        Surrey Hills Cellars is the name I think

      • [Deactivated] on 09/12/2013 - 15:37

        Brilliant, thanks!

  • Wampus on 09/12/2013 - 19:03

    Honestly, if it's a lager, I really cannot taste the difference. Chuck Hahn once said the macro brewers' recipes differ by less than 2% across the board, the rest is marketing.

    Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a lager, but I don't buy it for taste.

    • andy19363 on 09/12/2013 - 19:57
      +1

      I agree about marketing……

      Years ago when I lived in the UK… nobody drank heineken, unless there was no alternative, yet people flocked to the exotic castlemaine xxxx and Fosters…. cos they wuz sofistikated and fun-loving….

      Hell…. marketers have even managed to get people drinking Perry again….. even blokes!

      Personally, I'd rather have a fresh well-brewed local beer, (it's not like we haven't got any….), than a stale import from thousands of miles away.

  • LazyAussie on 09/12/2013 - 21:25

    I noticed these locally brewed "imposter" beers too, they definitely do taste different (worse). Why are many other imported beers cheaper? Is it because of different tax? I spoke to a guy in my local bottlo' and he said the alcohol tax is 60% for the pre-mixed alcopops and beer tax depends on alcohol content? Apparently that's why VB quietly dropped alcohol content to keep the price lower..? With the explosion of all the Aussie "boutique" weird named beers I have retreated to buying only few Tasmanian beers and number of imported Czech beers which are cheaper than most Aussie beers…The prices are just "ridonkulous" ;)

    • [Deactivated] on 10/12/2013 - 15:20

      VB lowered the alcohol content by 0.1%

      it has been changed back to the original now though.

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 10/12/2013 - 11:38
    +1

    Whether domestic or imported its all megaswill. Why not support local micro brewers and buy some craft beer that actually has flavour? Even Dans stocks a lot of great craft beer.

    • ESEMCE on 10/12/2013 - 11:51

      Cause they cost a bomb!
      I'm all for delicious beer, and will buy them when at restaurants etc, but in a bottle shop when faced with the choice of $20/6 pack ($70+ per slab), or $30 for a slab of Oettinger, I'll take the Oettinger every day!

      • MementoMori on 10/12/2013 - 15:22

        Oettinger = my pick too. Best bang/buck easy.

      • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 11/12/2013 - 12:49

        Wat. You'll pay 6-10 bucks for each decent beer at a restaurant but skimp at the bottle shop?

        • ESEMCE on 11/12/2013 - 13:26

          Yeah, at a restaurant, the choices are;
          1) Buy the cheapest beer on the menu that is cheap and nasty megaswill for $5 (markup compared to bottlo of $3-4/bottle)
          2) Buy something that taste's great for $10 (markup compared to bottlo of $2-3/bottle = Bargain by comparison)
          3) go without beer (this is clearly not an option, but I've put it here for completeness)

  • Wampus on 10/12/2013 - 13:13

    I buy Atomic IPA for about $40-$45 a slab, not much more than XXXX

  • MementoMori on 10/12/2013 - 15:21
    +1

    Agreed - unfortunately, if people will pay it, the prices will stay the same. People pay for branding and the associated image. Don't get it personally.

    Personally I think it's crazy to ship heavy glass bottles around the world like this, environment and all that, when surely with a bit of effort the taste could be replicated here. Thankfully the Heineken comes in cans (which are MUCH better than the local… it's like a completely different beer).

    I don't buy into the it's always different argument, I think the Becks is pretty much the same but locally it's much fresher and therefore better.

  • fantacular on 10/12/2013 - 16:37
    +1

    as a rule of thumb, brewed under license generally sucks, but there can be some exceptions if the licensed brewer is good.

    e.g. sapparo is now brewed in australia under license, but by coopers rather than one of the majors. surprisingly, i prefer the aussie sapporo to the real japanese stuff. it is a great drop.

    another one to look out for — CUB used to have the rights for kronenbourg and brewed it under license. coopers has now acquired the rights and is importing it again, and it is a much better drop.

  • zhenjie on 11/12/2013 - 11:09

    Think the Aus situation is bad. In the USA they brew under license in Canada just so they can have the 'Imported' label on the cans/bottles.

  • Bargain-Hunt3r on 11/12/2013 - 20:55
    -2

    if you drink jap beer then it probably also has radiocative contamination, so use a geiger counter to find out the level of radioactivity in jap beer. Also if it's glowing green then its a sure sign it's radioactive!

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