Are you baffled by the increasing prices for cheap beer? It turns out that hipsters, drunks, and college students might be affecting your ability to buy a cheap product.
A new study by Restaurant Sciences has found that cheap beers such as Budweiser, Miller Light, and Coors Light are getting pricier. The study believes that the increasing popularity of the brand Pabst Blue Ribbon is attributing to the higher costs for previously low-cost beers.
Apparently, cheap beers like PBR are becoming “quite fashionable” as hipsters given them the thumbs up.
Speaking to the New York Daily News Chuck Ellis, the head of Restaurant Sciences reveals:
“I believe the single biggest driver in sub-premium beer price increases is indeed specifically PBR.”
The study might be troubling for low-cost beer buyers who are now paying a 6.8 percent premium over prices that existed just several months prior.
The higher prices for low-cost beers are counter to movement towards higher priced but better tasting micro-brews that have been winning over American consumers over the last few years.
Here is a chart that showcases just how out of control low-cost beer prices have become:
The increase in prices isn’t just effecting the brew market. Cocktails and spirits are also costing more to procure these days.
The rising cost of beer is inevitable, but a 6.8 percent in only a few short months could end up scaring some buyers away from brands that are increasing in popularity.
Based on current increases, low-cost beers could quickly catch up to their premium counterparts in just a short period of time.
Will you continue buying low-cost beer if prices move closer to that of their higher quality competitors?