# Why are some beers cheap **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 20, 2000, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-beers-cheap/22948 "2000-06-20T05:14:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2000, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-beers-cheap/22948/21 "2000-06-22T00:42:56Z")
**Uncle Beer** said: > [@](#): > > Actually, rheinheitsgebot, the German purity law of 1516, allows four ingredients, not three. You forgot the yeast Sorry, **Unc** , but the law in **1516** only mentions water, hops, and malt. Yeast wasn’t isolated until the 19th century(by Pasteur, IIRC). Also, it may be interesting to note that the Reinheitsgebot was repealed in 1987 by the EC. Anyone brewing by it now, does so by choice. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2000, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-beers-cheap/22948/22 "2000-06-22T02:09:25Z")
A claim I read in one of my books on home brewing said that a major brewery’s costs divide up at approximately 1/3 for packaging, 1/3 for distribution and 1/3 for advertising. Less than 1 percent of the cost goes to ingredients. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2000, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-beers-cheap/22948/23 "2000-06-22T04:22:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > > Of course, I can’t get it here in New England, but if I see you when I’m back in Texas next month, I’ll gladly split y’all a pitcher. > > \*\* Where 'ya going to be? I’m in Texas myself(D/FW). That story about the marketer and the price doubling doesn’t surprise me. A variant on it is that Corona is the cheapest beer in Mexico- made for poor laborers, and somebody here in the States has managed to make it what people think of when they think of Mexican beer. Which is sad, because Mexico has some truly good beers, such as Negra Modelo, Bohemia, and Dos Equis to name a few. If I recall correctly, the Spoetzl(Shiner) brewery got bought by Heileman’s or some other large brewing corporation several years back. That could account for the greater distribution in the past decade or so as well. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2000, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-beers-cheap/22948/24 "2000-06-22T11:27:20Z")
Huh. Whaddaya know? Thanks, man. ---
**Author:** ![Bucky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Bucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bucky)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2000, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-beers-cheap/22948/25 "2000-06-22T15:33:17Z")
Sofa King, you have a source on the Sam Adams claim? I’ve never ever heard of them being made locally as a virtual brew-pub product. I don’t think that they’ve changed the basic recipe, either. Bucky ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2000, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-beers-cheap/22948/26 "2000-06-22T16:11:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > > “Budweiser,” she said. “Now there’s a really good beer.” > \*\* \ > [@](#): > > \*\* > I assumed she was drinking what we call Pilsner Urquell (if anyone can elaborate on the whole US/European Budweiser trademark battle, I’d appreciate it). > \*\* There’s the original Budweiser, which is actually named “Budweiser Budvar”, which is made in the town of Budveis in the Czech Republic. It’s a Czech pilsner much like Pilsner Urquell. Your friend is right- it’s excellent beer. It’s just very tough to find on this side of the Atlantic. I tried it while in the UK one time. (Let’s hear it for Oddbins!) I believe that Anheuser Busch bought the right to use the Budweiser brand name from the Budvar brewery sometime late in the last century, but I don’t have any sources. ---
**Author:** ![jmullaney](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@jmullaney](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jmullaney)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2000, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-beers-cheap/22948/27 "2000-06-22T16:48:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > Where 'ya going to be? I’m in Texas myself(D/FW). > … > > Mexico has some truly good beers, such as Negra Modelo, Bohemia, and Dos Equis to name a few. > > If I recall correctly, the Spoetzl(Shiner) brewery got bought by Heileman’s or some other large brewing corporation several years back. That could account for the greater distribution in the past decade or so as well. > \*\* Sorry, I’ll be in Austin and Junction. I actually can get Negro Modela at a few of the faux Mexican food places around here. I always have to drink two because I forget I have to tell the yankees not to put a lime in it the first time. Limes go in Corona and Tecate. Does not go in GOOD beer. It is sad that someone working in a Mexican food restaurant can’t figure this out themselves through a little trial and error. Spoetzl (thanks, I forgot the name) did get bought out a few years back, I never figured out by whom. But their distribution was on the rise before that – I know when i went to college in '91 Shiner was already a class act beer. Not sure how far out of Texas you can get it. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2000, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-beers-cheap/22948/28 "2000-06-22T18:04:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > I know when i went to college in '91 Shiner was already a class act beer. Not sure how far out of Texas you can get it. > \*\* Sorry we can’t get together! I didn’t realize that in '91 it had already been on the rise- that’s when I started college, and noticed that the Shiner Bock distribution seemed to get larger outside of College Station as time went on, so I figured it must have been because of the buy-out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-beers-cheap/22948.md?page=1)