A Victoria-based chain of liquor stores has introduced a new product that is sure to excite thrifty beer buffs, but connoisseurs may be wise to look elsewhere.

“Just over a buck-a-beer,” yes, you read right, beer that is marketed as a brew for just over a buck a can, is sold exclusively by three Liquor Plus outlets in town and one in Duncan.  Hailing from the Okanagan and marketed as a “craft brewed original draught,” the 5% alcohol beer sells for $26 per 24-pack.  Surprise!  That actually works out to just over a buck a beer (about $1.08 sans deposit, to be exact).

Compared to approximately $40 for a brand name 24-pack, “Just over a buck-a-beer” is a relative steal.  And according to a Liquor Plus employee working out of the Douglas Street store, who wished to remain anonymous, “Just over a buck-a-beer” is no secret anymore.  “It’s pretty much gone as soon as we put it on the shelf,” he said, when reflecting on the popularity of the brew since its introduction in late 2009.

So what does beer that costs just over a buck taste like?  According to Nick Green, who was walking out of the Liquor Plus location on Douglas Street with a case of the good stuff in hand, “it tastes like, well, ok, for a buck I mean it’s good, but you get what you pay for,” he said, after recollecting his previous experience at the hands of the $1-a-can draught.

Unfortunately there were no other patrons of Liquor Plus who purchased “Just over a buck-a-beer” during VibrantVictoria.ca’s ad-hoc 15 minute question-and-answer period outside of a Liquor Plus, but a newly created Facebook page celebrating the brew should reveal a broader public sentiment in short order.

With super cheap beer available at the liquor store, could similar deals be headed for local pubs where patrons currently dish out at least $5 per beer?  Paul Seal,who managed a popular Victoria nightclub for several years, thinks the potential is there.

“There is no reason why pubs, clubs and restaurants couldn’t sell ‘Just over a buck-a-beer’ to their patrons.  In Saanich, there is nothing stopping a bar owner from pricing beer and liquor at-cost, so what that means is a beer that costs about a dollar could be sold for the same price,” Seal said.  But Victoria pub-goers and revelers won’t get quite as a good deal thanks to a minimum liquor price introduced by Victoria City Hall a number of years ago.  “In Victoria the minimum drink price is $3 for an ounce of alcohol, so ‘Just over a buck-a-beer’ couldn’t sell for anything less than $3,” Seal added.

It’s that minimum $3 drink price that Victoria’s city councillors felt would help alleviate binge drinking in the downtown core, a problem that police and businesses have been grappling with for many years.  So far the higher prices haven’t had much of an effect as, according to some, individuals pre-drink at home and then head downtown already drunk.  And while some social advocates may raise the issue of selling 24 beers for $26, 26 ounce bottles of hard liquor actually sell for less. A 750 mL bottle of a popular vodka brand, for example, contains 26 ounces of alcohol and is available for as little as $23.  Beer, in this case, is just playing catch-up.

To discuss “Just over a buck-a-beer” and other beers on the VibrantVictoria.ca discussion forum, click here.  More info on “Just over a buck-a-beer” is available here.

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