Hey service industry people, I have a question for you.
Why, at some bars, are drafts cheaper than bottles?
When I was at the Rowan Tree (pictured) last night, I asked the bartender if there were any specials. Little bottles of domestic beers were $1.75, she said, and buckets of little bottles were $6.
Side note: What's the name for these small bottles? I can't think of it. I keep wanting to call them "pony bottles" but I know that's not right.
I asked her how much draft domestics cost.
"$1.50," she said. Huh? ...
Shouldn't bottles be cheaper than drafts? Why, at so many neighborhood bars (Down the Hatch comes to mind), are bottles more expensive? Is it a question of demand?
I almost failed Economics in college, and I've never trusted mathematics, but I remember something about demand driving up price. Using that logic, I have developed a theory: Bottles are more expensive because more people drink them.
This raises another question: Why would people pay $1.75 for a little bottle of Bud when they could get a draft (served in a mug, no less) for 25 cents cheaper?
I also have a theory for this one: People are dumb.
But that's just a theory.
Oh, and I realize that buying a keg is like buying beer in bulk, whereas with bottles, you're paying for them to be individually packaged. Even so, there are plenty of bars who serve 12-ounce drafts for the same price -- if not more -- than an 12-ounce bottle of Bud.
(Photo by me)